ABSTRACT
The modern travel and tourism sector includes transport, accommodation, and restaurant, recreational and cultural components. This sector constituted the world's largest industry by 1987, in terms of sales. The tourist industry has continued to be constrained by the economies severe structural problems, which include high inflation, interest rates and external debt, constant balance-of-trade deficits and a poor transport infrastructure. The cruise industry displays a combination of low annual penetration of the holiday market, limited customer exposure to cruise holidays and the highest customer satisfaction rating of any holiday alternative. Although the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has insufficient human and financial resources, it has also been able to act as a coordinated marketing force, projecting the image of a single region throughout all major markets, as a result of its membership organizations in North America and Europe. Returning to the regional level, the Caribbean Tourism Organization has been central to the development of a regional tourism strategy and image.
