A 2022 report from the UNWTO, for example, found that “tourism leakage” amounts to an estimated 80% of all money spent by tourists in the Caribbean region. Another study found that tourism leakage in India may be around 40%.

Tourism leakage is a significant economic challenge in the Caribbean, referring to the phenomenon where a large portion of the revenue generated by tourism "leaks" out of the local economy and back to foreign countries. In many Caribbean nations, this leakage rate is estimated to be as high as 80%. This happens because many of the major hotels, airlines, and tour operators are foreign-owned, meaning their profits go to headquarters in the US or Europe. Additionally, because many islands have limited agricultural or manufacturing sectors, they must import the food, beverages, and construction materials required to sustain the tourism industry. For every dollar spent by a tourist on an all-inclusive resort stay, only about 20 cents might actually stay in the local community to fund schools, infrastructure, and healthcare. In 2026, many Caribbean governments are fighting this by implementing "buy local" initiatives, encouraging hotels to source produce from local farmers, and promoting smaller, locally-owned boutique accommodations to ensure that the "wealth of the islands" benefits the people who live there.