• Costa Rica, known as one of the best places for a relaxing vacation, is losing middle-class U.S. tourists as costs climb. Higher prices for lodging, food, and transportation, driven by a stronger local currency and inflation, have shifted the country toward an exclusive, high-end market, raising alarms in the tourism sector.
• A Yahoo Finance report, “5 Vacation Expenses the Middle Class Can’t Afford Anymore,” highlights this trend. “Costa Rica was once known as a budget-friendly destination. However, a combination of currency shifts and inflation has pushed vacation costs far beyond what many middle-class travellers can afford,” the article stated.
• Casey Halloran, CEO and co-founder of Costa Rican Vacations, noted that the average vacation cost, excluding flights, has risen from $5,500 in 2022 to $7,800. This has led U.S. tourists to choose cheaper destinations like Panama or the Dominican Republic or to shorten trips. “We are also seeing a shift to shorter stays, sometimes as little as just four nights versus the more traditional seven-night stay. However, what we hear from many who experience sticker shock at seeing one of our quotes is they simply choose to stay home,” he added.
• The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) reported a 10% decline in U.S. visitors in 2024, with 1.4Mn arrivals compared to 1.56Mn in 2023. Air arrivals fell 7% in February 2025, from 291,090 to 270,810, marking seven months of declines. The Costa Rican colón’s appreciation, now at 512 per U.S. dollar from 614 in 2022, has increased costs by 15%–20% for Americans, per the National Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR). Shirley Calvo, CANATUR’s executive director, said, “The exchange rate is hurting our competitiveness. Tourists are choosing places where their dollars stretch further.”
• Security issues compound the problem. The Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) recorded 907 homicides in 2023, 880 in 2024, and 225 in early 2025, mostly drug-related. Over 6,300 tourists faced crimes like theft and assault from 2020 to 2024, prompting U.S. and Canadian Level 2 travel advisories for increased caution. A recent car robbery gained international attention, with recent posts stating, “Costa Rica is now expensive, and crime is up”.
• Tourism, contributing 8.2% to GDP and 8.8% to employment, supports rural areas like Guanacaste and Limón. CANATUR projects a 15–20% arrival drop in 2025, risking jobs. The Nosara hotel reported a 25% booking decline, cutting staff. “U.S. families aren’t coming as before,” a manager told La Nación.
• CANATUR seeks exchange rate intervention, but Central Bank President Róger Madrigal cites reduced U.S. flights (down 10% in 2025) and competition from Panama, which saw a 12% U.S. visitor rise. Hotel prices have risen 20% since 2020, with 13.0% VAT, higher electricity, and wages adding pressure. Health risks like 1,900 dengue cases in 2025 and shellfish toxin bans are minor but noted.

(Source: Reuters)

• The Trump administration will offer a $1,000 stipend and travel assistance to migrants who elect to voluntarily "self-deport" from the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security said on Monday, May 5, 2025. The stipend and potential airfare for migrants who voluntarily depart would cost less than an actual deportation, the agency said. The average cost of arresting, detaining and deporting someone without legal status is currently about $17,000, according to DHS.
• The Trump administration has deported 152,000 people since January 20, according to DHS, lower than the 195,000 deported from February-April last year under Biden.
• Trump's administration has tried to encourage migrants to leave voluntarily by threatening steep fines, trying to strip away legal status, and deporting migrants to notorious prisons in Guantanamo Bay and El Salvador.
• In March, the administration launched a rebranded app called CBP Home to facilitate self-deportation. The app, previously called CBP One, was used by the Biden administration to allow migrants to enter the U.S. legally.
• Trump previewed the stipend plan in April, saying the U.S. would consider allowing migrants to return. "If they're good, if we want them back in, we're going to work with them to get them back in as quickly as we can," he said. Additionally, in the announcement on Monday, DHS said people who choose to leave "may help preserve" the ability to return legally, but did not cite any specific pathway or program.

(Source: Reuters)

• U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has not yet made any final decisions on foreign film tariffs but is exploring all options to deliver on the president's directive concerning Hollywood, White House spokesman Kush Desai said on Monday, May 5, 2025.
• Trump on Sunday announced a 100% tariff on movies produced outside the country, saying the American movie industry was dying a "very fast death" due to the incentives that other countries were offering to lure filmmakers.
• Importantly, filmmakers have for years left Hollywood for destinations including the UK and Canada to lower costs. One non-US union said the tariff plan would be a "knock-out blow" to the international industry. A White House official noted that Hollywood film production saw a sharp decline in the first quarter of 2025, logging just 451 "shoot days" for feature films in the region - a drop of nearly 30% from a year earlier.
• It was unclear if the tariffs would apply to films on streaming services, as well as those shown at cinemas, or how they would be calculated. Notwithstanding, Netflix (NFLX), Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), and Paramount Global (PARA) were each down around 1% in late afternoon trading after paring steeper losses earlier in the session. Disney (DIS) hovered just above the flatline.
• In his Truth Social post announcing the new tariff, Trump said he was authorising the relevant government agencies, such as the Department of Commerce, to immediately begin the process of imposing a 100% tariff on all films produced abroad that are then sent into the United States. The White House released no details on the legal basis for the move or how it would be implemented, leaving many in the film industry flummoxed.
• “Although no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made, the administration is exploring all options to deliver on President Trump’s directive to safeguard our country’s national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again," Desai said.

