By the Caribbean Journal staff

It’s been a spectacular year so far for tourism in The Bahamas — and it’s gotten even better.

The country just released its first-half stopover visitor numbers, and the result is a 15.2 percent growth rate compared to the first six months of 2017 — and one of the fastest growth rates in the Caribbean.

That added another 110,000 visitors to the destination in the period.

The Bluff House hotel in Abaco.

The double-digit performance was driven by an 8.4 percent surge in arrivals from the United States, and a more than 30 percent increase in arrivals from the Canadian market.

“I have said it often, that I think we are doing extremely well,” Bahamas Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said in a press briefing at the British Colonial Hilton in Nassau this week.

The Baha Mar in Nassau.

According to estimates, the average stopover visitor to The Bahamas spends north of $1,500, the Minister said.

That means an additional revenue injection of $165 million in the first half.

Little Harbor in Abaco.

The increase has come from a number of factors, from a wave of new air routes to the destination, the performance of the Baha Mar megaresort, and, increasingly, a trend of visitors coming to the Out Islands of The Bahamas, particularly the Abaco chain of islands.

“We are very, very bullish on 2018 to see a strong finish to the year,” D’Aguilar said.

The post Bahamas Tourism Is Having a Spectacular Year appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By Alexander Britell and Guy Britton

One of our favorite airport lounges in the Caribbean, well, isn’t at the airport at all.

And it isn’t exactly a lounge either.

But that’s what makes this tiny beach shack on Tortola’s Trellis Bay such a lovable, enjoyable place to wait for your flight.

The drill is simple: check in for your flight at Tortola’s Beef Island Airport, take the two-minute walk to the sand at Trellis Bay, and plop down on one of the bar stools at Marche at Trellis.

The great little cafe has warm service, a cool sea breeze and an impressively broad selection of libations, from rum to surprisingly excellent espresso.

There’s also a host of British Virgin Islands food, from great local stews to a delicious fish and chips.

It’s the place to wait out your flight from Tortola — or the perfect place to unwind after you arrive.

— CJ

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… happy to see Kissimmee embracing Puerto Ricans.
“It’s significant,” Colon … exploded its population in the Puerto Rican community.”
It’s a community … largest population of families from Puerto Rico,” Alvarez said, “so I wanted … , and feel right at home.”
Puerto Rican parades have happened before, but …

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By Caribbean News Now contributor MIAMI, USA — At 5:00 pm EDT on Sunday, the centre of Tropical Storm Isaac was located about 1,390 miles (2,240 km) east of the Windward Islands, moving toward the west near 12 mph (19 km/h) and is expected to become a hurricane by Sunday night. According to the National […]

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By Melanius Alphonse Caribbean News Now associate editor melanius@caribbeannewsnow.com CASTRIES, St Lucia — Capping a week of bizarre reports in the Eastern Caribbean, including an attempt by the prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines to blame a 70-year-old woman for the hurried withdrawal of Peace Corps volunteers from his country and attempts by […]

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