GREAT BAY--A new regional analysis by tourism analyst James Hepple is calling on Caribbean governments and tourism authorities to clearly define what they mean by a “high-value visitor” and establish systems for measuring whether their tourism strategies are producing greater benefits for local economies and communities.
Hepple, of Tourism Analytics, examined the growing use of terms such as “higher-spending,” “high-yield,” “premium” and “high-value” across the Caribbean. He found that while the goal of earning more from tourism without continually increasing visitor numbers is attractive, it remains poorly defined in most destinations. Hepple earlier this year was appointed by Minister of Tourism Grisha Heyliger-Marten to serve as Interim Director of the new (first) St. Maarten Tourism Authority.
The two-year review examined indexed government and media statements published between July 30, 2024 and July 30, 2026. It identified 26 qualifying statements across 11 of the 34 Caribbean destinations examined, including St. Maarten.
The language was most frequently used in Aruba, the British Virgin Islands, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Comparable statements were also identified in Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda, Bonaire, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Maarten, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Despite the growing regional emphasis on attracting higher-value travellers, Hepple found that governments rarely translated the concept into a measurable definition, expenditure threshold, target market or reporting framework.
Most statements did not specify how much a qualifying visitor should spend, how long that visitor should remain, where the money should be spent or how much should remain within the local economy.
High spending does not automatically mean high value
Hepple cautioned that a visitor paying a high room rate is not necessarily producing the greatest overall benefit for a destination.
A significant portion of that visitor’s expenditure may leave the country through foreign booking platforms, management fees, imported goods and profits remitted to overseas owners. Visitors who remain mainly within a resort may also spend relatively little with independent restaurants, taxi operators, tour providers, retailers and cultural businesses.
By comparison, another traveller may spend less overall but remain in the destination longer, eat at locally owned restaurants, hire local guides and taxis, attend events, purchase locally produced goods and visit communities outside the main tourism areas.
According to Hepple, determining which visitor creates greater value requires destinations to examine not only total spending, but also how that spending is distributed.
Local wages, employment, business ownership, tax revenue, domestic suppliers, imports and financial leakage should all form part of the assessment. The wider effects of tourism on congestion, infrastructure, housing, public services, the environment and residents’ quality of life must also be considered.
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Better expenditure data needed
Hepple identified the lack of reliable visitor-expenditure information as one of the region’s main weaknesses.
Caribbean tourism reporting continues to focus heavily on arrival figures because immigration authorities, airports and seaports routinely collect this information. Visitor expenditure is more difficult to measure because it requires properly designed surveys, accommodation data, payment information, national accounts integration and consistent publication.
At a minimum, Hepple said destinations should report expenditure per trip and per night, broken down by source market, accommodation type, length of stay and principal spending category.
These categories should include accommodation, food and beverage, local transportation, tours and attractions, shopping and other purchases.
The data should also distinguish among hotel, all-inclusive, timeshare, short-term rental, yacht, cruise and visiting-friends-and-relatives travellers, whose spending patterns can differ considerably.
Hepple said tourism authorities must then estimate how much visitor expenditure reaches locally owned businesses, workers, domestic suppliers and government revenues, and how much leaves the economy through imports, foreign commissions, external management charges and overseas profits.
Without this information, governments cannot reliably determine which source markets create the greatest net value, whether hotel guests spend more locally than timeshare or short-term rental visitors, or whether luxury tourism strengthens the wider economy beyond accommodation revenue.
Experiences create opportunities, but travellers remain price-conscious
Hepple also examined consumer research on tours, activities and attractions.
A July 2026 report by Phocuswright and Arival estimated that the global tours, activities and attractions market returned to its 2019 value of approximately US$253 billion in 2024 and could reach US$342 billion by 2029.
Travellers commonly purchase several experiences during a trip, but Hepple noted that purchasing multiple activities does not automatically result in higher overall expenditure. Financially constrained travellers may maintain the number of experiences they purchase by selecting less expensive options.
He therefore encouraged destinations to avoid concentrating exclusively on costly luxury excursions. Instead, they should develop attractive and bookable experiences across different price levels.
Culinary activities, cultural events, community tours, nature experiences, artisan products, wellness programs and sports tourism can help distribute visitor spending beyond large hotels and established tourism districts.
These products should be visible before visitors arrive, supported by reliable transportation and available through convenient digital booking and payment systems.
Hotels, vacation rentals, airlines, cruise lines and destination websites can also help connect visitors with local businesses and experiences.
Hepple warned, however, that small operators should not become entirely dependent on international platforms that charge high commissions. Shared booking systems, quality standards, training and direct-referral arrangements could improve access to visitors while keeping more revenue within the destination.
Regional approaches differ
The review found that Caribbean destinations are taking different approaches to visitor value.
Aruba has adopted some of the region’s clearest language on high-value, low-impact tourism, seeking to balance visitor demand with environmental and community capacity.
The British Virgin Islands’ National Tourism Policy 2026–2036 discusses high-value, luxury and boutique tourism while recognizing the need to protect the territory’s environment, exclusivity and tranquillity.
Curaçao’s Strategic Tourism Destination Development Plan 2022–2026 takes a broader approach focused on tourism quality, sustainability, carrying capacity, governance and community benefits.
The Dominican Republic’s Meta RD 2036 plan focuses on product diversification, infrastructure, workforce development, source markets, gastronomy, short-term rental regulation and stronger links between tourism, agriculture and domestic industries.
Hepple said these approaches demonstrate that high-value tourism can refer to several different objectives, including greater expenditure, longer stays, lower environmental impact, improved seasonality, stronger local linkages and a wider geographic distribution of tourism activity.
The intended outcome must first be clearly stated before it can be properly managed and evaluated.
Six actions recommended
Hepple outlined six actions for Caribbean destinations seeking to develop credible visitor-value strategies:
• Publish a formal definition of a high-value visitor and distinguish among higher spending, yield, premium positioning and net local economic value.
• Establish a minimum visitor-expenditure dataset covering spending per trip and per night, source market, accommodation type, length of stay and spending category.
• Measure how much tourism expenditure remains in the local economy through wages, locally owned businesses, domestic suppliers and taxes.
• Convert tourism strategies into measurable programs with baselines, targets, budgets, responsible institutions and annual public reporting.
• Create more opportunities for visitors to purchase locally supplied products and experiences at different price levels.
Evaluate tourism value using economic, social and environmental indicators rather than relying mainly on arrival totals.
Hepple concluded that the Caribbean’s desire to earn more from tourism without continually increasing visitor volume is legitimate. However, the term “high value” should not become a substitute for a measurable tourism strategy.
A credible approach must identify which visitors generate the greatest net benefit, increase opportunities for all travellers to purchase locally supplied goods and services, and manage tourism within the economic, social and environmental capacity of each destination.
Until Caribbean destinations define visitor value, measure it consistently and publish the results, Hepple said claims of attracting high-value visitors will remain difficult to test.
