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Caribbean tourism leaders used one of the world’s largest travel trade gatherings to deliver a clear message: climate adaptation in tourism must move from discussion to funded action.
At ITB Berlin 2026, officials from the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) told global tourism stakeholders that destinations across the region remain highly exposed to climate impacts while funding pathways for adaptation projects remain slow and fragmented.
The conversation took place during a panel titled “The Climate Adaptation Gap in Tourism: From Risk to Resilience,” where CTO Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer Dona Regis-Prosper said Caribbean destinations are already living the consequences of extreme weather events.
“There is no teacher as great as a practical experience,” Regis-Prosper said, reflecting on the region’s repeated encounters with destructive hurricanes.
Her message focused on the need to move beyond policy frameworks and climate discussions toward practical implementation — particularly projects that strengthen tourism resilience across the Caribbean’s small island economies.
From Climate Risk to Real Projects
The Caribbean remains one of the world’s most tourism-dependent regions, with many economies closely tied to the health of beaches, coral reefs and coastal infrastructure.
CTO Deputy Director of Sustainable Tourism Narendra Ramgulam said climate impacts are already shaping tourism conditions across the region.
“When you talk about climate risk, we see it and we feel it more than others,” Ramgulam said during a separate ITB session titled “These Ideas Will Transform Tourism.”
He pointed to issues such as reef degradation and beach erosion, both of which are increasingly visible across Caribbean destinations and directly affect visitor experiences as well as local livelihoods.
Ramgulam also highlighted a structural challenge faced by many small island states: turning climate priorities into projects that can actually receive funding.
“Across the Caribbean, there’s no shortage of climate risk information or project ideas,” he said. “What we consistently struggle with is turning those priorities into finance projects which can actually move forward.”
That challenge, he said, underscores the need for new financial models and stronger partnerships that can translate climate planning into real infrastructure and conservation work.
A Renewed Partnership on Sustainable Tourism
One of the key developments at ITB Berlin was the renewal of a partnership between the Caribbean Tourism Organization and The Travel Foundation, aimed at accelerating sustainable tourism initiatives across the region.
The updated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by Regis-Prosper and Jeremy Sampson, chief executive officer of The Travel Foundation.
The agreement expands collaboration between the two organizations on climate resilience, destination stewardship and community-focused tourism strategies.
Sampson said the Caribbean’s vulnerability to climate impacts also positions it as a region capable of leading innovation in sustainable tourism.
“The Caribbean is on the frontlines of climate change, but it is also at the forefront of innovation,” Sampson said. “This partnership is grounded in a shared belief that the future competitiveness of Caribbean tourism depends on its ability to deliver equitable benefits for local communities while adapting to the growing impacts of climate change.”
The collaboration is designed to help align climate action strategies with tourism planning while identifying funding pathways that can support adaptation projects across CTO member states.
Supporting the CTO Reimagine Plan
Regis-Prosper said the renewed partnership also aligns with the CTO’s Reimagine Plan, an initiative designed to strengthen long-term sustainability and resilience across Caribbean tourism.
“Through this collaboration, we will work with our member states and partners to advance a shared regional approach that strengthens resilience, advances community benefit and ensures our tourism sector remains competitive in a changing climate,” she said.
The effort reflects a broader shift in regional tourism planning toward integrating environmental resilience into destination development strategies.
A Unified Caribbean Presence at ITB
The CTO maintained a strong presence throughout the three-day ITB Berlin convention, one of the largest global travel trade shows, hosting meetings with industry partners and international stakeholders.
Representatives from across the Caribbean met with tourism leaders, investors and policy groups under a unified regional banner, focusing discussions on sustainable tourism, regenerative travel models and climate resilience.
For Caribbean tourism leaders, the message delivered in Berlin was clear: the region already understands the risks of climate change.
The next step, they said, is ensuring that adaptation strategies move from reports and policy discussions into funded projects capable of protecting the Caribbean’s tourism economy in the decades ahead.
The post Caribbean Tourism Leaders Warn of Climate “Adaptation Gap” appeared first on Caribbean Journal.
