By the Caribbean Journal staff

Global travel and hospitality company Apple Leisure Group has named Alejandro Reynal as its new chief executive officer, the firm announced this week.

In what the company called a “planned transition,” Reynal will succeed Alex Zozaya in the role.

Zozaya will, in turn, serve in a full-time capacity as executive chairman and lead Apple Leisure Group’s board of directors.

Both appointments are already effective.

In the new role, Reynal will oversee the fast-growing ALG, which is made up of a collection of susbisidary companies including AMResorts, whose global portfolio has 66 resorts.

Reynal was most recently the CEO of Atento, a global customer relationship management and business process outsourcing company.

The company’s subsidiaries also include Amstar DMC, Worldstar, Apple Vacations, Travel Impressions, Cheap Caribbean and others.

“It gives me great pleasure to welcome Alejandro to ALG as we enter the next phase of the company’s evolution and growth,” said Zozaya. “Over the past 20 years, I have had the privilege to participate in the many stages of ALG’s exciting trajectory – from the creation of AMResorts, a leading provider of exceptional vacation experiences in Mexico, the Caribbean, Costa Rica and Panama, to the Group’s entrance into Europe. I am confident Alejandro will drive innovation across ALG globally, execute the Group’s long-term growth strategy, and bring our vision for the future to life

Zozaya said the “long-planned” transition would keep him “actively engaged and invested in ALG.”

“We are fortunate to have an outstanding leadership team that already represents the best of the best in travel distribution, destination management, resort management and vacation club operations. I want to personally thank the ALG Executive Committee for their contributions, especially our President John Hutchinson, who has been my right hand and an invaluable resource for the past two years,” he said.

— CJ

The post Apple Leisure Group Names New CEO appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

It’s become a rather important stop on the sustainability circuit in the Caribbean: St Estatius’ Statia Sustainability Conference, now in its eighth year.

And now the Dutch Caribbean destination is putting its focus on Caribbean festivals, with a theme of “Culture, Festivals, the Economy – A Sustainable Way Forward.”

This year’s conference at Statia’s Mike van Putten Youth Centre will include presenters like Allen Cooper, Anthony Reid, and Gerjanne Voortman,  with the agenda set for Sept. 27-28. 

It’s a major event for Statia, the tiny getaway a short flight from St Maarten often dubbed “The Hidden Treasure” of the Caribbean.

The St. Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation is hosting the event.

For more, visit StatiaStatia.

– CJ

The post Statia’s Big Sustainability Conference appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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Puerto Rico’s standout player was David …

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By Alexander Britell

On Sept. 8, 1932, the biggest storm ever recorded in Abaco pummeled the island, destroying hundreds of homes and killing 10 people, just enough to land it on page 22 of the Sept. 9 edition of the New York Times.

Today, Hurricane Dorian and its landfall in Abaco and Grand Bahama is on the front page of every newspaper around the world.

That our hearts and minds and attentions are so intensely focused on the events and people in the northwestern Bahamas this week is a testament not just to the power of the Internet but to what this wonderful corner of the world, The Bahamas, has come to mean to so many around the world, in the last eight decades.

The horror of Hurricane Dorian is at the forefront of the news this week, an unholy tempest that has brought devastation to these corners of the 700-island chain of The Bahamas: Abaco and Grand Bahama.

There is nothing in these pages that can do justice to what has been seen and felt in Abaco and Grand Bahama, the tragedy and suffering inflicted by the wrath of Mother Nature, the periodic price of paradise, homes destroyed and lives lost.

But as we send our prayers — and, most importantly, our relief, it is not just about today.

It is about tomorrow, and all the tomorrows for Abaco and Grand Bahama, and how we can all make a difference.

We are blessed to be able to tell the daily story of this most beautiful place in the world, and it is unfortunate charge of these pages to also write of catastrophes beyond our ability to describe them.

But what we have learned is the uncanny, impossibly inspiring resilience of the people who inhabit the islands of this region, from Grand Bahama down to the southern edge of the Caribbean Sea.

