The general theme among lenders is one of increased optimism as indicated by our Confidence Barometer which revealed that the level of confidence of banks in the Caribbean’s tourism industry rose for the sixth year in a row and is now at its highest level since 2008.  Non-bank respondents are even more optimistic. The reasons for the general increased confidence appears to be attributable to several factors such as the growth in the US Economy and improved airlift. The increased optimism has, however, not yet translated into readily available capital.

We are delighted to present KPMG’s 11th annual Caribbean Hospitality Financing Survey, highlighting lending trends in the region’s hospitality and tourism industry and the outlook for the future of the industry. 

Regular readers and subscribers to our survey will recall that last year we expanded our survey beyond banks to also include non-bank capital providers such as equity and mezzanine investors. At the time we stated that our new survey participants “appear to be more optimistic about the future than banks and more bullish about the potential of new markets and new products”. 

This more bullish trend has certainly continued this year. Our annual Caribbean Financing Confidence Barometer, which is always one of our very best indicators of prevailing financier sentiment, reveals that non-bank capital providers registered a “jaw dropping” 8.17 (2014: 7.00) out of 10 in terms of their level of confidence for the next 12 months.