Tourism in Belize continues to boom, according to the destination’s latest arrival data.

For the first nine months of 2016, Belize reported 293,622 stayover arrivals, a 16.4 percent increase over the same period in 2015 — making it one of the Caribbean’s fastest-growing tourism destinations.

The Cayo Espanto private-island resort in Belize.

The country has seen 15 consecutive months of record-breaking overnight arrival growth after what had been a sluggish start to 2015, according to the Belize Tourism Board.

The boom has been led by visitors from the United States, who accounted for 67.4 percent of market share, followed by visitors from Canada and Europe.

El Secreto in Belize.

Belize finished off the third quarter with 26.9 percent growth in September, with 18,115 overnight arrivals.

The surge in tourist growth has come in part due to new flights from American Airlines, United and Southwest Airlines in the last two years.

— Caribbean Journal Staff

The post Belize Tourism Continues to Surge appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico

The Turquoize adults-only experience at the Hyatt Ziva resort in Cancun has another new amenity: butler service.

The all-inclusive property has added specially-trained “Turquoize butlers” to “cater to guests’ almost every whim,” according to the resort.

The company said the new butlers had “honed their skills through extensive training in order to offer the highest quality service to the resort’s valued guests.”

Hyatt Ziva Cancun is now the first all-inclusive in Mexico to offer butler service.

“Fulfilling our guests’ wants and needs with quality and personalized service is at the core of our overall mission,” said Kevin Froemming, Chief Marketing Officer of Playa Hotels & Resorts. Granting the opportunity for a personal butler to go above and beyond for each of our loyal guests is just another example of how we continue to raise the standard in hospitality.”

— CJ Staff

The post Hyatt’s Turquoize Resort in Cancun Adds Butler Service appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico

Southwest Airlines had another strong month in September, according to the carrier’s latest data report.

Southwest flew 9.9 billion revenue passenger miles last month, up 7.9 percent from the 9.2 billion revenue passenger miles the company flew in September 2015.

Available seat miles increased to 11.8 billion, a jump of 6 percent, while load factor was a record for September at 84.2 percent (an increase of 1.5 percentage points over the same month in 2015).

Southwest has, like competitor JetBlue, been significantly expanding its network in the Caribbean to destinations like Nassau, above.

Southwest has embarked on a significant expansion push for the Caribbean region, with new flights to destinations including Cancun, Jamaica and, most recently, daily flights from Fort Lauderdale to Nassau, Bahamas.

— Caribbean Journal Staff

The post Southwest Airlines Traffic Keeps Rising appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico

Royal Caribbean Cruises is going green in a major way.

The company has announced plans to power its newest class of ships with liquefied natural gas and introduce the use of fuel cell technology.

Royal Caribbean has signed a memorandum of understanding with shipbuilder Meyer Turku under the project name “Icon.”

The vessels will be delivered in the second quarters of 2022 and 2024, with plans to begin testing fuel cell technology on existing Oasis-class ships in 2017.

“With Icon class, we move further in the journey to take the smoke out of our smokestacks,” said Richard Fain, chairman and chief executive officer of Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. “We are dedicated to innovation, continuous improvement, and environmental responsibility, and Icon gives us the opportunity to deliver against all three of these pillars.”

For now, Icon design elements are in the early stages, the company said, although they will likely accommodate 5,000 passengers.

“Our guests expect us to push every envelope we can,” said Michael Bayley, president and chief executive officer of Royal Caribbean International. “And on this new class of ship, we began by challenging ourselves to find a new approach to power and propulsion that is safe, reliable, and more energy-efficient than ever before.”

The post Royal Caribbean Planning LNG Cruise Ships appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico

Nassau and Paradise Island are “open for business” following Hurricane Matthew, according to the popular Bahamian destination’s promotion board.

The destination is now welcoming guests following last week’s storm, which pummeled much of the Bahamas with heavy rain and wind.

“Member hotels and resorts were well-prepared for the storm and sustained minimal damage. Clean-up efforts began immediately following the storm’s passing on Friday and Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) reopened on Saturday with all airlines having now resumed their normal schedules,” the board said in a statement.

The destination’s largest resort, Atlantis, is open and receiving guests, after sustaining “minimal impact” due to the storm. The Cove at Atlantis is closed but set to reopen on Wednesday.

The Bahamas will be embarking on a major recovery effort after sustaining what Prime Minister Perry Christie called “utterly devastating” impact.

— CJ Staff

The post Nassau Paradise Island “Open for Business” appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico