The British Virgin Islands is seeing a major tourism rebound so far this year, according to the latest data from the Caribbean Tourism Organization.

The British Virgin Islands reported 172,776 stayover tourist arrivals in the first half of 2019, representing a 93.5 percent increase over the same period in 2018.

That amounts to a strong recovery for the destination in the last two years since the impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on the BVI.

Cruise tourism is also surging, with a total of 352,768 cruise passengers reported in the first half.

That represented a nearly 900 percent jump in the same period, the highest increase in cruise tourism of any Caribbean destination in the first half.

Indeed, the BVI’s tourism product has seen a significant renaissance over the last two years, as more and more hotels have reopened and charter sailing and yachting operations continue to strengthen.

In January, the BVI’s signature hotel, Rosewood Little Dix Bay, will be reopening its doors as well.

— CJ

The post British Virgin Islands Tourism Is Surging appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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The Cayman Islands has topped the 7,000-room milestone, tourism officials told Caribbean Journal this week. 

The destination has added more than 1,000 new rooms in the last three years, with the condominium and villa categories accounting for 73 percent of that increase, according to a statement. 

The Cayman Islands now has a total of 7,027 rooms available across its three destinations, including 6,646 in Grand Cayman, 220 in Cayman Brac and 161 in Little Cayman. 

“We have seen continued interest from the community to embrace entrepreneurship opportunities in tourism through homesharing, which accounts for 32.2% of the total rooms now available,” said Cayman Islands Deputy Premier and Minister for Tourism, the Honourable Moses Kirkconnell. “Through the Ministry and Department of Tourism’s commitment to facilitating annual training and educational forums led by international partners such as Airbnb, as well as meeting regularly with potential developers to provide business solutions, we are extremely proud to now offer the largest and most diverse room stock numbers available to our visitors.”  In total, as of 31 October 2019, there are currently 799 licensed properties representing 9,958 beds.”

Of those rooms, condos and villas account for approximately 4,310 rooms, compared to 2,717 rooms in the hotel category. 

“As the Cayman Islands gears up for what is anticipated to be another active winter season around the globe, we encourage our tourism partners—whether new to the industry or long-established — to continue providing our world-renowned warmth through our Caymankind hospitality and our rich cultural experiences,” Kirkconnell said. “The efforts we make today will secure friends of Cayman for a lifetime and allow others to share in the essence of ‘Dreaming in Cayman’ We congratulate all tourism partners as we continue to work together to maximize our destination achievements.”

– CJ

The post Cayman Islands Tops 7,000-Room Milestone appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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The sun was boldest in the late afternoon and if you looked up for a moment from the sparkle of the pool, you could see the goat on the high rock. 

It was the kind of view one could only find here in Anse des Cayes, in northwestern interior of St Barth, a lush, rugged, raw and wonderful corner of one of the Caribbean’s most beautiful little islands. 

On an island that does not lack for fame or renown, Anse des Cayes remains something of a secret, a haven of privacy in place that already has a surfeit of it. 

Anse des Cayes is quiet enclave of St Barth, a place where nature comes right up to you, from the uninhabited cays floating across the water 

And WIMCO’s Villa ABR, this sleek, newly-built, four-bedroom stunner of a home in the Anse de Lezards section of Anse de Cayes, only reinforces that notion, the quintessence of indoor-outdoor living. 

Because best of indoor-outdoor spaces leave no barrier between the home and the view, between the people and the event. 

And this is a place that almost demands you to be outside, with a pool that seems like it was somehow carved right out of the ocean itself

No matter where you stand, you can see the sea, no matter where you sit, you’re connected to the intoxicating blues before you, whether you’re preparing a ti’ punch in the kitchen or doing yoga on the patio. 

Because in the best villas, there’s nothing between you and the day, nothing between you and your designs of the perfect vacation. 

The more days you spend here, the more afternoons in the pool become an inescapable rite, hours of peering out to the little cays buffeted by the froth of Caribbean waves. 

And then, for a moment, you somehow turn around and look up, and see one of the most majestic sights in nature, a silhouette on a boulder at the peak of the cliffs, peering at you in approval. 

Because you’re clearly in the right place. 

For more, visit Villa ABR. 

See more in the latest CJ Video at the top of the page.

— CJ

The post In St Barth, an Essential Caribbean Villa appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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