Fragility of US Market pushes GTA to target emerging markets

by Curlan Campbell

• More than half of Grenada’s visitors come from US
• Strategic direction for 2026 includes greater inclusion of Carriacou and Petite Martinique
• GTA will begin targeting continental Europe, Latin America, traditional markets plus domestic tourism

Small island economies such as Grenada are beginning to feel the impact of US economic policy decisions under President Donald Trump, particularly in relation to tourism. With more than half of Grenada’s visitors — approximately 53% — coming from the US, Grenada and other Caribbean destinations face heightened vulnerability to policy shifts affecting travel and spending.

In response, the Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) has recognised the urgent need to diversify its visitor base. By targeting new markets, emerging economies, and destinations in a bid to reduce reliance on US travellers and strengthen long-term resilience in the tourism sector.

The GTA has unveiled its strategic direction for 2026 to members of the media recently, placing strong emphasis on market diversification, improved airlift, product development, and greater inclusion of Carriacou and Petite Martinique.

Addressing members of the media, GTA’s CEO Stacey Liburd underscored the country’s dependence on the US market. “We’re very dependent on tourism, and I don’t think that we can afford to be. So we need to be able to diversify how we sustain ourselves as a destination.”

Liburd explained the risk of relying too heavily on a single source market. “53% of our visitors come from the US. Do you understand the seriousness and the impact of that 53%? So what does that mean? It means then that we have to look at other emerging markets,” she said.

On building resilience, GTA’s Marketing Director Tornia Charles added that cost-effective digital strategies would continue to drive marketing efforts. “Digital will always be our focus because it gives us the greatest return on investment. That includes social media, influencer campaigns, and familiarisation tours — bringing media, travel trade and content creators here so they can speak confidently about Grenada to their audiences.”

She also pointed to successful community-based tourism initiatives, such as a traditional mass workshop in Paraclete hosted for international media during Spicemas, which received glowing feedback.

Charles revealed that the GTA will begin targeting continental Europe and Latin America, in addition to maintaining its traditional markets of the US, UK, and Canada. She also highlighted a new focus on domestic tourism. “For the first time, we have a marketing executive who will be responsible for Grenada to encourage domestic tourism, which basically means getting you guys to travel to Carriacou, and getting persons from Carriacou to travel here,” she said.

Charles expanded on tourism product pillars, noting that Grenada is looking beyond traditional offerings: “We work very closely on the nautical area — dive, cruise, and yachting. But we are also looking at new pillars. Luxury is one, the MICE market (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions) is another, as well as culinary, agritourism and wellness. We also see opportunities through medical tourism, with our recent agreement with Mount Sinai and partnerships with St George’s University.”

Meanwhile, Liburd indicated that discussions with airlines are underway. “What we want to be able to do is have conversations with airlines, to be able to share with them about Grenada and see how we can collaborate and how we can get direct lift. That is something that our chairman is quite passionate about, and is very involved in terms of airlift negotiations.”

In addition, she highlighted product expansion. “It’s developing our yachting, dive, and luxury segment,” Liburd said. “And then we have something that we’re working on, that I am very excited about, and that is our destination magazine, Pure Grenada. We made that announcement a couple of days ago, and we are getting some really great feedback.” According to Liburd, the magazine will allow Grenada to “own our story.” “We want something that is ours, something that is written by us to be able to tell the true story. People are not travelling for sun, sand and sea anymore. It’s about rich culture. They want great food. They want amazing service,” She said.

A brand audit will be done by the GTA to gauge its platform performance. This process will assess if the website fulfills its goal and gives users the necessary information. A key priority for the GTA will be to create a clearer distinction between corporate and global content. The global page is specifically designed to inspire travellers; therefore, content that does not align with this goal will be redirected elsewhere.

The GTA will also launch a WhatsApp community group. “We want to be able to reach you directly so you can have the information that you need. We’re going to use that platform to put things out about the organisation, our press releases, if we have any recruitment, we’re going to share it through that page,” Liburd said.

The GTA’s CEO outlined transparency and collaboration as key pillars of the 2026 framework. “We recently drafted the framework for our 2026 strategy, and we share that with our stakeholders. Now we know that if they are involved from the inception, what that means is that we get buy-in,” Liburd explained. “Buy-in is very critical. We also want to hear their thoughts and their ideas… so that we’re all singing from the same song sheet.”

She emphasised inclusivity across the tri-island state. “We don’t want [Carriacou and Petite Martinique] to feel overshadowed by Grenada. So in our messaging, it’s going to be either we say all three islands, or we say the tri-island state. Because I think there are so many people who still don’t know that Grenada is a tri-island state.”

Liburd urged media representatives to work closely with the GTA, emphasising the importance of collaboration in disseminating information and shaping the organisation’s message. She invited members of the media to form stronger partnerships and reaffirmed the GTA’s open-door approach to addressing questions.