(Sources: Reuters)

• After a delay in submission, Dolphin Cove Limited (DCOVE) released its Audited Financials for the year ended December 31, 2024 (FY24), which showed it recorded a 40.3% decline in net profit to US$1.83Mn. The decline was primarily driven by lower revenues, which outweighed marginal savings on total costs.
• Revenues fell by 10.6% to US$7.51Mn as both programme^[1] income (-14.1%) and ancillary services^[2] (-7.0%) declined. DCOVE’s revenues were impacted by a decline in the number of park visitors, amid severe weather, primarily Hurricane Beryl, which led to park closures for 5 to 8 days. Additionally, a drop in flights to Montego Bay, particularly from major U.S. markets in the wake of the US Travel Advisory, also contributed to the decrease in visitors.
• Lower revenues were met by marginal savings on total costs, which were down by 1.7% to US$10.59Mn. Direct costs were relatively flat, but its administrative costs were 31.0% lower, reflecting the absence of a one-off expense due to a GCT liability in FY23.
• However, most of these savings were offset by higher operations and selling costs, up by US$0.29Mn (+7.6%) and US$0.36Mn (+13.3%) respectively. DCOVE also faced higher net finance costs, which rose by 86.4% to US$0.59Mn, as lower finance income amid lower FX gains was met by higher finance costs after the drawdown of a 12% Sagicor loan worth US$1.27Mn.
• With lower revenues and marginal total cost savings resulting in a falloff in net profit, earnings per share declined from US$0.74 in the prior year to US$0.47.
• At the market close on Thursday, DCOVE’s stock was J$11.50, down by 62.2% since the end of last calendar year. News that its parent company was filing for bankruptcy and boardroom disagreements contributed to the depreciation in the stock price. At its current price, DCOVE trades at a P/E of 17.10x, which is above the Junior Market Others Sector average of 16.20x.

(Source: Dolphin Cove Limited & NCBCM Research)

^[1] Programme attraction revenue represents programme fees from hotels, cruise ships and walk-in guests.

^[2] Ancillary services revenue represents revenue from the operation of restaurants, gift shops, photo shops and other adventure tours.

• The multibillion-dollar Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project (SCHIP) is 90% complete, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with Responsibility for Works, Hon. Robert Morgan, has advised.
• Addressing Wednesday’s (April 30, 2025) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, he said work has been completed on Part A, which entails the May Pen to Williamsfield toll road extension.
• “We have given the public the benefit of no tolling over the last several months. Part B-2, Harbour View to Yallahs Bridge, which is a four-lane highway, is also open to the public, as well as Parts B-3 and 4, Yallahs to Port Antonio and Morant Bay to Cedar Valley, which is a two-lane highway, which was divided into three tranches. One and two are substantially complete, and we have minor outstanding works there, and tranche three is now significantly complete,” the Minister further informed.
• Meanwhile, Mr. Morgan disclosed that the Cabinet recently approved the Port Antonio Bypass. “The US$81Mn investment will ease traffic congestion and open up Port Antonio to more development as well as give persons better access to that side of the island,” he said.
• The J$1Bn Grange Lane dualisation project in St. Catherine is 92% complete and is expected to be completed by June, Mr. Morgan advised. “Cabinet has also approved the $2.4Bn Braeton Road as part of the Hellshire main road. This contract has been awarded to S&G [Limited], and it will commence in June of this year,” he indicated.

(Source: JIS)

• Political parties in the Cayman Islands scrambled to form coalitions on Thursday, May 1, 2025, after no single party clinched a majority following a tight general election. The People’s Progressive Movement won seven seats in Parliament, the most out of all parties, but was three short of a majority, according to preliminary results.
• Meanwhile, two newly-formed parties, the Cayman Islands National Party, founded by a former manager at Ernst & Young, and the Caymanian Community Party, established by members of the dissolved United People’s Movement, won four seats each.
• Three independent candidates also won seats in Parliament, and parties are expected to court them and form a coalition. The leader of the party that wins at least 10 of the 19 elected seats in Parliament would become the new premier.
• Voters on Monday also participated in a nonbinding referendum. They voted in favour of decriminalising the possession and consumption of small amounts of marijuana and of creating a national lottery. But they rejected a proposal to develop cruise berthing infrastructure, which environmentalists had opposed.

