Its Official.- Royal Caribbean and MSC cancel sailings over coronavirus fears
Royal Caribbean International and MSC Cruises have cancelled sailings from Shanghai amid concerns over the Chinese coronavirus outbreak.
WTTC Global Summit in Cancun, Mexico
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) announces its annual Global Summit will now be held in Cancun, with a major event in San Juan, Puerto Rico to be held later this year.
US President Blocks Visas for Pregnant Caribbean Women On ‘Birth Tourism’
United States President Donald J. Trump says he’s taking action to combat “birth tourism,” a practice in which he says Caribbean women and other nationals travel to the United States with the purpose of giving birth to gain citizenship for their children.
The Caribbean has festivals for all of us this year
Representatives from more than a dozen Caribbean destinations held a press event at the New York Times Travel show.
New CEO appointed for Nevis Tourism Authority
The Nevis Tourism Authority, (NTA) has a new CEO. The NTA Board of Directors conducted an exhaustive review of more than 40 applicants. These 40+ applicants were shortlisted based on their knowledge of the destination, background in tourism, industry experience and qualifications. The board conducted extensive interviews with the finalists which focused on their vision to grow the destination, relevant and creative traditional and digital marketing strategies, proposals for engaging domestic and international stakeholders, human resource competencies and the ability to manage limited resources. Ms. Jadine Yarde has been selected as the new head of the NTA. She is an American born, and has Barbadian and Grenadian citizenship. Ms. Yarde has lived in the major US cities of Boston and New York for the majority of her life, before moving to Barbados and working in tourism, marketing and entertainment and later as a consultant in both Barbados and Grenada. She has [...]
TTC Especial. Uncertainty and bankruptcy slowed world tourism in 2019
The growth of world tourism was not as expected in 2019 and the obstacles were uncertainty due to the deceleration of the planetary economy and a bankruptcy that seems unforgettable by the gigantic British operator Thomas Cook.
Point of View: Festive New Orleans conga in Havana defies Trump Cuba policy
New Orleans and Cuban brass musicians paraded joyously through Havana on Wednesday as part of the city’s annual jazz festival and in defiance of the Trump administration’s efforts to weaken U.S.-Cuba relations.
It’s official: Port Royal pier in Jamaica welcomed its first cruise ship ever
Photo: Rute Peterkin/123rf The Port Royal pier in Jamaica welcomed its first cruise ship ever on January 20. The pier was built centuries ago but was destroyed by the massive 1692 earthquake in Port Royal before any cruise ship could have docked in the town. The Marella Discovery II, which was the lead ship of the Vision Class of cruisers originally operated by Royal Caribbean International, docked at 8:09 am. The vessel was scheduled to arrive at 7:30 am. Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett reported that some 2,000 passengers are said to be onboard. Scores of residents and visitors to the old town converged at the newly renovated pier — several with smartphones in hand to capture the historic moment. Residents of Port Royal are ecstatic about the many job opportunities that they expect to come along with the reopening of the pier. Source: Caribbean National Weekly
57 Dominican Republic companies present in FITUR
Photo: TTC The Dominican Republic was present with 57 national companies in the 40th international tourism fair FITUR, from January 22 to 26, 2020, where its tourism leadership in the Caribbean was reaffirmed. The Dominican delegation headed by Tourism minister Francisco Javier García, who said that this scenario is a platform to reinforce the work done by the institution so that more European tourists visit this country. “The Ministry of Tourism works hard to continue being the leader of tourism in the Caribbean. And participation in international fairs such as FITUR is part of our work and promotion strategy,” said the official. Source: Dominican Today
Cayman has highest hotel rates in the Caribbean
Geroge Town, cyman islands. Photo: Ramunas Bruzas/123rf With a hotel room costing on average US$462.74 a night, the hotel industry in Cayman has the highest mean daily rates in the Caribbean. Valuation firm Integra Realty Resources reported in its Caribbean Hospitality Market Update for the final quarter of 2019 that average daily hotel rates in Cayman increased 24.71% from the previous year. The 12-month data ending in October 2019, taken from travel research firm STR, excluded the Turks and Caicos Islands, which had only reported rates from a handful of very high-priced hotels making its sample unreliable. Cayman is leading the Caribbean Islands in average daily rate growth while also experiencing strong increases in arrivals and occupancy, the report found. Occupancy rates in Cayman jumped 9% to 68.9% and stayover arrivals grew by 10%. Source: Cayman Compass