Caribbean tips

At least seven people in Jamaica have been killed and thousands of others are left assessing the damage after Hurricane Beryl hit the southern coast of the island in the early hours of Thursday.

American Airlines will offer three additional flights on July 2, 2024, from Jamaica to the United States as Hurricane Beryl pushes its way further into the Caribbean.With the new flights added, the carrier will operate 14 flights from Jamaica to the United States in response to the hurricane, according to a report from Jamaica Observer.The hurricane already made landfall on Grenada’s Carriacou Island as a Category 4 storm on Monday. At least three deaths have been attributed to the hurricane, which hit Grenada with 150-mile-per-hour winds, according to news reports.The storm has since restrengthened and on Monday night it was labeled the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record.

UPDATE: 8:30 AM EST Tues July 2, 2024

The resilient and popular island of Jamaica launched a new summer promotion offering savings up to 65 percent off at fifty of the island’s participating hotels and resorts for travel this fall and winter.

Perhaps it was the Celebrity Cruises Captain’s Club members who didn’t even know they’d booked a President’s Cruise who seemed to enjoy it the most.

In the heart of the Caribbean, anticipation is building for the prestigious World Travel Awards Caribbean & The Americas Ceremony, scheduled for July 1st at the luxurious Sandals St Vincent and the Grenadines resort. This eagerly awaited event promises to be a dazzling celebration of excellence in the tourism and hospitality industries, set against the backdrop of one of the region’s newest and most stunning destinations.

Delta Air Lines will fly its largest selection of flights from Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP) to the Caribbean and in Latin America this winter, with new routes to Aruba and St. Maarten, as well as expanded service to popular destinations including Grand Cayman and San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI), the latest global phenomenon, was a major focus at the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s (CTO) Caribbean Week in New York, where a Ministerial forum looked at leveraging AI for tourism development. During the discussions, Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett highlighted that this technology will be the new frontier for Caribbean tourism and must be harnessed properly to enable more seamlessness within the industry.

Kelly Fontenelle, St. Kitts Tourism Authority's new CEO (Photo Credit: Kelly Fontenelle)

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French fashion house Jacquemus has partnered with luxury hospitality leader Four Seasons to create a summer experience at The Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort, Bahamas. This close encounter between one of Europe’s leading fashion brands and the legendary Ocean Club will immerse guests in the Jacquemus world of “pop luxury” befitting of a destination that has been a playground for the international jet set since the 1960s.

The government of dual-island Caribbean nation St. Kitts and Nevis has signed the Glasgow Declaration for Climate Action in Tourism, committing the country to halving tourism emissions by 2030 and reaching net zero as soon as possible before 2050, said St. Kitts officials in a statement.

Luxury cruise line Emerald Cruises is offering new Caribbean itineraries for the winter 2024-25 season onboard the Emerald Azzurra. 

Sandals has been welcoming travelers to its resorts throughout the Caribbean for more than 40 years, and it’s been giving back to local communities through its Sandals Foundation for the past 15 years. 

Sandals Resorts International (SRI) announced today its plans to commemorate the anniversary of its non-profit arm, the Sandals Foundation, with a new, year-long campaign titled, Empower 15. As part of this initiative, The Power of 15 project will harness the strength of the Caribbean sun to bring sustainable solar energy to Caribbean schools, ensuring a much needed power supply that allows for learning in the critical digital space to continue uninterrupted.

Jamaica is experiencing robust growth in tourist arrivals, with Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett predicting the island will reach a historic milestone of two million stopover and cruise visitors at end of May. This surge is also expected to generate approximately US$2 billion in earnings.

While summer kicks off, customers can get a head start on planning to get away this winter with more options to visit the Caribbean and Latin America with American Airlines. In winter 2024, American will enhance its industry-leading short-haul international network with eight new routes and increased service, offering flights to more destinations than any other U.S. carrier in the region. “Customers will have more reasons to choose American than ever before for nonstop fun in the sun this year,” said Brian Znotins, American’s Senior Vice President of Network and Schedule Planning. “We are excited to continue growing our network to the region with more flights this winter to the Caribbean and Latin America than any other U.S. carrier ever.”

Prime Minister of Grenada Hon. Dickon Mitchell says stakeholders from a wide cross section of the economy must be included in conversations if the Caribbean is to secure the sustainability of its tourism sector. Speaking at the 2024 Sustainable Tourism Conference in Grenada on April 22nd, the Prime Minister noted that partnership is important to ensure the industry’s success “if we are talking about sustainable tourism, we need partnership in order to sustain ourselves. So it means that when we have our conversations we need to be a little more inclusive. Invite the farmers, agro processors, fishermen, supply chain people to help us sustain this tourism industry which is our crown jewel in the Caribbean.”

WHY IT RATES: The luxury tour operator is once again returning to Cuba with a new culture-focused ten-day small group journey. — Lacey Pfalz, Associate Writer, TravelPulse

Sandals Hotels and Resorts’ newly opened Sandals Saint Vincent and the Grenadines property is a showcase in every sense of the word. The 50-acre all-inclusive resort is located on the destination’s main island of St. Vincent, nestled deep among high, lush green mountain peaks on three sides.

Haiti's main international airport in the capital city of Port-au-Prince has reopened to air traffic after debilitating gang violence forced officials to close it back in March.According to the Associated Press, Toussaint Louverture International Airport (PAP) reopened Monday, which should allow for the much-needed delivery of medication and other basic supplies throughout the country amid an ongoing humanitarian crisis.Local carrier Sunrise Airways is the only airline flying into or out of PAP at the moment. U.S.-based carriers are not expected to begin service to the airport until late May or early June.The Caribbean country has been plagued by violence of late and has been essentially a no-go for American tourists for months, with cruise lines canceling port calls.