International Air Transport Association (IATA) Americas

gamut of the air transport system. In the Caribbean region, we’ve seen many airlines come and go, and we now have seven IATA members there, eight with the inclusion of Cuba. “To put it in perspective, in 2018, the Caribbean generated more than 27 billion tourism dollars and the vast majority was made possible by air travel because air is the key mode of transportation to, and within, the island states. The industry is an economic enabler, and what we consider a strong business partner to the viability, sustainability, and wellbeing of these island countries. Air transport delivered close to $35.9 billion to the region’s GDP, and 1.6 million jobs are directly and indirectly impacted by air transport. The total makeup of these contributions is roughly 14 percent of the overall Caribbean economy. “IATA’s role in the Caribbean focuses a lot on advocacy, primarily with governments. There are many challenges and opportunities that require us to advocate aggressively. How do we continue to improve service at a reasonable cost? Maintaining and upgrading infrastructure is another major issue in the region. Many airports are dealing with limited capacity as air traffic has increased. At the same time, the Caribbean is becoming a very expensive part of the world to do business. It is highly dependent on travel and tourism, but the industry is heavily taxed and charged, putting an increased financial burden on the passengers. In many places, over 30 percent of the ticket cost is taxes. With so much global competition out there, we have to advocate to our governments the need to promote the industry as a tourism enabler, rather than a cash cow. We want to see more people traveling to the Caribbean, but high taxes and inefficient infrastructure are impediments we see moving forward.” BVC: Along with advocacy, what other ways does the Association support members? Cerda: We have a training department within IATA where we help governments, airlines, and the travel and tourism industry to enhance skill sets. We see a need, a willingness, for training, INTERNAT IONAL A I R TRANSPORT ASSOC I AT ION ( I ATA) AMER I CAS