Tourism is surging to the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire, which has undertaken one of the region’s model tourism reopenings since its summer 2020 restart.
Bonaire reported nearly 75,000 visitor arrivals through the end of August, according to new data from Tourism Corporation Bonaire.
That’s along with what’s expected to be a very strong summer, according to Tourism Corporation Bonaire CEO Miles Mercera.
Mercera told Caribbean Journal that there was “strong additional demand” for the island for the next six months, who projected arrivals and airlift capacity both above pre-pandemic levels.
.A room at the Delfins Beach Resort
Indeed, the island is poised for a big winter with the return of a wave of airlift, kicking off with United Airlines’ Nov. 6 restart of service from Houston, along with the relaunch of the carrier’s Newark-Bonaire flights.
On Nov. 8, American Airlines will begin operating three daily flights from Miami, followed by daily flights from Miami to Bonaire during the holiday season.
And Delta will be increasing its Atlanta-Bonaire service to twice-weekly in late November and six times weekly through the holiday season.
For 2022, seats are up nearly 40 percent, Mercera said, with just under 240,000 seats coming into Bonaire across nine different airlines.
The tourism boom comes as the island’s hotel product continue to grow.
A rendering of the new Time to Smile Chogogo Beach Resort.
Two major resorts are set to open their doors soon in Bonaire, headlined by the expansion to Bonaire of the Curacao-based Chogogo brand.
The new Time to Smile Chogogo Beach Resort is slated to open before the end of the year, with total of 20- rooms.
That’s along with the relaunch Sunset Beach Bonaire, which will add 160 rooms.
And the island’s buzziest resort, the Delfins Beach Resort (home to the recently-crowned number one restaurant in the Caribbean, Brass Boer), is also expanding.
American Airlines is set to relaunch another route from Miami to the French Caribbean, Caribbean Journal has learned.
On Nov. 6, American Airlines will resume flights from Miami to Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe.
The nonstop flights will be operating twice weekly, with service on Tuesdays and Saturdays, the Guadeloupe Islands Tourist Board confirmed.
The news comes as American Airlines is set to resume its popular service from Miami to Martinique a few days prior.
Habitation Bellevue in Marie-Galante.
The new flight complements existing service from to Guadeloupe on Air France, which launched over the summer.
Air France currently operates flights to Pointe a Pitre from both Miami and New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport.
The country’s entry protocols mirror those of the rest of the French Caribbean, with a required negative test within 72 hours before arrival and proof of vaccination.
The relaunch of American flights is a major boost for Guadeloupe’s tourism industry, which was hit hard by a number of lockdowns in the second half of 2021.
Another carrier, JetBlue, is relaunching its service to Guadeloupe later this year.
On Dec. 18, the New York City-based airline will return to Guadeloupe with three weekly flights, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
ST THOMAS — It’s always been one of the most stunning drives in the Caribbean: the waterfront route around the centuries-old downtown of Charlotte Amalie in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands.
One one side, there’s the heart of historic Charlotte Amalie, anchored by the shopping on Main Street; on the other, the green-hilled view toward Hassel Island and Water Island.
And now, thanks to a significant new revitalization project, Charlotte Amalie is getting a major new look — and is poised to become what could be the next great waterfront downtown in the Caribbean.
The plan began with historic Main Street, where the government injected about $16 million into remaking the street with Eurocobble stone and hand-laid stone sidewalks; that was along with new street signage; replacing water and sewer lines; and new telecom and electrical underground. That project had its ribbon cutting in April.
A rendering of the final project.
Now, the USVI’s Department of Public is in the midst of a nearly four-year phase one that will total $46 million, remaking a quarter mile of road along the water: adding two new traffic lanes, adding a new seawall; a landscaped median; improved storm drainage; and, most notably, construction of a new waterfront promenade, ranging from five to 25 feet in some places.
The second phase is more ambitious, says Derek A. Gabriel, Commissioner of the US Virgin Islands Department of Public Works.
That will extend the project all the way around the USVI Legislature; it will add a new water feature and make the historic King’s Landing Wharf its centerpiece.
The second phase would also include the area near the Legislature, above.
There will also be an even bigger promenade, ranging in some places to 70 feet, and the opportunity for outdoor dining across from the waterfront.