And after every storm, after every Matthew, after every Irma, after every Maria, the people of these islands strengthen. They build, they grow, and they come back even greater.

Abaco and Grand Bahama, two wonderful, beautiful, magical places, will be strengthened by their people and will rebuild, as they always do, as Bahamians always do.

But you can help.

And that means, in the short term, sending relief to the Bahamas Red Cross or the work Jose Andres is doing to provide food for Abaconians and Grand Bahamians right now.

But there is another way to help, and a lasting way to keep helping Abaco and Grand Bahama and the people of The Bahamas — to come back to The Bahamas right now.

The Bahamas derives almost half of its Gross Domestic Product from tourism; travel and tourism are, plainly, the lifeblood of this 700-island country.

Every visit you make, every dollar you spend, every flight you book, helps. It helps The Bahamas, and that means it helps Abaco and it helps Grand Bahama.

Bahamians are live in one of the most beautiful places on the face of the earth, and they are generous enough to share it with all of us, a happy bargain that turns beauty and hospitality into daily sustenance.

And, as tourism officials rightly pointed out on Monday, Abaco and Grand Bahama are two destinations amid 700 islands and cays in this gorgeous, sprawling destination, and the impact you make in places like Nassau and Cat Island will also help make their way to Abaco.

Abaco will rebuild. Grand Bahama will rebuild. They will soon have their tomorrows, and they will be ready to welcome you far sooner than you think.

The sad reality is that, while the news pages around the world have placed Abaco and Grand Bahama on the front pages today, they will soon forget.

For most, there is a story only in destruction. And even today, while destruction is on the front page, recovery will not even make it to page 22.

But you cannot forget.

And you need to come back to The Bahamas. Don’t cancel your trip. Book a second trip.

Go first to Nassau or Eleuthera, or Bimini or Harbour Island, Cat Island or San Salvador.

And then to Abaco, and then to Grand Bahama.

And them come back again.

Alexander Britell is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Caribbean Journal. He can be reached at abritell@caribjournal.com.

The post Editor’s Note: Abaco, Grand Bahama and the Comeback to Come appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

A major new luxury residential resort project is coming to Grand Cayman.

It’s called the Dolphin Point Club, and the new luxe development will set at the edge of Cayman’s world-famous Seven Mile Beach.

Dolphin Point Club will be located on an oceanfront site just past the northern end of Seven Mile Beach, at the tip of Grand Cayman’s North West Point.

The project comes from the same development team that developed Grand Cayman’s popular Caribbean Club and, more recently, the Rum Point Club Residences.

The boutique development will include a total of 42 residences ranging from one to four residences that will include optional rental pool inclusion — a residential resort model like the popular Caribbean Club.

Amenities at Dolphin Point Club will include a rooftop restaurant and bar (including room service), along with a private gym with infrared sauna; a club room with a pool table, a communal roof garden, a children’s splash pad, a dog park and a centerpiece 110-foot-long infinity pool.

A rendering of the 42-unit project.

The property will boast access to Doplhin’s Point cove, a private, sandy-bottom lagoon that includes swim-out access to shore dive sites like Bonnie’s Arch, Orange Canyon and Dolphin Point Deep, all of which are among the top dive sites in what is one of the Caribbean’s greatest diving destinations.

The property has already launched sales on two of its penthouse units, including a two-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom option and a massive three-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom residence.

Every unit will include panoramic, hurricane-rated windows, large glass balconies and an emphasis on natural light all day long, according to developers.

Top local broker Kim Lund says the new project is “a truly unique new development” in Grand Cayman.

“This real estate investment opportunity is leveraging and improving on the success of the well established business model used for the Caribbean Club on Seven Mile Beach – which has proven to be an exceptional residence for capital appreciation and rental investment for those who bought in early,” Lund said in a statement.

Indeed, the sophistication, development and ease of transport that make Grand Cayman one of the best places to live in the Caribbean also make it one of the Caribbean’s top residential resort destinations — combining the comfort of condos and residences with the amenities of resorts.

For more, visit the Dolphin Point Club. 

— CJ

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