By the Caribbean Journal staff

Aruba’s hottest music festival has a major headliner for this year’s edition: global superstar Alicia Keys.

Keys will join a stacked list of performers, including Maxwell and Marlon Wayans, among others, for the festival, which takes place May 23-28.

“Now in its 18th year, The Soul Beach Music Festival has become one of Aruba’s most sought-after events, bringing together world-renowned musical artists and comedians over a span of five days,” said Ronella Tjin Asjoe-Croes, CEO of Aruba Tourism Authority (ATA). “The One happy island welcomes visitors and locals alike to indulge in Aruba’s natural beauty, including Eagle Beach, the No. 4 beach in the world, and cutting-edge arts scene.”

Aruba.

Keys will headline the proceedings on May 26, while Maxwell will headline May 27.

Wayans will headline the festival’s comedy night.

“We are thrilled to be back in Aruba with an impressive lineup featuring Alicia Keys, Maxwell, and Marlon Wayans,” said Mark Adkins, Executive Producer of Soul Beach Festival Productions. “Soul Beach continues to provide an amazing time to hang out with friends and create memories that will last a lifetime. The island of Aruba elevates this event from a Music Festival to a Music Paradise.”

The post Alicia Keys to Headline Aruba Soul Beach Music Festival appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Eastern Caribbean is home to one of the few examples of a regional monetary authority experimenting with blockchain technology.

This week, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) announced a pilot project with Bitt Inc., a blockchain startup based in Barbados. The memorandum of understanding with the ECCB calls for testing Bitt’s technology to implement know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money-laundering (AML) screening. KYC and AML are common regulatory requirements for banks or money transfer businesses.

According to Timothy N. J. Antoine, Governor of the ECCB, “This fintech pilot is part of the Bank’s Strategic Plan 2017-2021. The aim of the pilot is to ascertain the suitability of blockchain technology to help boost economic growth and competitiveness in the region consistent with the ECCB’s monetary and financial stability objectives. Furthermore, as the ECCB promotes the safety and soundness of the financial system in the ECCU, it also has a responsibility to encourage and support innovation consistent with the Bank’s mandate to facilitate the balanced growth and development of member countries. To that end, blockchain technology merits our attention and consideration at this time”.

ECCB member nations include Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Blockchain is an emerging technology based on a distributed ledger or database.

The database is shared and supported by mutual participants whose concerted efforts are to maintain a communal decentralized digital bookkeeping system. The underlying data structure, called a blockchain, is stored in sequential blocks that are appended through a highly secure cryptographic process or proving mechanism.

To make those blocks reliable and secure, the “trustless” blockchain system appends data to a blockchain that cannot be altered by man or machine.

Bitcoin is the original currency to use blockchain technology on a large scale. There has never been a breach of Bitcoin’s blockchain despite nearly a decade of existence.

Newer innovations in blockchain technology allow for more advanced features to be built into the blockchain, such as AML and KYC mentioned above.

The promise for implementing blockchain technology in a regional monetary system is to reduce cost and time in money transfers.

In 2016, Bitt, Inc raised $16 million in venture financing from Medici Ventures, an arm of Overstock.com, a publicly-traded U.S. ecommerce company.

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By Alexander Britell

In another strong sign for Puerto Rico’s quickly-rebounding tourism sector, one of the island’s most popular resorts has reopened its doors.

The Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Puerto Rico Golf and Beach Resort officially relaunched earlier this month, following the completion of a multimillion-dollar renovation project.

The renovation project included “refreshed” spaces including the lobby, along with an updated Tiki Hut, a renovated Barista Cafe and a new “Caicu Rum Bar,” focusing on rum cocktails and a selection of rare private reserve rums.

The Wyndham also spent $1.2 million renovating the Marbella restaurant.

“It brings me great pleasure to see guests basking under the Puerto Rican sun once again,” says Nils Stolzlechner, general manager of Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Puerto Golf & Beach Resort, told Caribbean Journal “I love hearing the buzz around our new Caicu rum bar, the renovated Marbella restaurant, and watching guests enjoy all of the refreshed spaces on property.”

Its the top golf destination in Puerto Rico right now.

Puerto Rico officials are urging the public that the best way to help the island recover is to come visit — and the Wyndham has strengthened that effort with a donation of every dollar of every room night booked the next two months for the El Yunque Rainforest Restoration Fund.

The Wyndham Grand, long one of Puerto Rico’s top destinations outside of San Juan, is home to a pair of 18-hole golf courses, a 7,000-square-foot spa and a mile of beachfront adjacent to El Yunque.

The post Puerto Rico’s Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Is Open Again appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

Major cruise line TUI is coming back to Antigua.

After an absence of three years, TUI Cruises has confirmed that it has added St John’s, Antigua back to its 14-day Caribbean itineraries.

With 13 transit calls in the winter season of 2019-2020, around 38,000 TUI passengers will be visiting Antigua on board the company’s Mein Schiff fleet.

That will mean an estimated $1 million in revenue for Antigua, according to the company, in addition to the revenue generated in onshore spending.

TUI had been a frequent caller to Antigua in the winter seasons from 2009-2015.

With a fleet of six ships, TUI will remain an important caller for the fast-growing destiantion.

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By Alexander Britell

For the first time ever, you can now fly nonstop from New York to St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Caribbean Airlines launched the first-ever New York-St Vincent flights this week, a major new service that finally connects the United States and St Vincent and the Grenadines without the need for a second flight.

The historic flight arrived at St Vincent’s new Argyle International Airport on Tuesday, a new weekly service that will operate on Wednesdays.

Palm Island in the Grenadines.

It’s a significant boost for both St Vincent and the Grenadines, with the latter home to some of the most beautiful resorts in the Caribbean, from the private-island Palm Island resort to some of the charming boutique hotels on the nearby island of Bequia.

Bequia has long been one of the Caribbean’s best-kept secrets.

Up until the launch of the service, St Vincent was only accessible via regional flights from nearby islands like Saint Lucia and Barbados.

The boutique Grenadine House on the island of St Vincent.

Now, travelers can reach St Vincent, a lush, naturally beautiful destination that’s long been off the global travel radar, and take short flights to nearby islands from Bequia to Union Island to ultra-luxe Mustique.

Mustique.

It’s the second significant launch for St Vincent, which welcomed the first-ever Air Canada flights from Toronto to St Vincent at the end of 2017.

The post Caribbean Airlines Launches Nonstop New York-St Vincent Flights appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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