This chapter includes the following articles.
Tourism
Though tourism plays a significant role in T&T’s economy, unlike other Caribbean economies, it is not the most important sector. Its total contribution to GDP in 2013 was $1.26bn, or 3.1%, and the industry directly and indirectly employed 27,500 people, or 4.5%. In the past decade, arrivals have fluctuated between a low of 388,000 in 2010, reflecting the global slump in 2008-09, and a high of just over 460,000, achieved in 2004-05, before the financial crisis. In 2014 a total of 461,267 visitors came to T&T, down 1.2% from the previous year. Even so, tourism remains the top services sector revenue earner, generating $1.29bn worth of receipts in 2013, equivalent to 4.8% of total exports. In the light of the recent rapprochement between the US and Cuba, the larger Caribbean tourism industry could be set to see some realignment in the coming years. This chapter contains an interview with Keith Chin, CEO, Tourism Development Company (TDC).
