At this year’s World Travel Market (WTM) Latin America held in São Paulo, Brazil, the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) made a landmark announcement: Saint Lucia will play host to the first-ever CTO Latin American Market Summit, scheduled for May 5 to 6, 2027.
Scheduled as a 1.5-day industry gathering, the summit was crafted to strengthen the growing connection between Caribbean tourism leaders and the rapidly expanding Latin American travel sector. It will bring together a wide cross-section of industry stakeholders, including Latin American air carriers, tour operators, retail travel agents, regional media outlets and partner destination marketing organizations, all collaborating to unlock untapped growth opportunities, forge actionable commercial partnerships, and advance cohesive regional tourism cooperation.
The summit’s core strategic goals cover a wide range of priorities: positioning the Caribbean as a top-tier leisure and business travel destination for Latin American outbound travelers; sharing data-driven market insights and research findings through structured panel discussions and keynote addresses; facilitating direct, one-on-one business matchmaking between industry players; and deepening collaborative ties with CTO Allied Members, the Latin American and Caribbean Airports Council (ACI-LAC) and other key industry partners. Attendees will also get the chance to explore dedicated showcases highlighting the unique offerings of individual Caribbean island destinations.
A central pillar of the summit’s agenda will be addressing and improving air connectivity between the Caribbean basin and Latin America. Event organizers will build on key findings from the CTO Air Connectivity Study, which previously identified unmet capacity gaps while also highlighting massive untapped potential for launching new air routes to high-demand South American markets, including Argentina, Chile, and Brazil.
Current travel trends already underscore the critical importance of this market for the Caribbean: South America stood as the Caribbean’s fastest-growing source market in 2025, with total visitor arrivals jumping 23.7% year-over-year to hit 2.4 million visits. Industry officials attribute this impressive surge to a combination of expanded air links, targeted regional marketing campaigns, and rising outbound travel demand from Latin America’s growing middle class. This growth has also delivered a key strategic benefit: it has helped the Caribbean diversify its traditional reliance on North American and European source markets, building greater resilience for the region’s tourism sector.
Dr. Ernest Hilaire, Saint Lucia’s Deputy Prime Minister who also oversees the portfolios of Tourism, Commerce, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Heritage, shared his country’s excitement over the hosting announcement. “Saint Lucia is honoured to host the 2027 CTO Latin American Market Summit with a strong focus on connectivity and strengthening ties with Latin America,” Hilaire stated during the official announcement at WTM Latin America in São Paulo.
“By targeting new direct links, we can open fresh markets, boost visitor numbers and revenue, and drive sustainable economic growth across the region’s communities,” he added.
Dona Regis-Prosper, Secretary-General and CEO of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, echoed this optimism, noting that the focused, Latin America-centered summit in Saint Lucia will turn strategic insights into tangible action. “Hosting the 2027 summit in Saint Lucia with a dedicated focus on Latin America will allow us to turn insights into action, identifying new routes, forging partnerships, and delivering tangible benefits for our member countries,” Regis-Prosper said.
Conveniently timed for maximum industry impact, the summit will take place just ahead of the iconic annual Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival, one of the Caribbean’s most high-profile cultural events. The summit’s agenda will feature targeted working sessions covering route development, actionable market intelligence, and cross-sector partnership-building initiatives that lay the groundwork for long-term regional growth.