… pernil are how I define Puerto Rican Christmas. And although pork … side of coquito, a Puerto Rican version of eggnog made … with the greatest hits of Puerto Rican Christmas: pernil, arroz con … time we spent Christmas in Puerto Rico.
During the holiday season, …

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The world’s largest airline launched a pair of new routes this week to a Caribbean destination on the rise: St Thomas. 

The latest boosts to St Thomas’ tourism renaissance came with the arrival of new winter flights from both Chicago O’Hare and Dallas-Fort Worth. 

Both of those nonstop flights will be operating weekly on Saturdays, now through April 4, 2020, St Thomas tourism officials confirmed to Caribbean Journal. 

The Chicago-St Thomas flight will be running on an Airbus A319 with 128 seats, while the Dallas-St Thomas flights are operating on Boeing 757s with 176 seats. 

“American Airlines is pleased to provide nonstop service to the beautiful island of St. Thomas from these important hubs,” said Alfredo Gonzalez, American’s Managing Director, Caribbean, in a statement “We would like to thank the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism, the Virgin Islands Port Authority, and other agencies for working seamlessly with us to make these flights possible.”

The new routes come as St Thomas’ tourism sector, still recovering from the storms of 2017, welcomed back the US Virgin Islands’ leading hotel, the Ritz-Carlton, St Thomas, which reopened its doors at the end of last month. 

That complements a strong contingent of hotels that have been operating in St Thomas for some time now, from the beloved Bolongo Bay Beach Resort (Iggy’s, anyone?) to the Secret Harbour hotel. 

And the USVI’s most popular destination will this year see the launch of two more hotels: the transformed Frenchman’s Reef Marriott Resort and Spa, and a new hotel called Noni Beach, a St Thomas Resort. The latter will be a member of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, with the combined openings totaling more than $200 million investment. 

American is also adding more flights to St Thomas out of Miami, with a third daily flight that launched earlier this week. 

“We are delighted to inaugurate these flights which open up and enhance the very important Chicago and Texas markets,” said Joseph Boschulte, Commissioner of the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism. “We are very happy with the deepening of our partnership with American Airlines and look forward to working with their team to bolster airlift to our Territory this winter and beyond.”

St Thomas also serves as a crucial air hub for the neighboring British Virgin Islands, which will undoubtedly see a benefit due to the increased air capacity, too. (While travelers can fly to Tortola through airports like San Juan on Cape Air, St Thomas-Tortola ferry service is also a very popular option). 

The new routes are an important sign of confidence from American, and part of a wider Caribbean expansion American is undertaking throughout the second half of this month. 

— CJ

The post American Airlines Kicks Off Two New Nonstop Routes to St Thomas appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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Another top villa is set to make a comeback on the island of Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. 

The stunning Baraka Point, a 12,000-square-foot villa on the western coast of Virgin Gorda, is set to reopen its doors in the first quarter of 2020, according to the British Virgin Islands Tourist Board. 

Baraka Point, which boasts its own five-person staff and a private chef, is comprised of a main pavilion with an infinity pool, along with amenities like a media room, a guest office, a games pavilion, a gym and even a “relaxation pavilion” for spa treatments. 

That’s along with six king-bed suites and two kids rooms. 

It’s the latest villa to relaunch on an island that has long been one of the Caribbean’s most popular luxury villa destinations. 

Indeed, one of the island’s most spectacular villas, Red Rock, is open and operating once again.

For more, visit Baraka Point. 

— CJ

The post Another Top Virgin Gorda Villa Is Reopening appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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SAN JUAN – Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny distributed … the Convention Center in the Puerto Rican capital were related to … with the aim of elevating Puerto Rico’s musical-cultural level.
… kids in disadvantaged communities in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
…

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Caribbean hotel occupancy and average daily rates continued their 2019 slide in November, according to the latest data report from analytics firm STR. 

Caribbean regional hotel occupancy stood at 63.4 percent in November, a 2.1 percent compared to the same month in 2018. 

That was accompanied by average daily rates of $177.84, a 1.9 percent decline compared to November 2018. 

Last month marked the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year monthly occupancy declines in the Caribbean. 

For the year, Caribbean hotel occupancy is at 63.7 percent, a 2.9 percent decline compared to the first 11 moths of 2018. 

Average daily rates are up, however, with a 6.1 percent increase for the year to $213.65. 

Revenue per available room is at $132.12 for the year, a 3 percent jump compared to least year. 

STR’s report surveyed 1,973 hotels comprising 258,151 rooms in the wider Caribbean region. 

— CJ

The post Hotel Occupancy, Rates Continue to Decline in the Caribbean appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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