The past year has changed a lot about the travel industry. What hasn’t changed is the world’s love affair with the Caribbean — and while intrepid travelers have already been returning to the region’s shores, demand (and arrival numbers) are expected to surge this year. The Caribbean took a calculated risk in reopening last summer, and the region has largely shown that tourism re-openings, even amid the current challenges, can be done so safely with the adequate protocols. The latest edition of the Best Caribbean Islands to Visit takes you on a whirlwind journey across the entire Caribbean Basin, from places far off the travel radar to some well-known destinations currently undergoing makeovers. So if you’re planning a trip to the Caribbean in 2021, this is where you should start. Here are our favorite Caribbean islands for 2021.
Bonaire You’ll fall in love. Sure, Bonaire was once just marine destination, a place reserved for adventurers with fins or sails. But the last decade has seen this Dutch Caribbean gem truly come into its own, with one of the region’s great gastronomic scenes (including the number one restaurant in the Caribbean, Brass Boer), a growing collection of exceptional hotels like the Harbour Village and the Delfins Beach Resort and an invigorating, breezy personality that will immediately tug on your heartstrings.
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St Kitts and Nevis has extended its suspension of service from the United Kingdom until Jan. 16, 2021.
International travelers who arrive from the U.K. will be required to quarantine at their hotel for the duration of their stay in the federation, or mandatory 14-day quarantine period.
The U.K. has reported a new strain of coronavirus which, according to the WHO, has “increased transmissibility.”
As a result, several nations have suspended travel from the U.K. until more is known about the variant.
The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis noted that it will continue to monitor the developing situation in the U.K., and will update the protocols accordingly.
Everyone who had arrived to St. Kitts from the UK to date was required to present a negative RT-PCR test upon arrival, underwent a health screening at the airport and will remain at their approved hotel and undergo serial testing for the duration of their stay in St. Kitts & Nevis.
Travelers have been advised to regularly check the St. Kitts Tourism Authority and Nevis Tourism Authority websites for updates and information on travel requirements.
The Caribbean is mourning one of the titan’s of the region’s tourism industry, with the passing of Gordon “Butch” Stewart, the founder and chairman of Sandals Resorts International.
Stewart was 79.
Stewart was known for creating the all-inclusive giant, Sandals Resorts International, which began in Jamaica before becoming a region-wide powerhouse with brands including Sandals and Beaches.
“Our father was a singular personality; an unstoppable force who delighted in defying the odds by exceeding expectations and whose passion for his family was matched only by the people and possibility of the Caribbean, for whom he was a fierce champion,” said Adam Stewart, who is the Deputy Chairman of Sandals Resorts International. “Nothing, except maybe a great fishing day, could come before family to my dad. And while the world understood him to be a phenomenal businessman – which he was, his first and most important devotion was always to us. We will miss him terribly forever.”
Many travel experts credit Sandals for making the all-inclusive market in the Caribbean as lucrative and successful as it has been.
Stewart turned the former Bay Roc hotel into Sandals Montego Bay in 1981, the company’s first-ever resort.
According to a statement issued by Vanessa Ledesma, acting CEO and director general of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, “Our industry will forever be indebted to ‘Butch’ for his continued passion for excellence and legendary Caribbean hospitality. His vision has bestowed to the global industry a Caribbean organization that adheres to the highest standards of excellence, celebrates and promotes the region’s uniqueness, and invests in the development of our people and communities.”
Stewart, who was one of the first winners of the Caribbean Hotelier of the Year award, “was a great supporter of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association and an inspiration to so many of us in the region,” according to the statement.
“Butch Stewart loved Sandals,” Sandals Resorts International said in a statement. “At the time of his passing, he was hard at work on plans for the recently announced expansions to the Dutch island of Curaçao and St. Vincent.”
Condolences for Stewart poured in from around the region, from destinations where Stewart had hotels like Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Lucia to the US Virgin Islands, where officials hailed effect on the growth of tourism and its impact on Caribbean communities.
Such was Stewart’s influence on the wider region and its economy.
“I have had the privilege of working with Mr. Stewart over many years, and his passion and vision for tourism in Jamaica and across the wider Caribbean region is unparalleled,” said John Lynch, Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board. “He will be remembered for his groundbreaking work in growing the all-inclusive concept here and in the Caribbean and we’re confident his rich legacy will be preserved.”
The Bahamas, where Stewart had three hotels, including in Nassau and Exuma, said in a statement “Butch impacted our national economy by directing the crafting of a signature vacation experience — the Sandals vacation — which has become an integral part of the tourism product of The Islands of The Bahamas.”
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Butch Stewart, a key partner in our tourism enterprise who has left an indelible mark on the Bahamas’s hospitality sector,” said said Bahamas Minister of Tourism & Aviation, Dionisio D’Aguilar. “Butch’s vision for hospitality will live on to be enjoyed by future guests at Nassau’s Sandals Royal Bahamian as well as Sandals Emerald Bay and Fowl Cay Resort in Exuma.”
Sandals said those wishing to share memories and condolences could do so by emailing allthatsgood@sandals.com.
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