Sandals is expanding its already-popular overwater bungalows in the Caribbean.

The company, which debuted its first overwater villas in Montego Bay, Jamaica earlier this year, as announced nine new “over the water honeymoon butler bungalows” set to open at its Sandals Grande St Lucian property in St. Lucia.

The nine new units are now available for bookings for travel beginning in May, the company said in a statement.

The new bungalows have glass-floor panels, a private outdoor tranquility soaking tub for two, a king-sized bed and overwater hammocks.

The bungalows’ bathrooms have his and hers sinks, a large backlit mirror with mosaic tile and a walk-in rain shower.

Each bungalow also has a private patio with a sun deck, outdoor shower, sun loungers and a bistro set.

Sandals’ “Butler Elite” service and 24-hour room service are included with each room.

See more on the company’s overwater bungalows from Caribbean Journal’s video above.

— CJ

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You can stay like a swimsuit model at Curacao’s Avila Hotel, where the “glamazons” featured in Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue (on newsstands now) stayed while on location for the magazine.

Avila is one of the best places to stay on the island, with a great beachfront location and a wide range mix of accommodations from hotel rooms to larger apartments (or, if you want to splurge, the hotel’s Simon Bolivar suite).

That’s without mentioning the hotel’s famous Blues Bar & Restaurants, one of Curacao’s most happening spots.

To book a stay at the Avila hotel, click here. 

— Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon, CJ Travel Editor

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The Caribbean’s most popular tourism destination continues to see strong growth.

The latest data from the Caribbean Tourism Organization show a total of 5.95 million visitors arriving in the Dominican Republic last year, a 6.7 percent increase compared to 2015.

It’s the kind of growth the destination will need to show to reach its stated goal of 10 million annual stayover tourists by 2023.

The country saw its strongest growth from international tourists outside of hubs in the US, Canada and Europe, meaning a large increase from the sought-after Latin American market.

Indeed, that segment accounted for 1.84 million tourists in 2016, the second-largest total beyond the country’s traditional primary source market, the United States.

— Caribbean Journal Staff

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The French Caribbean island of Martinique is seeing a tourism surge, according to the latest numbers from the Caribbean Tourism Organization.

Martinique reported 519,304 stayover tourist arrivals in 2016, a 6.6 percent increase compared to 2015.

That was one of the fastest tourism growth rates in the Caribbean region in 2016, according to an analysis by Caribbean Journal.

The island has seen growth in large part due to some of the Caribbean’s most forward-thinking digital marketing, significantly increased airlift from carriers like American Airlines and Norwegian and even some new boutique accommodations like the French Coco.

It seems that the island’s efforts over the last few years have been paying off, as more travelers in the highly-targeted US market begin to see the allure of one of the Caribbean’s most fascinating destinations.

— Caribbean Journal Staff

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The Caribbean has a new fastest-growing destination, according to the latest numbers from the Caribbean Tourism Organization: the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The TCI reported 17.5 percent growth in tourist arrivals in 2016, the highest of any destination in the Caribbean region.

That resulted in a total of 453,612 tourist arrivals in the archipelago.

It was driven by strong growth out of the United States, Canada and other international markets.

US traffic in particular rose by 16.1 percent, while Canadian tourism to the Turks and Caicos rose by 23.2 percent.

The former got a big boost thanks to the late 2015 launch of daily flights from Fort Lauderdale to Providenciales on JetBlue Airways.

The Shore Club.

The outlook for 2017 is strong too, thanks to the debut of several new hotels, led by the ultra-luxe Shore Club resort in Providenciales and the boutique Sailrock property on largely undeveloped South Caicos.

Sailrock on South Caicos.

The next fastest-growing destination was Belize, which posted growth of 13 percent and a total of 385,583 arrivals.

— Caribbean Journal Staff

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