The Caribbean Islands is a massive archipelago located in the Caribbean Sea, which not only attracts tourists from all over the world but also investors.
The Caribbean provides a solid foundation for businesses. The Caribbean's geographic location makes it an ideal gateway to the North, Central and South American markets, with approximately 13 million multilingual skilled employees. In addition to tourism, which is already the main advantage, the region is diverse in industries such as outsourcing, technology, agriculture, renewable energy, petrochemicals, logistics and medical tourism.
So, let’s highlight 6 key benefits to invest in the Caribbean:
1. Location
As mentioned earlier, the Caribbean is located in the middle of America, and provides easy access to the markets of North, South and Central America, serves as a bridge to the European markets.
For example, half of the islands in the region are territories of the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands or France, while the other half are sovereign states. In addition, some islands are much more developed than others.
2. Accessibility
All Caribbean countries have international airports. They provide daily direct flights to the US, Canada, the UK, and a number of other European countries, as well as to South America. Availability by sea through world-famous regional ports is also a great advantage, providing easy access to raw materials and equipment.
This sector consists of two types of activities: airlines transporting people and goods; ground infrastructure, including airport services such as baggage handling, ticketing, retail and catering, and core services, off-airport detection such as air navigation and air traffic control.
3. Openness to Trade
The small size of most of the islands made it virtually impossible for any Caribbean nation to produce all goods on their own. For example, the British territory of Montserrat relies heavily on imports from neighboring islands and from the United States to meet local demand for fruits and vegetables.
Trade is so important to the Caribbean economy that several trade blocs have been formed in the region, each aimed at removing trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas between member states.
4. Economic & Political Stability
The Caribbean is known for its stable democracy and economic development, which provides a stable business base. In addition, the level of freedom from corruption in the country is high: in Transparency International’s 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index, Barbados ranks 29th out of 180 countries, Cuba 64th, Jamaica 70th and Dominican Republic 128th.
5. Diverse investment opportunities
The Caribbean has always been considered a destination for tourism due to its rich natural resources. However, there are several other competitive sectors, including: information and communication technology/business process outsourcing, financial services, agribusiness and the creative industries.
6. Tourism
Tourism plays a key role in the Caribbean economy and attracts many investors. After the changes in the field of preferences in agricultural trade in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the role of tourism in the region has increased significantly. This sector accounts for a significant share of the economies of many Caribbean countries.
On average, for all 34 countries in the region, it accounts for about 20% of GDP. In addition, tourism provides a large share of employment: from 80% in Aruba and Antigua, to 13% in Mexico and 8% in Brazil. The Caribbean is also dependent on tourism for foreign exchange and accounts for about 10% of exports to Ecuador and Peru.
As you can see, the region is diverse and has a wide range of prospects for investors, both local and foreign. The islands are politically and socially stable, with a highly skilled and productive workforce, access to international telecommunications services and excellent infrastructure, which in turn makes this region one of the most stable for investment in the world in the Caribbean.