SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Puerto Rican press and social media have been active this week with the news that Lin-Manuel Miranda has become the most recent winner of the prestigious Pulitzer prize in the drama genre with his musical Hamilton, which he composed and wrote.
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Above: the Playa Grande Beach Club
Caribbean hotels are off to a very slow start so far in 2016, according to new data from hotel analytics firm STR.
The region’s hotels reported occupancy of 74 percent in March, down 4.5 percent compared to March 2015.
It was the largest single-month decline in the Caribbean since April 2013.
That followed a similarly sluggish showing in February, when Caribbean hotel occupancy fell by 3.9 percent year over year to 75.6 percent.
For the year, hotel occupancy in the Caribbean stood at 73.1 percent through March, down 3.3 percent from the first quarter of 2015.
While average daily rates rose by 1.8 percent to $293.51 percent last month, the region’s hotels saw a 2.8 percent decline in revenue per available room to $217.32.
STR’s data surveyed 1,940 hotels comprising 236,806 rooms in the Caribbean.
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By the Caribbean Journal staff
The Dominican Republic has high hopes for 2016.
The country is projecting a total of 6 million total stayover visitors this year, according to the country’s Ministry of Tourism.
That projection comes after the country easily led the entire Caribbean in total visitor numbers last year, with just under 5.6 million.
The Dominican Republic already saw a growth rate of 8 percent in the first quarter of 2016.
The country has a stated goal of reaching 10 million annual tourist arrivals by 2023, an ambition first revealed in 2013.
the numbers were revealed on the heels of the DATE tourism conference in Punta Cana last week.
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By Guy Britton
A major new hotel is coming to one of the Dominican Republic’s up-and-coming destinations.
Amhsa Marina Hotel and Resorts has announced plans to launch construction of the Kaeeni Beach Hotel in the Las Galeras beach enclave of the country.
The Samana-area property will include 336 rooms and will be an all-inclusive resort.
It will become the largest luxury establishment in Las Galeras.
One of the company’s existing properties in Las Galeras
The property will have five restaurants (four a la carte), all of which will be ocean view.
It is slated to open in September 2017.
The project was announced during the DATE Dominican Annual Tourism Exchange in Punta Cana last week.
“The Kaeeni Beach Hotel is designed as a concept that mixes nature and luxury with the biggest all-inclusive in Las Galeras,” said Mariel Lopez, marketing director for the company.
The Dominican-owned Amhsa Marina Hotels and Resorts manages hotels including the Grand Paradise Samana, the Casa Marina Reef, the Grand Paradise Playa Dorada and others in the country.
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