New York City-based air carrier JetBlue Airways is expanding its service to the Dutch Caribbean island of St. Maarten.

The carrier will be adding a second daily roundtrip flight between John F Kennedy Airport and St Maarten’s Princess Juliana over the Christmas peak and on the Saturdays before and after Thanksgiving of this year.

JetBlue also announced that it would be adding new seasonal service between Boston and St Maarten.

Don’t forget to visit Pinel Island on the French side of the island.

Boston has been a growing Caribbean hub for JetBlue, with new routes added from Boston to the Caribbean in recent years including to Haiti and Barbados, among others.

JetBlue first introduced the New York-St Maarten route last fall.

Heading to St Maarten? Check out the best St Maarten hotels.

— Caribbean Journal Staff

The post JetBlue Adding More St Maarten Flights appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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After months of hotel occupancy decline in the Caribbean, there are signs of life, according to the latest data from hotel analytics firm STR.

The Caribbean showed a 1.6 percent year-over-year increase in hotel occupancy in March, the first month of positive growth since September of last year and just the second positive month since September 2015.

But that came with a 4.7 percent decline in average daily rate to $250.29, and a 3.2 percent year-over-year decline in revenue per available room, suggesting the gains may have come through discounting.

For the year, hotel occupancy in the Caribbean is down 0.7 percent to 73.8 percent, while average daily rates are down 2.7 percent to $244.88 and RevPar is down 3.4 percent to $180.65.

STR’s data surveyed 1,935 hotels comprising 242,351 rooms in the Caribbean.

— Caribbean Journal Staff

The post Caribbean Hotel Occupancy Rebounds appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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San Juan, Puerto Rico will play host to the next edition of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace conference.

The Caribbean’s largest marketing event, it will be held at the Puerto Rico Convention Center from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1, 2018.

“Puerto Rico takes great pride in announcing that this prestigious travel event will be returning to our island,” said José Izquierdo, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC). He said that PRTC looks forward to working with CHTA officials, its members and all on-island partners to welcome delegates to ‘La Isla del Encanto’ (Island of Enchantment).”

Next year’s event will include two days of business meetings matching hotels and destinations with online travel agents, tour operators and meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions planners.

“We are honored to host the most important Caribbean tourism event of the year as we evolve our position as a regional leader in the meetings and conventions business,” said Omar Marrero, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Convention Center District Authority.

Last year’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace was hosted at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, attracting 114 buyer companies from 20 countries, along with 1,100 delegates from 31 countries.

“CHTA’s strategy to bring more MICE planners to next year’s Marketplace is very well aligned with our objective to continue to grow this crucial category,” said Marrero, who is also the Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and the Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority.

The post San Juan to Host Caribbean Travel Marketplace in 2018 appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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With its miles of coral reefs and warm crystalline waters, the Caribbean is the world’s most popular dive destination.  The Caribbean’s ocean currents, rocky reefs and tropical storms have also created a trail of Caribbean ship wrecks you can dive on. These once proud vessels are now happy new homes for myriad marine life and a prized underwater experience. For some divers, wreck diving is the ultimate way to dive. And if it’s wreck diving you want – the Caribbean is full of shipwrecks waiting for you.

So pack your gear and get ready to explore these popular Caribbean shipwrecks and dive deeper into the region’s history and natural beauty.

Kittiwake, Grand Cayman It only makes sense that the destination where scuba diving was invented in the 1960s is home to one of the Caribbean’s most fascinating wrecks. Submerged in 64 feet of water, the submarine rescue vessel’s five decks promise divers and snorkelers sightings of sponges, grouper, urchins and squirrelfish.

The post The 11 Best Wreck Diving Sites in the Caribbean appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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You don’t always need a boat to appreciate the Caribbean’s underwater wonders. Because some of the Caribbean’s best snorkeling spots are right on the sand.

At these snorkel-friendly beaches in the Caribbean, you can wade right in and enjoy some of the best submarine sights simply by dipping your face in the sea.

The Baths, British Virgin Islands Wade into the warm waters of Devil’s Bay or Spring Bay to snorkel the crystal-clear pools formed by the giant granite boulders that are the Virgin Gorda’s marquee attraction.

The post 10 Great Caribbean Snorkeling Beaches appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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