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Showing posts from November, 2007

Reflecting on Caribbean tourism

Antigua Sun : "When people ask me, why they should visit the Caribbean, I say that mystery and beauty warp our islands in a marvel of Edenic paradise that mediates between openhearted passion and an aroma of fabulous spices. Like perfume pouring out from the nectar of flowers, the land is in flirtation with bravura sunshine. I boast about our people’s butter-tender hospitality. And I describe our sand and sea as simply surrendering to an unmistakable portrait of mythical possibilities. "

Pack Your Shorts: JetBlue Boosts Service to the Caribbean This Winter

CNNMoney : "JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq:JBLU) is making it easier than ever for travelers to jet off on their dream getaway this winter with more service to the Caribbean's most popular sun spots. For the peak season, the award-winning airline will offer customers as many as 72 flights per day to 11 tropical destinations, a 46% growth in seats over last winter's schedule. JetBlue offers more flights to the Caribbean than any other low-fare, low-cost airline. "

Caribbean hotspots galore

24 Hours Vancouver "Celebrities such as Beyonce, Oprah, Mick and Uma love the beautiful beaches and tropical breezes of the Bahamas and the Caribbean islands just as much as we ordinary folk do. While they may stay in ultra lux digs, you don't need an Alister's bank balance to enjoy many of the same beaches and attractions. If you're heading south this winter, who knows whom you might run into in some of the places the stars go for a little down time. "

Caribbean special: booking advice

Telegraph : "Besides the promise of tropical heat, warm seas and lovely beaches, there are particularly timely reasons to consider a holiday to the Caribbean. First, the cost. On many islands, the local currency is pegged to the US dollar, and with the pound so strong against the dollar, much of the Caribbean is currently less expensive for British travellers than in past years. Though some hotels have increased their rates, tour operators' packages should still work out a little cheaper than last winter, while day-to-day costs such as eating out, which can be high on islands such as Barbados, should be roughly 10 per cent less than this time last year."

Barbados bound? Big savings to BGI

Cheap Flights : "The colder it gets, the more bewitching Barbados (BGI) becomes. Air Jamaica understands the connection between temperature and wanderlust. The carrier's splendiferously liveried Airbuses now ply the route between Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Barbados, and if you act soon you can land a round-trip rate on the route for as little as $299."

DOMINICA RANKED #1 ISLAND IN CARIBBEAN BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER

American Chronicle: "Washington, DC –– Dominica was officially ranked as the top sustainable island in the Caribbean and among the top ten in the world when National Geographic’s Center for Sustainable Destinations (CSD) surveyed conditions on 111 selected islands and archipelagos in its fourth annual Destination Scorecard survey, which appears in the November/December 2007 issue of National Geographic Traveler. An independent panel, which consisted of 522 well-traveled experts and aided by George Washington University in Washington DC, considered the qualities that make world-wide island destinations unique using six criteria weighted according to importance: environmental and ecological quality; social and cultural integrity; condition of historic buildings and archaeological sites; aesthetic appeal; quality of tourism management; and outlook for the future."

iProperty market full of zest on Caribbean spice island

ireland.com "The euro goes a long way on the island of Grenada where British developer Peter de Savary is building swish new resorts with tax breaks, writes Property Editor Orna Mulcahy With a lap dog in one hand and a huge Cuban cigar in the other, British entrepreneur Peter de Savary could have strayed off the set of a Bond movie. And there's a whiff of world domination in the way he throws out figures in the billions when discussing his latest obsession - the tiny island of Grenada in the eastern Caribbean."

Tourists sail in

The Nation Newspaper : "Local businesses, from taxi operations to souvenir sellers, gained a major boost yesterday when thousands of holiday-makers sailed into Barbados. It was another big day for the large tour companies, but many taxi-drivers managed to organise visits to a number of popular spots for the tourists who came swarming through the Bridgetown Port from early in the morning. "

Tourists sail in

The Nation Newspaper : "Local businesses, from taxi operations to souvenir sellers, gained a major boost yesterday when thousands of holiday-makers sailed into Barbados. It was another big day for the large tour companies, but many taxi-drivers managed to organise visits to a number of popular spots for the tourists who came swarming through the Bridgetown Port from early in the morning. "

Dominica - really the nature isle

Antigua Sun : "As close as the islands may be in the Caribbean Basin, islanders will tell you that they have journeyed to many places all over the globe but have never been to any of the island neighbours. I cast my mind back to a trip I made to an island that is just 45 minutes away from our twin-island state. This island has provided the setting for a number of popular literature, from the classic Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys to the most recent Unburnable by Marie-Elena John, and with good reason to! The lush, vibrant nature of this isle is enough to take anyone's breath away."

