… and environmental sciences visited Puerto Rico during spring break to … , Chavez (MET) visited Puerto Rico to learn about the ways … to record-breaking levels.
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By Alexander Britell
It’s no secret that tourism in The Bahamas is hot — but what’s different right now is the sheer diversity of the growth.
The Bahamas posted a blistering 16.7 percent increase in stayover visitor arrivals last year, easily among the biggest numbers in the Caribbean region.
And that growth unsurprisingly was felt in the country’s primary tourism hub of Nassau and Paradise Island.
The lobby at the new Rosewood Baha Mar.
Indeed, the major hotels in Nassau and Paradise Island saw a 34 percent increase in room revenues last year, gains not seen in the last decade, according to new data from the Ministry of Tourism.
““This is welcomed, heart warming news, at a time when we are endeavoring to drive our nation’s economy into higher gear,” said Bahamas Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar.
But that growth also included a sizzling 9.1 percent increase in overall visitor arrivals to Grand Bahama — along with a 14.9 percent jump in land and sea arrivals in the Out Islands of The Bahamas.
The Baha Mar is coming into its own and making a massive impact.
It’s part of a coalescence across the destination, from a strong surge in new airlift, more strategic brand positioning and a coming of age of sorts for the Baha Mar megaresort on New Providence’s Cable Beach, each factor strengthening the other.
“Over the last eighteen months, we have had several top brand hotels come on stream, namely the full opening of Baha Mar with its signature brands, the Rosewood, the Grand Hyatt and SLS,” D’Aguilar said. “The increased room inventory has generated increased airlift.”
Greenwood Beach on Cat Island, one of many destinations beyond Nassau and Paradise Island that are seeing growth.
It’s growth that seems well positioned to continue, with development and buzz only strengthening across the destination.
That’s led, of course, by what’s happening in downtown Nassau, where the $250 million Margaritaville development (part of the larger The Pointe project) has accompanied a full-fledged renaissance of the area’s historic quarter buoyed in large part by the growing footprint of the Graycliff Hotel and its Heritage Village.
A “park” setting would be an integral part of a planned transformation of Nassau’s cruise port.
Paradise Island, too, continues to solidify its gains, from the entry several years ago of the Warwick adults-only all-inclusive to a revamped Riu hotel to a wave of redevelopment and upgrades at Atlantis Paradise Island, long the destination’s major center of gravity. Not to mention a huge redevelopment of the Hurricane Hole Marina already in the works.
The Warwick Bahamas.
And there’s more on the way, from a major new cruise port redevelopment in Nassau to a five-star project on the pristine shores of Long Island called Port St George — and Richard Branson’s plans to turn a stretch of beach in Bimini into a happening cruise port for his new Virgin Voyages brand.
Jose Andres last year opened his new Fish by Jose Andres at Atlantis, part of a surging culinary scene.
Indeed, Bimini, just 50 miles from the coast of Miami, has been seeing its own growth in recent years thanks to the Resorts World Bimini project and traditional properties like the Bimini Big Game Club).
Plainly, the Bahamas is hot — and it’s only getting hotter.
— CJ
The post The Bahamas Is Hot Right Now appeared first on Caribbean Journal.
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By the Caribbean Journal staff
A first-of-its kind Caribbean real estate conference is coming to Boca Raton, Fla.
The Caribbean Real Estate & Investment Summit, presented by The Agency Collective-Florida, The Agency Turks and Caicos and The PLS.com, will bring together some of the top-producing agents, developers, architects, bankers and lawyers from across the region.
“The Agency is delighted to host the first annual Caribbean Real Estate and Investment Summit,” the company said in a statement. “In the spirit of collaboration, these experts will share their networks, market assessments and experience for the benefit of all.”
The conference will be headlined by a pair of panels: “Regional Market Trends,” moderated by James V. Andrews of Integra Realty Resources; and “Selling the Caribbean,” moderated by Caribbean Journal editor-in-chief Alexander Britell.
The conference will be held at The Agency’s offices in Boca Raton on April 5 from 9 AM to 6PM.
For more, contact Gina De Varona at gina.devarona@theagencyre.com.
— CJ
The post A Major Caribbean Real Estate Conference appeared first on Caribbean Journal.
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The mayor of Puerto Rico‘s capital … to decide the future of Puerto Rico‘s political status. … #39;s commonwealth status.
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello of the … seek a second term.
Puerto Rico will hold general elections in …
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By the Caribbean Journal staff
After a year of struggle in 2018, the Caribbean’s hotel industry is seeing continued momentum in 2019, according to the latest data fro analytics firm STR.
The region’s hotel occupancy was 74.4 percent in February, a 1.2 percent increase compared to the same month in 2018.
More crucially, however, it was the third consecutive month of positive year-over-year occupancy growth, the first time that’s happened in the Caribbean since the beginning of 2015.
Average daily rates rose by 6.9 percent in the same period to $271.13, while revenue per available room surged by 9 percent to $173.23 in February.
For the year, the region’s hotel occupancy is up by 0.9 percent to 71.5 percent, while daily rates are up by 7.1 percent at $259.48 and RevPar is up 8 percent to $193.05.
STR’s data surveyed 1,971 hotels comprising a total of 253,744 rooms in the wider Caribbean region.
— CJ
The post Caribbean Hotels Gaining Momentum appeared first on Caribbean Journal.
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