The French Caribbean island of Martinique is seeing a tourism surge, according to the latest numbers from the Caribbean Tourism Organization.

Martinique reported 519,304 stayover tourist arrivals in 2016, a 6.6 percent increase compared to 2015.

That was one of the fastest tourism growth rates in the Caribbean region in 2016, according to an analysis by Caribbean Journal.

The island has seen growth in large part due to some of the Caribbean’s most forward-thinking digital marketing, significantly increased airlift from carriers like American Airlines and Norwegian and even some new boutique accommodations like the French Coco.

It seems that the island’s efforts over the last few years have been paying off, as more travelers in the highly-targeted US market begin to see the allure of one of the Caribbean’s most fascinating destinations.

— Caribbean Journal Staff

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Puerto Rico has long occupied a unique niche in the world of Caribbean travel; while it’s been off the radar of the jet set for decades (something that is, happily, changing), it has found favor with adventure and culture aficionados drawn to places like the El Yunque rainforest and Old San Juan.

But Puerto Rico has also been unique for its decided lack of all-inclusives – in sharp contrast to its neighbors like the Dominican Republic.

While that’s beginning to shift (with a major new all inclusive Puerto Rico-based AMResorts property on the way on the southern part of the island, finding an all-inclusive Puerto Rico resort isn’t easy.

But it is possible.

There are three Puerto Rico resorts that do offer all-inclusive options (with both food and drinks covered), spread out across the island but all boasting name-brand recognition.

Here’s how to stay at a Puerto Rico all-inclusive.

El Conquistador, A Waldorf Astoria Resort

By far your best option for a Puerto Rico all-inclusive resort experience is this: the all-inclusive package at the El Conquistador resort in Fajardo. This sprawling property has a wide range of amenities, from a hillside funicular to a water park to its biggest perk: access to the spectacular private island called Palomino (easily accessed by regular hotel ferry service). And the all-inclusive package, which starts at less than $270 per person, is a great way to experience it all.

Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Beach Resort and Spa

Still a bit of a secret, this Puerto Rico resort recently made its all-inclusive package a year-round option, meaning you get breakfast, lunch, dinner daily along with unlimited house brand cocktails, local beer, house wine by the glass and non-alcoholic beverages and bottled water during restaurant and bar hours.

This is also one of the Caribbean’s best places for golf, with a pair of world-class courses: The Ocean Course by Tom and George Fazio, and the River Course by Greg Norman.

Gran Melia Puerto Rico Golf Resort

If you’re a regular all-inclusive traveler, you’re familiar with the Melia name — but this isn’t a “traditional” all inclusive like many of the brand’s properties in places like the DR. But this Rio Grande-area hotel, which is Melia’s only Puerto Rico resort, does offer a full board option covering your food and drinks with meals.

So as you can see, while finding an All Inclusive Puerto Rico resort isn’t as easy as it is on other Caribbean islands, it’s definitely doable.

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The Caribbean has a new fastest-growing destination, according to the latest numbers from the Caribbean Tourism Organization: the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The TCI reported 17.5 percent growth in tourist arrivals in 2016, the highest of any destination in the Caribbean region.

That resulted in a total of 453,612 tourist arrivals in the archipelago.

It was driven by strong growth out of the United States, Canada and other international markets.

US traffic in particular rose by 16.1 percent, while Canadian tourism to the Turks and Caicos rose by 23.2 percent.

The former got a big boost thanks to the late 2015 launch of daily flights from Fort Lauderdale to Providenciales on JetBlue Airways.

The outlook for 2017 is strong too, thanks to the debut of several new hotels, led by the ultra-luxe Shore Club resort in Providenciales and the boutique Sailrock property on largely undeveloped South Caicos.

The next fastest-growing destination was Belize, which posted growth of 13 percent and a total of 385,583 arrivals.

— Caribbean Journal Staff

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The Caribbean’s most anticipated airport project has finally come to fruition.

The new Argyle International Airport on the island of St. Vincent receives its first-ever flights on Tuesday as the largest project in the history of the country.

The first flights to St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ new airport, charter service operated by Caribbean Airlines from New York, represent the end of a journey that first began in 2008.

The next flight will be a Dynamic Airways charter flight also departing John F Kennedy Airport on Tuesday.

While no major carriers have yet announced scheduled service to the airport, the debut of Argyle means the country can now, for the first time, receive large international aircraft thanks to a 9,000-foot runway.

That was a major engineering challenge thanks to St. Vincent’s notoriously hilly terrain, which called for the removal of three mountains before construction.

The debut marks the close of operations at St. Vincent’s ET Joshua airport, which had served the island for decades but had only been able to receive regional flights from neighboring islands in the Caribbean.

The question is what’s next for the airport; much of the country’s current tourism demand resides in the islands of the Grenadines and private island destinations like Palm Island, Petit St Vincent and Canouan (along with full-fledged island destinations like Bequia, as “mainland” St. Vincent has few hotels.

Up until now, travelers to those properties have typically flown first to Barbados, then on regional carriers like SVG Air.

Now, St. Vincent will have to win over those travelers (and airlines) with a compelling new push.

— CJ

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Protecting sharks isn’t just good for the environment – it’s good for a country’s bottom line, too.

That’s the finding of a new study by The Cape Eleuthera Institute, which reports that shark and ray tourism brought almost $114 million to the Bahamas as recently as 2014.

And the vast majority of that revenue comes from the shark diving industry, according to the report.

The results, found by Dr. Edd Brooks, are in keeping with other studies that demonstrate the high economic value of sharks.

Some of the results of the study, which was supported by Pew, help underscore that sharks are worth far more alive than dead, which could also catalyze other governments in the region and globally into action to protect these species.

The Bahamas has a long history of protecting its shark populations.

In the early 1990s, the country banned longline fishing–a primary driver of unintentional shark-catching–and in 2011 declared its entire exclusive economic zone a shark sanctuary, thereby ending all commercial shark fishing in Bahamian waters, as well as trade, sale and possession of sharks and shark parts.

Read the full report here.

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