By the Caribbean Journal staff

The island of St. Kitts is “ready to welcome visitors” after escaping the wrath of Hurricane Irma.

The island’s airport, cruise port and all tourism providers are “open and resuming normal operations,” the island’s tourist board said in a statement.

St. Kitts was “fortunate to be virtually unscathed by Hurricane Irma,” officials said.

American Airlines has already resumed its Saturday flights from JFK, while Seaborne Airlines was set to resume its daily nonstop flights from San Juan on Saturday.

“All hotels and resorts are fully operational and the Park Hyatt St. Kitts remains on scheduled to debut Nov. 1,” the tourism board said.

“We are thrilled to get back to business as usual and ready to welcome visitors,” said St. Kitts Tourism Minister Lindsay Grant. “For those who planning to travel to island, we look forward to providing a world-class experience and all the warm Kittitian hospitality for which we have become known.”

Cruise lines have also resumed port calls to St. Kitts, with four ships set to dock at Port Zante in the coming week.

The post St. Kitts “Ready to Welcome Visitors” appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By Alexander Britell

It’s a short drive on a dusty road from the Gold Mine Ranch to Balanushri, where a century and a half ago they used to take mined gold and process it here.

Today it is but a stony ruin, holes and crevices just across from the furious froth of Aruba’s eastern shores.

The road is surrounded by cacti, pale green in the hot summer, a landscape you’d expect to find in Arizona, not at the edge of the Caribbean Sea.

This is Aruba’s frontier, the Wild East, home to vistas foreign and breathtaking, another planet entirely, better traversed on a Rover — or at least an ATV.

The dry silence and the empty wilderness have a calming effect, giving travelers the feeling that they have journeyed far longer than half an hour from the stunning white-sand beaches of the west coast.

It is wild and wonderful terrain, home to exotic beaches and craggy coastlines and even an Ostrich Farm.

And if you’re looking for a fascinating, transformative day trip, it’s, well, a gold mine.

The post VIDEO: Exploring the Wild East of Aruba appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

American Airlines saw a slight uptick in traffic to Latin America and the Caribbean in August, according to the carrier’s latest data report.

American Airlines reported just under 2.6 billion revenue passenger miles to the region last month, a 0.8 percent increase over the same period in 2016.

Available seat miles in Latin America and the Caribbean rose by 2.4 percent to 3.2 billion, while load factor declined by 1.3 percentage points to 81.2 percent.

The uptick comes after July was American’s best month in the region in several years, with 3.9 percent growth.

Overall, the carrier reported a record 21.2 billion revenue passenger miles in August, a 3.7 percent improvement over August 2016.

It’s likely that the numbers will be significantly impacted in September by the passage of Hurricane Irma, however.

The post American Airlines: Slight Uptick in Latin America, Caribbean Traffic appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

Apple Leisure Group is planning to ramp up its development push through its subsidiary, AMResorts.

The company has announced the addition of vice president of development Federico Moreno-Nickerson to its team.

Moreno-Nickerson will support the ALG Development Team, which the company said was “hyper-focused on delivering delivering unmatched hospitality expertise to hotel owners looking to invest in new assets or boost existing hotel property performance across Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America.”

The company has also unveiled a new Web site, ALGdevelopment.com, aiming to inform owners and investors about the company’s offerings.

“Growing our existing development team is part of our strategic approach to give hotel owners the right partner to grow in the competitive all-inclusive sector and secure strong return on investments,” said Javier Coll, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of Apple Leisure Group. “Adding an industry veteran like Federico Moreno-Nickerson to ALG’s development team supports our strategy to reach our goal of signing our 100th resort management deal by 2020.”

Moreno-Nickerson will focus on expanding the company’s footprint, particularly in Mexico, the English-speaking Caribbean and Latin America.

The post Apple Leisure Group Plans Big Development Push appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon
CJ Travel Editor

If you’re hungry for a Caribbean vacation (or just plain hungry) you’ll want to know about the Barbados Food & Rum Festival, scheduled for November 16 to 19.

Now in its eighth year, the event celebrates the cuisine of the island, and will be headlined by Michelin-starred chef Tom Aikens and feature other talents such as Jean-Georges Vongerichten from the United States and Canadian chef Chris De La Rosa.

British-born chef Aikens is one of the hosts of the new Gourmet Safari Dinner series, which, over two nights, will feature food and rum cocktail pairings that highlight the diversity of Caribbean cuisine. He’ll serve up his best at The Tides restaurant, while Vongerichten will tempt tastebuds at The Cliff, and De La Rosa will cook at The Crane resort.

Other highlights of the festival include polo and cocktails at Holders Polo Club; an all-inclusive beach party at Hilton Barbados; a chef’s cook-off at Oistins Bay Gardens; and an event at the Concorde Experience, which will celebrate Barbados as the birthplace of rum with custom cocktails, flavorful food and music.

The post Why You Need to Visit the Barbados Food and Rum Festival appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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