30 CARillU. i'v!AR. STUD., SPECIAL EDil'ION, 2007 TABLE 4.3 - Contribution of tourism to the economy of the insular Caribbean, relative to the global average, 2004 forecast Percentage(%) of total, insular Curibbean Tourism-related activities Number/U.S.$ value for insular Caribbean .lobs (direct and indirect) 2,416,500 Contribution to GOP S2l!.4 billion 13 Exported services and merchandise S 19.0 billion 16.1 9 Capital investment S7.4 billion 21.7 9 Global average, 15.5 'Y.) l! 10 SouRcE: CARSEA/OEF. the fact that tourist numbers arc highest in destinations closest to the United States of America. TABLE 4.4 - Selected travel and tourism country rankings' forecasts for the Caribbean within the World Countries List 2004 and 2014 2004 2014 Caribbean' Relative size Relative size Personal & travel tourism 8 10 3 3 Cruise-ship arrivals represent the fastest-growing segment of the industry and will soon rival the hotel sector in bed/berth capacity (McElroy 2004). In their shore visits, cruise passengers provide a major source of direct income lor small entrepreneurs such as taxi drivers and handicraft vendors, as well as the informal sector. This contribution to the development of cntrcprcnclllial activity can be as important as that of the stay-over sector, whose link to the local economy is ollen limited by the enclave nature of the accommodation. Government expenditures Capital investment Visitor exports 4.2.3 Dril•ing Forces Impacting Caribhecm Tourism Economy GOP 4.2.3.1 Climate l'cll'iahifity and Change Economy employment In its Third and Fourth Assessment Reports, the lnlerGovcrnmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) cautioned that because many small islands arc so heavily dependent on the tourism sector lor their economic survival, adverse impacts on the industry, fi:om climate change or other causes, would be of great concern to these countries (IPCC 200 I; Mimuru et al. 2007). 'Total 13 regions (161 countries). Best is number I. worst is number 13. 'Includes 23 insular Caribbean countrics!icrritorics. Adapted li'om World Tourism and Travel Council http://www.wttc.om/ (sub-menu: TSA Accounts, World Repons, Caribbean) accessed Aug. 17, 2004. recorded the largest number of rooms (51,916), followed by Venczuda (33, 149), Cancun/Mexico (25,434 ), and Jamaica (23,640). The 2000 CTO data show the overwhelming statistical importance of U.S. visitors (50% of the total) and Europeans (25"/.,). Some 6.5% of visitors arc from Canada, 7% fi·om the Caribbean, and 12"!., arc classified as "Other." The dominance of U.S. tourists is consistent with Since the tourism intl·astructure of the Caribbean region is mostly located on the coast, an increase in the frequency and intensity of hurricanes represents a major threat to this essential service of the Caribbean Sea ecosystem. This is demonstrated by calculations of the losses to tourism income caused by recent storms. In 1995, hurricanes Luis and Marilyn caused severe damage to hotel and other tourism properties in Antigua and Barbuda, leading to a 17% decrease in the number of tourist arrivals and adversely affecting employment -48-