Caribbean/Mexico: Island Hopping—Caribbean Update

IBERSTAR POOLIsland Hopping—Caribbean UpdateBy Lydia GregoryThe latest edition of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), held in Montego Bay, Jamaica, turned up the volume on what’s new, what’s hot and what’s happening in the region. Here’s a taste of the tropics to get you excited to book island time for your clients.Even More in ’24Growing by leaps and bounds, Jamaica is taking the lead in mega-development as far as hotels are concerned, mainly in the Rose Hall Corridor. “We will be adding 20,000 new rooms to our inventory over the next five to 10 years,” says Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism for Jamaica. “This year, we’re adding 2,000 new rooms.” These include the first 1,000 rooms of the 2,000-guestroom Princess Grand Jamaica, the 753-guestroom RIU Palace Aquarelle and the 450-guestroom UNICO 18°77° Hotel Montego Bay. Other new hotels include the arrival of Catalonia Hotels & Resorts and contracts for the luxury Lucea Hanover by Grand Palladium, two luxury properties for Bahia Principe in Runaway Bay St. Ann and a new property for Secrets Resorts & Spas. Of note: These developments also include new housing units for tourism workers. Visitor expectations for 2024 are growing to fill those rooms, with 4.58 million visitors anticipated this year, including 3.23 million stopovers and 1.4 million cruise arrivals. To get your clients there, airlift is increasing to meet demand, including new nonstop service from Denver on United Airlines, Kansas City (MO) to Montego Bay on Southwest, JFK to Kingston on Delta and new nonstops on American Eagle between Miami and Ian Fleming International Airport in St. Mary. JAMAICA QUOTE Of note: The MBJ Sangster International Airport has undergone a recent expansion and modernization project. Your clients can expect additional APC kiosks to streamline entry by the end of the year, plus a new online passenger declaration form. Additionally, says Barlett, “We’re strengthening partnerships with our media friends and travel partners, tour operators and other partners in the industry—more FAM tours will be established.” Fly Away“Demand for the islands of The Bahamas remains at an all-time high,” says Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper. Awarded the prestigious Caribbean Destination Resilience Award by the CHTA in collaboration with the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST) for its commitment to sustainability and resilience in tourism, The Bahamas is also seeing a marked uptick in visitors, hitting 9.7 million last year and already hitting three million in the first three months of 2024. Cruise tourism leads the way, already reporting 15 percent ahead of the record-setting 2023. Cooper mentions that five of the major cruise lines have private island destinations in The Bahamas—Royal Caribbean, Disney Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival Cruise Line, which is launching Celebration Key in 2025 in addition to the two it already operates. Celebration Key alone will be able to welcome two million guests per year, with a pier that can accommodate up to two of the cruise line’s Excel Class ships. And that’s just the beginning: “We’ve attracted almost $10 billion of new foreign direct investments into The Bahamas,” he adds, so your clients can expect much more. New boutique properties are springing up, including Montage in Abacos and The Ocean Club Four Seasons Residences on Paradise Island, with larger properties like Somewhere Else coming soon at Atlantis Paradise Island. Six Senses Residences & Resort is under development and scheduled to open in Grand Bahama in 2026. By the way, the redevelopment of the Grand Bahamas International Airport is underway to the tune of $200 million, with completion by 2025. Of note: The Bahamas’ website offers comprehensive information and leverages AI, though “there are people behind the scenes, and we engage in real-time in a very real way,” says Latia Duncombe, Director General of The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation. In other words, send a message, and you might be surprised to get a direct response from the Minister of Tourism or Duncombe herself. She also points to the revamped, award-winning bahamas.com site, which provides access to various marketing materials, including digital collateral, images, island postcards and a real-time hotel directory.Dream in Cayman“The Cayman Islands has welcomed a little over 1.7 million visitors…between January and December of 2023. Last year was our first full year with our borders open, so we are pleased with that result,” says Kenneth Bryan, Minister of Tourism & Ports for the Cayman Islands and Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Association. The news is the first quarter of 2024 has already surpassed