(Source: ABC News)

• The Central Bank of Barbados has lowered its growth projection for 2025 to 2.7%, down from the 3.0% forecast issued earlier this year, citing mounting global economic pressures and signs of slowing momentum in key sectors.
• In its economic review for the first quarter of the year, the Bank reported that the economy expanded by 2.6% between January and March, led primarily by tourism, construction, and business and professional services.
• Governor Dr Kevin Greenidge described the domestic fundamentals as “solid” but underscored that the Bank has revised its inflation forecast upward, now expecting the 12-month average rate to range between 1.7% and 3.5%, compared to earlier projections of 1.5% to 2.5%.
• He attributed this to the potential impact of global trade tensions, shipping disruptions, and adverse weather conditions affecting food production. “There are risks that could affect both prices and growth,” Greenidge noted as he presented the report.
• He further pointed to uncertainties stemming from the ongoing US-China trade dispute and the possibility of renewed supply chain shocks. Despite these risks, the Bank reported that international reserves remained healthy at $3.4Bn, or 32.4 weeks of import cover. It also noted that unemployment had declined to 7.1% by September 2024, based on data from the NIS claims, and that the government posted a primary surplus of $662.8Mn, or 4.6% of GDP.

(Source: Barbados Today)

• U.S. construction spending unexpectedly fell in March amid broad declines in outlays on private and public projects. The Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Thursday that construction spending dropped 0.5% after a slightly downwardly revised 0.6% increase in February. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast construction spending gaining 0.2% after a previously reported 0.7% jump in February.
• Despite the month-to-month slump, construction spending still increased by 2.8% year-on-year in March. Spending on private construction projects fell 0.6%. Investment in residential construction slipped 0.4%, with outlays on new single-family projects edging up 0.1%.
• High mortgage rates and tariffs on imported goods are constraining homebuilding. The National Association of Homebuilders estimated last month that the latest round of tariffs, including boosting duties on Chinese imports to 145% and imposing a 25% levy on foreign steel and aluminum, had increased construction costs by $10,900 per home.
• Outlays on multi-family housing units were unchanged in March. Investment in private non-residential structures like offices and factories declined by 0.8%. Spending on public construction projects eased 0.2%. State and local government spending also fell 0.2%, while outlays on federal government projects decreased 0.4%.

(Source: Reuters)

• Wall Street stocks rallied, and gold prices slid on Thursday as solid earnings from big tech bolstered investor risk appetite. All three major U.S. stock indexes began the month in positive territory, with upbeat quarterly results from Meta Platforms and Microsoft, benefiting the Nasdaq most, sending the tech-laden index up 2.3%.
• "Clearly sparking (Thursday's) rally was better-than-expected earnings from Microsoft and Meta, and once again calming some of the over-the-top recessionary worries that we were dealing with just a couple of weeks ago," said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group in Omaha. "But the good news is stocks have now recovered from the selloff after 'Liberation Day.'"
• U.S. President Donald Trump announced steep tariffs on April 2, which rattled world markets for much of last month. The dollar advanced as the yen took a hit after the Bank of Japan cut its growth forecasts due to uncertainties surrounding U.S. tariff policy. Trading was thin throughout Asia and Europe due to May Day holidays. There were no major announcements regarding trade negotiations following Trump's April 2 announcement.
• First quarter earnings season is well past its halfway point, with 325 companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those, 74% have beaten analyst expectations, according to LSEG. Apple and Amazon are due to report after the closing bell, the fifth and sixth members of the so-called "magnificent seven" to post quarterly results, leaving chipmaker Nvidia, which is expected to release its first-quarter earnings on May 28.
• "The reality is the economy is slowing but not dropping off a cliff, and some of these large tech companies are confirming that," Detrick added. "It's nice to talk about something besides tariffs, especially when it's backed by some solid earnings overall by some of the large tech companies." On the economic front, U.S. factory activity remained in contraction, while jobless claims increased more than analysts expected.

(Source: Reuters)

• Image Plus Consultants Limited (IPCL) recorded net profit of $43.93Mn for the financial year ended February 28, 2025, a 79.3% YoY decline from $211.93Mn in FY2023. A scan of IPCL’s income statement shows that lower revenues and rising costs caused the decline, even as the company continued its capital expansion strategy following its 2023 IPO.
• Revenues fell by 9.6% ($114.79Mn) to $1.08Bn, reflecting lower diagnostic volumes and pricing pressures across services, particularly X-Ray and CT scans, according to management. With revenues down, gross profit also slipped to $712.3Mn, down from $764.8Mn a year earlier.
• Reflecting higher professional fees and general inflation, administrative expenses also increased, rising by 9.7% YoY to $524.0Mn. More notably, depreciation and amortisation expenses nearly doubled to $108.4Mn, owing to the ramp-up of high-value imaging equipment, including MRI and mammography machines.
• With interest payments on a suite of new loans taken to fund equipment purchases and facility upgrades, finance costs doubled to $38.7Mn from $14.2Mn in FY2023.
• With lower revenues and higher expenses driving the 79.3% decline in net profit, earnings per share declined from J$0.17 in the prior year to $0.04.
• At market close on Wednesday, IPCL’s stock was J$1.03, down 1.9% from Tuesday and 39.9% since the start of the year. At its current price, IPCL trades at a P/E of 25.75x, which is above the Junior Market Health Sector average of 23.26x.

(Source: IPCL & NCBCM Research)