– Tourism Strategist tells SOTIC

-by Nakasia Logan

The Caribbean tourism industry could lose valuable connections with travelers to international companies such as Expedia, Airbnb and Google, unless it moves faster in using artificial intelligence.

This warning from tourism strategist Kevon Wilson of Leve Global, during his presentation at the region’s State of the Tourism Industry Conference.

During his presentation in the Exhibition Centre of the Atlantic Suites, Kingston Georgetown, the chief operating officer and senior strategist at Leve Global told the gathering that the tourism game has changed.

Wilson pointed to the fact that having websites and social media platforms is not enough for presence as tourism businesses must also ensure they can be found and recommended by Artificial Intelligence AI.

“Today 2026 and beyond we are in the AI era and its really about how can these AI models find you. They are not showing you 30/50 pages anymore they are recommending the top tow and top three and if you don’t position yourself properly with structured trusted content. In other words if these AI models cannot find you onlinethey are not going to  recommend you,” he said.

But visibility is only one part of the challenge.

Wilson says the Caribbean also needs to own and better utilise its customer data.

International booking platforms are collecting valuable information about travelers including searches, bookings, preferences and travel habits.

“In 2023 US holiday travelers using generative AI for trip planning was 8% and 2025 it increased to 24% percent and of course with Google where  they have their answer engine so AI in built into google search now. We need to ensure that we show up in the answers,” he said.
With millions of visitors coming to the region each year, Wilson is questioning whether Caribbean countries are making full use of the information they already collect through immigration, hotels, attractions and other tourism services.

He says the future of Caribbean tourism will not only depend on attracting visitors, but on understanding them, staying connected to them and ensuring the Caribbean remains part of the conversation when AI decides where travelers should go next.