that number, aided by increased airlift. American Airlines will begin direct flights between DFW and Grand Cayman in December of this year, adding to the daily summer service from July through August. And starting in February, Sun Country Airlines will add a second flight from Minneapolis/St. Paul, while Southwest will begin daily service from Orlando in June. A runway extension is underway, to be completed in approximately 2.5 years.CAYMAN QUOTE Clients will have plenty to choose from for their stay: “The recent opening of Hotel Indigo in mid-May pushed us over the threshold of 8,000 [guestrooms],” says Bryan. The new property has 282 rooms and is the first Indigo-branded property within the Caribbean. A second recent opening, luxury boutique hotel Vida, added 12 apartment suites and a focus on wellness, adventure and sustainability. Georgetown will receive an additional 600 rooms by the end of 2025 with the opening of One|GT, Grand Hyatt and Kailani, a Curio Collection by Hilton Hotel.RESTAURANTLet Her Inspire You“The continued support of our partners is invaluable, and we strive for excellence and look towards making Saint Lucia the destination of choice for travelers seeking unparalleled experiences,” says Thomas Leonce, Director of Marketing for the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority Subcommittee. “Saint Lucia is the Caribbean’s leading adventure tourism, nature and honeymoon destination. We are not just about beaches; we’re about everything.” From cycling tours in the rainforest to exquisite suites with a view of the Pitons to farm-to-table dining and more, you’ll find it in Saint Lucia. The island is ready to welcome over 40,000 more airline seats this summer than in 2023: JetBlue is adding a new double daily flight from New York (JFK) to Hewanorra International Airport (UVF), from June 13 to July 23, 2024, and will continue the second Saturday flight from New York throughout 2024. American Airlines will also increase its flights from Miami and reintroduce a nonstop winter flight from JFK. All flights from American Airlines will offer premium cabins. New properties are cropping up to welcome this influx of visitors. New for 2024 and 2025 are the 96-guestroom Cas en Bas Beach Resorty (Hyatt), the 334-guestroom Secrets St. Lucia Resort & Spa, the TheLifeCo Well-Being, a state-of-the-art wellness center and 523-room resort, and the 24/7 butler-service Sapphire Sands Villas by Bay Gardens, among others. The destination also debuted the ultra-luxurious Cabot Saint Lucia golf resort late last year, and it’s expected to have accommodations ready by 2025. During the conference, Leonce announced the destination was working on attracting new cruise lines, had already started development in the port at Castries to dock larger ships and was investing in the Soufriere waterfront. Of note: When it comes to travel advisors, Ernie George, Sales Manager, North America, for the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, emphasizes the importance of keeping their partners well-informed, as they are, he says, “on the cutting-edge, positioned throughout our important markets and understand what vacationers seek. “It’s very important that you look out for the FAM trips, or better yet, do your own Solo Selects FAM any time of the year. The Saint Lucia Tourism Authority offers excellent services and we coordinate the visit by first consulting with the advisor.”
SUGARFIN TERRACENaturally in Rhythm“We’re in a very good place as a tourism destination,” says USVI Commissioner of Tourism Joseph Boschulte, pointing to the fact that St. Thomas came out as the number one trending destination for summer according to a report by Expedia. He attributes that to increased airlift, including the latest announcement by JetBlue of the return of service to St. Croix with a nonstop daily flight from Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Boschulte also shared news concerning a $250 million-plus investment in St. Thomas and St. Croix airports, where “massive amounts of improvements are expected. Jetways are finally coming into the USVI, along with numerous other improvements at the airport.” USVI QUOTE Boschulte was happy to report that the cruise segment rebounded to pre-COVID levels in 2024 and expects the trend to continue. He said the cruise ships’ occupancy levels have returned nearly 100 percent across the lines. In hotel news, the Commissioner mentioned the successful rebranding and reopening of the Westin Beach Resort & Spa at Frenchman’s Reef. “It’s doing extremely well for us,” he says. “It brought almost 500 branded rooms online for the US Virgin Islands. This has been a very important asset in our ability to continue to maintain our strong growth. It has also been a direct result of our competitively high ADRs that we have in the USVI relative to the rest of