The Weight of Cruise Tourism in the Caribbean

The rise of the cruise industry in the Caribbean promises jobs, economic activity and new opportunities for the islands that receive millions of passengers each year. But behind the record numbers, questions are also growing about how much money actually remains in each country, what costs governments absorb, and how the pressure from ever-larger ships affects infrastructure, the environment, public resources and residents’ daily lives.

Through an investigation that takes a closer look at conditions across several Caribbean islands, this special series examines who benefits from cruise tourism in the region — and who bears its costs. The stories document how different Caribbean countries negotiate with a powerful global industry while facing congestion, public incentives, port privatization, pressure on essential services, economic dependence and citizens’ demands for a fairer and more sustainable tourism model.

“The Weight of Cruise Tourism” offers a regional look at an urgent question for the Caribbean: If cruise ships bring so many passengers and so many promises of prosperity, are the islands getting a fair deal?

The journalists who participated in the project are Freeman Rogers, of The BVI Beacon in the British Virgin Islands, and Luis Joel Méndez González, of the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo in Puerto Rico.

The project was edited and supervised by Noel Algarín, editor at the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo. This investigation was made possible thanks to support from the CPI’s Journalism Training Institute and the Metcalf Ocean Nexus Academy, created by Ocean Nexus and Metcalf Institute in collaboration with The Uproot Project.