“As much as we need want to keep the nature of the harbor, it still needs a facelift.” Gabriel tells Caribbean Journal Invest. “And when you add phase one and phase two and the Main Street project, now you’re seeing that facelift while still paying homage to our history and culture.”
The biggest objective, Gabriel says, is to create more outdoor space and make the area more visually appealing. This second phase, which would go somewhere north of $100 million, is hoped to be put out to bid by the first quarter of next year.
The plan is to take a historic treasure of the US Virgin Islands and give it its place among the great waterfront promenades around the world.
Gabriel says his team took inspiration both from European cities and “our Caribbean neighbors,” and creating an experience that would let locals and visitors stroll on the promenade, eat outdoors and watch the sunset.
The changes are starting to draw interest from investors and developers, both on Main Street and across the promenade.
The sparkling new Main Street is already seeing new higher end jewel retail coming in, along with high-end electronics moving downtown.
Several parties have already expressed interest in doing a bed and breakfast or a more conventional style hotel like The Fred in St Croix’s Frederiksted.
“The idea would be something that would not only offer downtown living, but valet parking, rooftop dining and street-level dining,” Gabriel says.
And the landmark International Plaza building, for example, is currently on the market (it’s listed with Seaglass), and is drawing serious interest from hotel developers, too, Gabriel says.
“Everybody keen on it has been looking to buy it as a hotel,” he says.
It all adds up to one of the most ambitious downtown revitalization projects in the Caribbean in recent memory — and one that could turn Charlotte Amalie into an investment hotbed in the short and medium term.
And it’s all thanks to a waterfront landscape that’s been here for centuries —but is now getting its place in the sun.
“Very few residents actually pull into the harbor from the water side.” Gabriel says. “And when you come in you see one of the most beautiful downtown landscapes throughout the Caribbean. And I do see it not only evolving but also keeping that historic beauty. I see it taking its preeminent place as the downtown for the Caribbean. But I also see that as we’re adding features and changing it a little, we’ll still be able to hearken back to that rich past and future that we have.”
Antigua’s storied all-inclusive resort officially reopened its doors this weekend.
The resort, set on 20 acres a stunning peninsula on the southern coast of Antigua, has 72 rooms and suites straddled by two beaches and the Caribbean’s leading tennis center.
A celebrity favorite, Curtain Bluff has long set the standard for the elegant, rarefied all-inclusive experience.
The reopening comes as the family-owned resort is celebrating its 60th anniversary — and the resort is predicting big things for the winter season.
“I am very happy to report that this winter season, our forward bookings are as good as our best season in 2019,” the resort’s Managing Director, Robert Sherman, told Caribbean Journal.
Sherman said the property had been set to complete a room refurbishment project in the summer of 2020, with that project now nearing culmination.
“The remaining rooms are all receiving upgrades and looking beautiful,” he said. “All 72 beachfront rooms look great.”
The relaunch comes as 100 percent of staff and management at the resort are fully vaccinated, Curtain Bluff told Caribbean Journal.
“60 years ago, traveling to our region and Curtain Bluff was an adventure, it was rustic,” Sherman said. “Today, Curtain Bluff guests have so many choices, so much competition, the internet has changed everything. Guests’ expectations are much greater today, from culinary, amenities, communication and service. Obviously, the environment and technological enhancements have certainty changed for todays guests. Yet one thing has never wavered over the six decades at Curtain Bluff: the personal touch, private ownership, the genuine caring of both guests and employees. It isn’t a numbers game, it is a place with a soul, that welcomes our guests like family into our home.”
Anguilla is updating its travel requirements for visitors ahead of the winter tourist season, Caribbean Journal has learned.
The island has announced a slate of pre-arrival requirements that will take effect on Nov. 1, 2021.
They include the requirement that all visitors 18 and over must be fully vaccinated in order to be allowed entry to Anguilla; pregnant women are exempt from this requirement.
Fully vaccinated means that more than three weeks have passed since the final dose of of a vaccine schedule.
The Four Seasons resort in Anguilla.
All visitors must also show proof of a negative PCR or antigen test, but the test must be taken no less than two to five days prior to arrival (self-administered tests will not be accepted).
Upon arrival, all vistors will be tested again; while the test is processed, they’ll be required to stay in place at their hotel, licensed villa or other rental accommodation.