the Caribbean.” Boschulte adds that most of the newer properties are smaller; however, the islands have embraced it. “We thrive in being a destination that has options for people across the board,” he says, sharing that a new Hampton by Hilton is being built in St. Thomas (Q1 2025), the first new hotel in 30 years. “That’s another sign of growth in the territory from a tourism standpoint. Now that Hilton’s back, we’re seeing other brands trying to get into the territory.” Of note: “We made a decision in COVID to change the household income that we target. Over the last few years, we’ve raised our target household income almost 50 percent,” he says. “We are a destination that does not have the larger budget all-inclusive hotels. So, when we speak about luxury, people will come, and they will want to stay and will be willing to pay to stay if we've proven what we say we are going to provide. And that is service, [luxury] accommodations and, of course, the necessary connectivity from the mainland U.S. to the US Virgin Islands.” Boschulte also points out that they’ve been increasingly targeting the millennial market, finding that they have the money and are willing to pay a premium for concierge travel. “When you come to the US Virgin Islands, you get a terrific experience. You get all the beaches, all the water, all the culture, all the food, but you’re still on U.S. territory. And we take that very seriously as we continue to promote being a top destination in the Caribbean that is U.S.”FOODSome Words About Sustainability At CHTA 42, Grenada was one of four destinations—along with Jamaica, the USVI, and Puerto Rico—featured as a case study showcasing the importance of sustainability initiatives in the tourism industry. Petra Roach, CEO of the Grenada Tourism Authority, says sustainable tourism and community involvement have been central to the island’s growth and points to such offers as underwater yoga with Aquanauts Grenada and the opening of the Six Senses La Sagesse Grenada and its spa. “We’re the Island of Spice, and they use nutmeg due to its therapeutic qualities. In terms of food, it’s farm-to-table, focusing on what’s grown locally.” Another new opening along those lines is the Silversands Beach House, with 28 guestrooms and access to all the amenities at the neighboring Silversands. GRENADA QUOTE “Grenada itself is stunning, and what we have done in terms of our positioning as a destination is really all about that earthing, that calibration,” she adds, pointing to a new waterfall hiking experience with Grenadian Ras Ginga. “Diving is very big at the minute.” In June, a second underwater sculpture park opened in Carriacou, joining the one at Molinere. In Aruba, a new hotel is making waves in this segment. “JOIA Aruba by Iberostar is a testament to our promise of providing guests with exceptional experiences. We are very pleased to expand Iberostar’s presence in the Americas, aiming to contribute positively within the local community with a shared sense of prosperity and commitment to sustainability,” says Phil Mc Aveety, CEO of Iberostar Hotels & Resorts. The first of this brand in Aruba, the family-friendly JOIA Aruba by Iberostar, will open in late 2024 with 240 suites with a view of Eagle Beach. Expect concierge services, butlers and select suites with swim-ups and terrace jacuzzis. Guests can also access Iberostar’s Tierra del Sol championship golf course. Despite all these amenities, the property was developed to be energy efficient, reduce environmental impact and align with Iberostar’s decarbonization goal. Contact InformationThe Bahamas Ministry of Tourism: bahamas.com/travel-agents
Grenada Tourism Authority: puregrenada.com AND https://expert.puregrenada.comJOIA Aruba by Iberostar: iberostar.com/en/hotels/eagle-beach/joia-aruba-by-iberostarSaint Lucia Tourism Authority: stlucia.org/en AND https://slex.recommend.comVisit Cayman Islands: visitcaymanislands.com/en-usVisit Jamaica: visitjamaica.com/travel-agentsVisit USVI: visitusvi.com

COVERINCLUSIVE GATE 1INCLUSIVE GATE 2-3INCLUSIVE GATE 4Table of ContentsSANDALSSANDALS SPREADEditor's NotesEDU HOUSE ADAdvisor Speak: Making Waves in Cruise SalesIndustry Insights: USTOA puts Responsible Tourism Front and CenterCaribbean/Mexico: Island Hopping—Caribbean UpdateMexico: Good Vibrations—Eco-Friendly Vacays in MexicoCAYMANS ISLANDS SCCAYMAN ISLANDSINCLUSIVE COLLECTION SCINCLUSIVE COLLECTION ADINCLUSIVE COLLECTION SPREADPALLADIUM SPREADOnsite Review: Grand Palladium Punta Cana—Four Resorts in OneCruise: All-Around Wellness—For the Planet and Your ClientsOceania’s Marina is Back in ServiceOCEANIA SCOCEANIA CRUISESOnboard Review: Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse PointNorth America: Two Las Vegas Giants Put Focus on Healthy FutureMGM SCMGM RESORTSOnsite Review: Disney Magic Meets the BayouTURKISH AIRLINES