Jamaica is getting a wave of new airlift for the upcoming winter tourist season, officials told Caribbean Journal.
The destination has secured almost 80,000 new air seats for the period, in order to meet what officials called “increased demand from travelers.”
The vast majority of those seats are coming from the northeastern United States, with more than 64,000 additional seats, largely out of New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia.
That includes United Airlines’ increased frequency from Newark to Montego Bay, along with American Airlines’ increase in service to Montego Bay from Philadelphia, among others.
Jamaica has been seeing a surge in tourism arrivals so far this year, with more than 2 million stayover visitors through the end of September.
That represents a 9.1 percent increase over the same period in 2018, Jamaica’s highest arrival growth rate in years.
That’s been buoyed by strong growth out of the all-important United States source market, which has sent 13.5 percent more travelers to Jamaica in the period.
“We’re pleased with the growing demand for travel options to Jamaica, and the increased airlift makes the destination even more accessible for winter travelers,” said Donovan White, Jamaica’s director of tourism.
It’s been a banner year so far for tourism in the Cayman Islands, and the numbers continue to climb for what is one of the hottest destinations in the wider Caribbean.
The tri-island destination has seen 386,290 stayover visitors through the first three quarters of 2019, representing a 10.3 percent increase over the same period in 2018.
That number is among the fastest growth rates of any destination in the Caribbean, according to data from the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s most recent report.
Last month, in what is typically a slow month for the region, Cayman posted a 5.76 percent increase compared to October 2018.
The Kimpton Seafire resort in Grand Cayman.
Overall, the growth has been led by a 10.5 percent increase from the all-important United States market, which sent Cayman 325,696 visitors so far this year, a jump of 10.5 percent.
“It is reaffirming to hear first-hand the positive impact our stayover strategy is having on stimulating tourism businesses’ profit margin during what we consider traditional shoulder season,” said Cayman Islands Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell.
And visitors are spending, too.
Little Cayman in the Cayman Islands.
Stayover visitors have spent more than $560.9 million so far this year, itself an 11.3 percent increase over the first nine months of 2018, according to new data from the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism. (That represented an increase of $57.1 million).
“The Ministry has been steadfast in its commitment to our sector and the community at large to create more opportunities for entrepreneurship, training and development for those interested in tourism related endeavours, endeavours that largely rely on air arrivals to maintain a successful business model,” Kirkconnell said.
Seven Mile Beach.
The numbers come as the Cayman Islands recently announced that it had topped 7,000 total accommodation units,, a significant milestone and a strong harbinger for Cayman’s continued growth.
The tourism improvement has been buoyed by several factors, from a continued, robust marketing push to a rapid expansion in airlift over the last several years.
Virgin Atlantic is expanding its flights from the United Kingdom to Barbados next year.
The airline will be adding a new weekly flight from Manchester to Barbados for the whole of the summer of 2020, the company confirmed.
The new flight is part of a wider expansion for Virgin Atlantic at Manchester Airport.
The expansion is “the latest phase in our growth strategy at Manchester, our home in the North,” said Juha Jarvinen, EVP Commercial at Virgin Atlantic.
The overwater pool at Port Ferdinand in Barbados.
“In September we committed to 30,000 additional seats from Manchester for Winter 2019 and today, we are expanding on that with an extra 43,000 seats to key leisure destinations for Summer 2020, which is a clear sign of our ambition to offer increased choice to our customers travelling from the North West,” Jarvinen said.
Virgin Atlantic is also adding a new Clubhouse at Manchester Airport in the spring of 2020, the company said.
It will be open to Virgin’s Upper Class and Gold Card members, with amenities including a spa, a full-service bar and a la carte dining.
… a Senate hearing this spring, Puerto Rican Department of Agriculture officials testified … of the Government of Puerto Rico.”
Fortunately, in Puerto Rico there are irrigation channels … shortages of bottled water, Puerto Ricans drank from mountain springs and …
In what is easily one of the most anticipated relaunches in the Caribbean in several years, the Ritz-Carlton St Thomas has officially reopened its doors.
The Ritz-Carlton, St Thomas, long the leading hotel in the United States Virgin Islands, began welcoming guests again on Saturday, Nov. 23.
The Great Bay beach resort had been shuttered since suffering damage during Hurricane Irma in 2017.
In what the property is calling a “new era of island-inspired elegance,” the resort has been redesigned and updated, with renovation Marriott pegged at $100 million.
What a room looks like.
The new Ritz-Carlton St Thomas has a transformed infinity pool; a kids’ pool; a reimagined club lounge and four dining concepts, from a Sicilian eatery called Alloro to the US Virgin Islands-inspired Coconut Cove, all with a focus on farm-to-table dining and locally-sourced ingredients.
That’s along with amenities like the brand’s signature Ritz Kids programming; tennis courts and a newly-added 55-foot catamaran for private excursions.
There’s also a heavy menu of daily activities, from fitness classes like yoga and cardio and resort garden tours to a daily rum tasting and complimentary use of snorkel gear, among other touches.
The Coconut Cove eatery.
The Ritz-Carlton St Thomas is also adding a second family pool which is slated to open in January 2020, according to the property.
The return of the 180-room-and-suite hotel is a significant boost for the USVI and its ongoing tourism recovery, particularly for the USVI’s luxury market.
The latter resort will be opening under Marriott’s Autograph Collection brand; the two properties’ openings will mean a combined investment of $200 million.
Ritz-Carlton’s Caribbean portfolio includes resorts in Puerto Rico, Cancun, Aruba and Grand Cayman.
