The CDC (Caribbean Development Bank) revealed that the countries of St. Kitts & Nevis and Turks & Caicos showed the fastest growth records in the Caribbean for 2014. These destination expanded at 4% growth based on tourism, investment inflows, and real estate construction. The CDC actually found that practically all Caribbean destinations witnessed increased visitor arrivals in 2014. CDC president, William Warren Smith, also offered that the normalization efforts of the United States and Cuba will likely lead to an expansion of the regional caribbean tourism market.
Other countries reporting positive, but slightly less accelerated growth were Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Cayman Islands, Grenada, and Montserrat. The CDC has stated plans to improve growth by strengthening its efforts to promote the region especially in the category of renewable energy products. In addition, there were indications that the area had benefitted from increases in foreign direct investment (FDI), particularly for tourism-related construction.
The CDC also stated that the private sector will also have to shoulder more of the financial burden of investing in the Region’s social and economic infrastructure. To encourage this, new facilities to support borrowing member countries are being developed as more are turning to public-private partnerships (PPP’s). At the same time, the Bank is urging governments to undertake various reforms to create the kind of legal and regulatory environment and broader governance framework that can attract investment, and within which the private sector can truly become the main engine of growth. All in all, the bank sees the Caribbean as destined for growth in 2015.