By the Caribbean Journal staff

Is Trelawny the next Montego Bay?

The parish of Trelawny, the next parish east of the tourism hub of St James (home to Montego Bay), is seeing significant hotel development growth.

“Trelawny can no longer be ignored,” Jamaica Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett said this week.

Indeed, Trelawny has some 6,000 new hotel rooms in the pipeline in the corridor between Rio Bueno and Falmouth, Bartlett said.

While it’s sometimes, wrongly, called greater Montego Bay, the fact is that Trelawny is a distinct parish — and is forming its own tourism identity.

Trelawny has seen massive growth in recent years from brands like Royalton. (Above, the Royalton White Sands).

“Trelawny is now forging with its transformation from a parish that has been dominated by agriculture, more so sugar cane, to what is now a very vibrant tourism sector,” Bartlett said.

The Minister was speaking at the official debut of the new Excellence Oyster Bay, a new all-inclusive property in Trelawny.

The $110 million project held its soft opening over the summer.

“In a few years, when you combine the inventory of Trelawny with that of Montego Bay, you are looking at two-thirds of the hotel room stock on the island,” Bartlett said.

The post Jamaica Has Big Plans for Trelawny appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By Dana Niland
CJ Contributor

Riu Hotels and Resorts is bringing its new “Riu Pool Parties” to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

The new space being built to house the parties will be opposite the Riu Bambu, and offers free entrance to all guests over 18 years old staying in any of the brand’s five hotels in Punta Cana — Riu Palace Macao, Riu Palace Punta Cana, Riu Palace Bavaro, Riu Bambu and the Riu Naiboa. 

The new space in Punta Cana.

In addition to the pool, this new area will feature four bars, including a poolside bar and one with snacks available.

Riu’s dancers and DJs, both local and international, are coming to Punta Cana after successful tenure in Los Cabos and the Riu Tequila, where they hold weekly parties, to bring life to the part with their performances.

A Riu pool party in Mexico.

Those pool parties were launched in Mexico earlier this year.

Four theme parties per week will be held: the Pink Party, in which everything is bathed in a pink glow to add a touch of magic to the ambience; the Jungle Party, with decor to make guests feel as though they are in the depth of a tropical forest; the White Party, which uses this color as the backdrop for the greatest hits of the 70s, 80s and 90s; and the Neon Party, filled with colored florescent light.

— CJ

The post Riu Adding New Pool Party Concept in Punta Cana appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By Youri Kemp Caribbean News Now associate editor youri@caribbeannewsnow.com PORT AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Some three months after Haitian prime minister, Jack Guy-Lafontante, and his entire Cabinet resigned following a botched attempt to remove a fuel price subsidy under the advice of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which led to massive civil unrest and riots in […]

The post Widespread Haitian protests call for PetroCaribe transparency and accountability appeared first on Caribbean News Now.

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