Surf & turf on St. Kitts

NYDailyNews : "As the plane banked hard to the left 14,000 feet over St. Kitts, the sight of gray, ominous clouds hovering over lush, green mountains momentarily put dreams of a sun-drenched tropical vacation on hold. But as the beachfront of this Caribbean paradise came into view, there suddenly appeared a good omen that set the tone for our visit - a bright, beautiful rainbow. "

Caribbean is hotter than usual, thanks to Canadians

TheStar.com : "The Caribbean is going to be hotter than ever this winter, and you can credit Canadians. We're getting ready to fly south in record numbers and we're looking well beyond just sun and sand and our usual top-three favourites of Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba. Well over two million of us will be winging our way south this winter – 15 per cent more than last year – thanks to a significant boost in flights out of Canada, the strong dollar and spanking new hotel, resort and even villa developments, especially on islands a little off the usual flight trajectory."

The West Indies for less

Telegraph : "The general perception of the Caribbean is that it is an expensive place to go on holiday - a tropical playground for the rich and the famous. That image, which arises from the media's concentration on the smartest hotels, is a misleading one. There are plenty of lovely, reasonably priced places to stay - they are just harder to find out about. The Caribbean doesn't have to be prohibitively expensive - if you know where to look For this article, I have combed three popular islands - Barbados, St Lucia and Grenada - for their best, affordable accommodation. By affordable, I mean a week's package in January (high season), including flights, for not much more than £1,000 a head, or, for those travelling independently, accommodation for little more than £100 a night. "...................

Caribbean Star marks final flight, transfers assets to LIAT

Advocate : "THE seven-year-old Caribbean Star operated its final flight yesterday, marking a takeover by competitor LIAT, in a buyout that Chairman, Jean Holder, describes as 'one of the most significant business deals in the history of the Caribbean' . Late last month, the two carriers finalised and executed an agreement that facilitated the transfer of Caribbean Star's assets to LIAT. That asset purchase agreement did not include the remaining five aircrafts leased by Caribbean Star, which are expected to be transferred to LIAT in a separate transaction expected to coincide with today's closure of the carrier, owned by Antigua-based Texan billionaire, Sir Allen Stanford."

Stunning beaches, cheap prices trigger Caribbean land grab

The Providence Journal : "CABARETE, Dominican Republic Fifteen years ago this beachfront village was a bohemian paradise where windsurfers and backpackers could buy a week of sun and sand for what they might pay per day at pricier Caribbean resorts. Cheap deals are still available, but now a higher class of tourists is flocking here, many coming with their checkbooks open and their eyes peeled for beachfront investment property."

Caribbean can be chilly when it comes to welcoming gays

TheStar.com : "NETHERLANDS ANTILLES–In St. Maarten, we criss-cross the island, searching in vain for a lesbian who will talk to me – though later I hear the cafés in Marigot are full of them. In Jamaica, some dance hall performers sing about shooting gay men in the head, pouring acid over them and raping lesbians. So far this year, 100 LGBT folk have reportedly been attacked in 43 mob incidents. Yet there's a huge, lively underground scene. In Cuba, gays and lesbians can't get permission to start their own advocacy organization. Meanwhile, the government is working on same-sex partnership recognition as well as free sex-change surgery and hormones on demand. This is the Caribbean, with some of the most complex and least understood gay and lesbian destinations in the world." ................

10 Caribbean islands with direct flights

Times Online : "The Caribbean should be like apple pie and custard – warm, just slightly spicy and utterly undemanding. Ideally, holidays there involve nothing more strenuous than flying and flopping – and an easy flight, at that. You want to swap grey skies for blue seas in half a day, thanks. You don’t want to spend 18 hours clambering from jumbo jet to seaplane to motorboat to taxi, finally arriving at some tropical hideaway only to find that it’s still a 10-minute trudge from the beach. "

Virgin deal now sealed -

JAMAICAOBSERVER.COM : "THE Government has given the nod for Air Jamaica and Virgin Atlantic to begin operating under the code-share agreement signed between the British-based airline and the previous administration earlier this year. The green light was given at a meeting with Virgin Atlantic boss Richard Branson and Prime Minister Bruce Golding on Wednesday morning, a day after the airline arrived in Jamaica for its inaugural flight from Gatwick to Kingston."

Explore undiscovered Caribbean islands

Travel Deals - MSNBC.com : "If you'd rather spend your winter beach vacation without the vacationing crowds, we recommend visiting undiscovered island gems like Vieques, Tobago, Grenada, and Barbuda instead. While you won't be able to fly there direct, their sense of privacy will make the trip worthwhile. Get a pre-season sampler through mid-December, with off-season rates and discounts as low as $179 a night at four island hotels."