Jamaica's tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett says visitor arrivals were up by two per cent over the period December 15, 2008 to April 21, 2009.

That increase, he said, translated to some 650,000 stopovers.

But five Caribbean countries are reporting double-digit drops in tourist visits as the global economic slowdown wreaks havoc on the region's top industry.

Statistics released this week by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation show Anguilla taking the worst hit with a decline of 18.8 per cent.

Visits are down in all 12 repor-ting nations and territories except Jamaica, Cuba and Mexico's Cancun region.

Growing optimism

"We have grown the industry during the time where everybody else in the world is down," said Bartlett. "We are over 650,000."

Bartlett said 98,000 tourists visited during December 15-31, while the other 566,000 entered Jamaica between January and April when the winter tourist season draws to a close.

"Nobody (in the region) is up, except for Jamaica," the minister said.

Regionally, tourist traffic fell 14.3 per cent in Antigua, 13.7 percent in St Lucia, 11.6 per cent in Montserrat and 11.3 per cent in the Cayman Islands.

The US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico cited drops of 6.1 and 4.7 per cent, respectively.

The reporting periods vary, but all measure tourism in early 2009 compared to the same months in 2008.

- Gleaner and AP reports