The Caribbean’s biggest aviation and tourism stakeholders will head to Jamaica next year in another major push to improve regional air connectivity.
Jamaica hosts second annual event Caribbean Tourism Authority Aviation Connectivity Summit in Kingston on February 23, 2027 (our editor-in-chief was reporting from the ground), following an inaugural meeting held in Bermuda earlier this year.
Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett Announcements were made at the Caribbean Hotels and Tourism Association’s Caribbean Travel Market Conference in Antigua this week, positioning the event as an important next step for regional tourism growth at a time when Caribbean destinations continue to face rising operating costs, geopolitical uncertainty and ongoing airlift challenges.
“This summit will provide strategic insight into regional planning,” Bartlett said. “Jamaica will use this as a means of bringing together its airline partners, as well as taking part in some of the celebrations, some thinking about the future of air connectivity in our region, which is very important.”
Why does airlift remain the Caribbean’s biggest tourism problem?
For most Caribbean destinations, airlift remains the single largest driver of tourism growth. More seats, more direct flights, and stronger regional connections almost always lead directly to more visitor arrivals, longer stays, and higher hotel occupancy.
This is especially true for travel within the Caribbean, which continues to face a variety of obstacles, from high taxes and airport fees to limited flight frequencies and fragmented airline networks.
The first CTO Air Connectivity Summit, held in Hamilton, Bermuda on February 24, 2026, brought together Tourism Ministers, airline executives, airport authorities and route development experts to address these issues directly.
One of the clearest themes emerging from the Bermuda summit was the need for greater regional cooperation, rather than destinations competing independently for the same routes.
“Competition is what divides us. We need to expand our joint marketing capabilities.” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism of Sint Maarten Grisha Heyriger-Marten said during the meeting.
The Bermuda summit laid out specific aviation goals.
The Bermuda gathering focused on practical route development strategies rather than broad tourism messages.
Attendees reviewed the newly completed work. ASM CTO Airlift StudyThis identifies several underserved international markets with strong potential for Caribbean service expansion, particularly in South America and Europe.
According to summit discussions, markets including: Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Italy It represents a significant opportunity for new direct routes to the Caribbean.
Industry leaders also emphasized that destinations must make a stronger commercial business case for airlines, rather than relying solely on tourism demand forecasts.
These included calls for joint marketing campaigns, route risk sharing, improved interline contracts and better coordination between the Department of Tourism, Immigration and Finance.
At this summit, an additional memorandum of understanding between the CTO and CTO was also drawn up. International Airports Council – Latin America and the CaribbeanIt aims to strengthen cooperation between tourism and aviation stakeholders across the region.
South America continues to emerge as a key Caribbean growth market.
The timing of Jamaica’s summit announcement comes as Caribbean destinations continue to see strong momentum in South America.
Local tourism officials say South American arrivals to the Caribbean will increase 23.7 percent in 2025, reaching 2.4 million visitors.
This growth has led destinations to rethink their traditional dependence on North American and European travelers while pursuing new airline partnerships deeper into Latin America.
The Caribbean Tourism Board is already planning another event targeting that opportunity. CTO Latin America Market SummitIt is scheduled for Saint Lucia on May 5-6, 2027.
The conference will also focus on improving air connectivity and direct services between Latin American and Caribbean destinations.
Jamaica is positioning its events around resilience.
Bartlett also linked the 2027 summit to Jamaica’s broader tourism resilience agenda.
The event will take place in one week Global Tourism Resilience Day On February 17, Jamaica held a ceremony to celebrate the UN’s help in becoming a champion.
This positioning reflects the growing emphasis by Caribbean tourism leaders on building a more diverse and resilient visitor economy, especially after years of pandemic disruption, airline volatility and shifting global travel demand.
CTO Secretary General and CEO Donna Regis-Prosper He said the Jamaican summit was intended to translate talks in Bermuda into a viable regional strategy.
“Holding the summit in Jamaica in 2027 will allow us to translate insights gained in Bermuda into concrete action to build new partnerships, address persistent challenges in the airlift sector, and strengthen our One Caribbean vision for resilient, connected growth,” said Regis-Prosper.
She will soon be traveling to Jamaica to meet the Director of Tourism. donovan white As summit planning accelerates.
What to focus on at the 2027 summit
The Kingston event is expected to focus on several recurring priorities that emerged from the Bermuda meeting.
Building a stronger airline business case Caribbean destinations are increasingly encouraged to present detailed data and coordinated marketing support when pursuing new routes.
Expand interline agreements. Regional leaders continue to push for easier multi-island connectivity through stronger airline partnerships.
Reduce taxes and fees. High airfares are one of the biggest obstacles to affordable Caribbean travel.
Airport infrastructure optimization. Several speakers in Bermuda emphasized maximizing existing airport capacity before pursuing major expansion projects.
Source market diversification. South America remains one of the most obvious growth targets for Caribbean tourism over the next decade.
Rosa Harris, Chair of the CTO Airlift Committee and Director of the Cayman Islands Tourism Board, summed up the issue candidly at the Bermuda Summit.
“The air connection is our oxygen,” Harris said. “If you can’t get off the island, you can’t develop your business and you can’t feed your people.”
For the Caribbean tourism industry, this reality continues to shape virtually every major regional tourism discussion, and the upcoming Jamaica Summit will be one of the most important aviation conversations in the region over the next year.
