The director for Caribbean countries at the World Bank has called for a regional tax on cruise tourism that would be paid by every passenger, noting that the Caribbean has more cruise tourism but earns less from it than any other region in the world.

The tourism model is unsustainable, with the Caribbean experiencing slower tourism growth compared to global averages, Lilia Burunciuc noted, adding that the situation leads to serious disparities: “One ship passenger pays 24 times less than one nature-based passenger,” she said.

This is because Caribbean nations resist working together, she said. “You know that the Caribbean is the largest region for pushing tourism, but gets the least per passenger than any other region in the world, and this is because there is a race to the bottom again, because the region is not acting as a region.”

She spoke at the Wider Caribbean Regional Risk Conference yesterday on a panel entitled Economic Tensions, Uncertainty and Geoeconomic Confrontations: Navigating these new Global Economic Relations, moderated by economist Marla Dukharan.

Ms Burunciuc proposed radical solutions, including a potential “Caribbean environmental tax for the Caribbean Sea” that all ships would be required to pay.

“When we surveyed tourists, predominantly they said yes, they would be willing to pay more for preserving the environment, if the money is used transparently and for such purposes,” she stated.

Speaking on the same panel, Ian Durant, vice-president, corporate services, Caribbean Development Bank, made recommendations that extended beyond taxation, calling for a comprehensive rethinking of the tourism approach. “We have to be intentional,” he emphasised, suggesting the region needs to “diversify our economies and reduce the risks associated with what we face globally”.