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 Shore Club.

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.

Sailrock on 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.

The post What Sharks Mean to the Bahamian Economy appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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From the reef to the rainforest, swanky offshore islands to rustic hillside retreats, Belize combines its Caribbean and Central American assets into a “one-stop” vacation package that has something for every traveler. Whether you want to laze on a beach; tour ancient Mayan ruins; or see jaguars and other jungle wildlife up close and personal, Belize definitely merits a spot on your 2017 must-see list. Here are the top ten Belize resorts for every kind of getaway.

Cayo Espanto This four-acre private-island resort three miles offshore from San Pedro has six one- and two-bedroom beachfront villas, each with its own private dock. All-inclusive rates include butler service and a customized menu of three meals daily, so your palate will be as pampered as you are.

The post The 10 Best Belize Resorts appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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It’s one of the coolest experiences in the Caribbean: Substation Curaçao’s personal submarine rides.

The company’s Curasub offering descends four times a day to travel to depths unreachable for divers.

And it also means that, with no effect of pressure change on the body, even those people who are unfit to dive are almost always allowed to dive with the submarine.

the standard dive takes travelers around 500 feet deep on a 1.5-hour plunge, while the “Deep Dive” takes people to depths of nearly 1,000 feet — beyond the light.

Substation Curacaco even offers a night dive option.

For more information, visit Substation Curacao.

— CJ

The post How to Travel in Your Own Submarine in the Caribbean appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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