Caribbean Tourism Organization launches Supply Side Initiative in United States
Launched June 5, the CTO Supply Side Initiative positions local suppliers, farmers, craft producers, and community businesses at the centre of the Caribbean's next tourism growth cycle.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization launched its Tourism Supply Side Initiative in the United States on June 5, joining Jamaica, Barbados, The Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and other destinations in a coordinated regional push. The initiative places local suppliers, community businesses, farmers, craft producers, food makers, cultural operators, transport providers, and tourism workers at the centre of the next regional growth cycle — a deliberate pivot away from mass-cruise dependence and toward higher-value, locally retained tourism revenue.
UN Tourism reported approximately 307 million international arrivals globally in Q1 2026, up 2 percent year-on-year, with Caribbean leisure travel from North America and Europe remaining a primary regional engine.
For diaspora entrepreneurs and remitting households, the practical signal is that supplier and small-business channels into the regional tourism stack are being formalised through CTO right now, and the pipeline of cultural, food, and craft-export opportunities into US distribution is being structurally widened.
Source: Travel and Tour World CTO Supply Side coverage June 5; UN Tourism Q1 2026 outlook.