By Youri Kemp Caribbean News Now associate editor youri@caribbeannewsnow.com NASSAU, Bahamas – Hundreds of residents gathered on Wednesday for a march through downtown Nassau that ended with a public protest in Parliament Square, primarily over a rise in electricity prices in The Bahamas, along with a few other matters of public concern in relation to […]

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By Caribbean News Now contributor ST THOMAS, USVI — Democrat Albert Bryan has emerged victorious over incumbent US Virgin Islands Governor Kenneth Mapp in a runoff election on Tuesday to become the ninth elected governor of the USVI Bryan ended the night with 11,796 votes to Mapp’s 9,766, according to the Election System of the […]

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

A little over a year after Hurricane Maria, the island of Puerto Rico is about to set a major milestone .

The destination’s cruise industry is projecting more than 1.7 million cruise passengers in the fiscal year 2019, which would set a new record, according to Carla Campos, executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company.

Campos made the announcement as Princess Cruises’ Royal Princess cruise ship made its first-ever call in San Juan this week.

Puerto Rico Tourism Company Executive Director Carla Campos with Royal Princess Captain Nick Nash.

“The arrival of this spectacular vessel, added to other first cruise visits that are being recorded, help contribute to the breakthrough that the tourism industry is experiencing on the island,” Campos said.

Puerto Rico’s cruise industry rebounded quickly in the wake of last year’s storms, a rebound that has now largely been matched by the island’s hotel sector.

“We are very grateful to have the confidence of the cruise industry, evidenced by the increase in the number of vessels that are arriving to the island,” Campos said. “We are working hard with our industry partners to offer the best and most varied alternatives of service, offers and entertainment as a destination, so that the cruise lines continue to trust in Puerto Rico and increasing their visits to the Island, which will undoubtedly result in a strong boost to the development of our economy.”

— CJ

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

It’s another strong year so far for Bermuda tourism, according to the latest numbers from the island’s Tourism Authority.

Leisure air arrivals to the Atlantic island are up 13.6 percent for the year, with a total of 168,005 arrivals through the end of the third quarter.

Visitor spending is also up, rising 10.6 percent to a total of $245.9 million.

It’s shaping up to be the second consecutive year of record-breaking visitor arrivals to Bermuda.

“The measurement we focus on more than any other at the Bermuda Tourism Industry is leisure visitors by air,” said Kevin Dallas, CEO of the Bermuda Tourism Authority. “Performance in that area is up 26 percent in arrivals and up 35 percent in spending since the streak of quarterly growth began back in January 2016. By any measure that is a remarkable performance that every member of our team and every one of our stakeholders can be very proud of.”

Officials seemed worried by the slowdown in airlift availability, however.

Air capacity was down 2.5 percent in the third quarter, though it is still up 4 percent for the year.

“Growing airlift has proven to be a precursor to vacation air arrival growth in Bermuda over the past several years,” Dallas said. “If that trend reverses it would be an obstacle for further growth.  It’s something we are watching closely as we do our forecasting for 2019.”

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico‘s governor is … significantly hinder the ability of Puerto Ricans to rebuild their homes, … almost 153,000 other Puerto Ricans participating in the program, … bankruptcy-like process for Puerto Rico agencies approved a key …

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