Jamaica and the Bahamas has been selected for a pilot project studying the effects of climate change on the Caribbean.
The study is part of a project called CARIBSAVE, which is conducted by the University of Oxford and the Caribbean Centre for Climate Change. The project aims to raise US$35 million over the next three to five years to study the effects of climate change and its effect of tourism in the region.
The UK Department for International Development recently contributed 240,000 pounds to the project, and part of that seed funding will be used for the six-month study in Ochos Rios, Jamaica, and Eleuthera, Bahamas.
As reported in The Eleutheran News, the study will provide a blueprint for climate and adaptation modelling, as well as vulnerability screening, that can be used across other tourist destinations in the Caribbean.
Destinational data collected between 1961-2008 will be assessed to calculate the islands' likely climate until 2100. Likely levels of rainfall, windspeed, rising sea temperatures and levels as well as the frequency of hurricanes will be predicted.
The CARIBSAVE project is intended to inform policy planning not just in the tourism sector but also in health, energy, agriculture and infrastructure to name a few.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Jet Blue adds movies to Caribbean flights
Caribbean Travel News reports that Jet Blue will be offering feature films to its Caribbean and Latin American flights to make them more enjoyable.
Starting from April, six complimentary movies will be selected from top Hollywood studios each month and three films will be available in each flight direction on channels 38,39 and 40. April features include Yes Man, Seven Pounds, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Marley & Me, Defiance and Revolutionary Road. For other flights longer than two hours, films can be purchased for US$5.
Jet Blue flies to 14 Caribbean and Latin American destinations including: Aruba; Nassau, Bahamas; Bermuda; Cancun; Bogota, Colombia; San Jose, Costa Rica; Puerto Plata, Santiago and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Montego Bay, Jamaica (service begins May 21); Aguadilla, Ponce and San Juan, Puerto Rico; and San Maarten.
Starting from April, six complimentary movies will be selected from top Hollywood studios each month and three films will be available in each flight direction on channels 38,39 and 40. April features include Yes Man, Seven Pounds, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Marley & Me, Defiance and Revolutionary Road. For other flights longer than two hours, films can be purchased for US$5.
Jet Blue flies to 14 Caribbean and Latin American destinations including: Aruba; Nassau, Bahamas; Bermuda; Cancun; Bogota, Colombia; San Jose, Costa Rica; Puerto Plata, Santiago and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Montego Bay, Jamaica (service begins May 21); Aguadilla, Ponce and San Juan, Puerto Rico; and San Maarten.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Caribbean tourism going green
The Caribbean tourism sector is going green. Read all about it on Environmental Leader
Falling tourism forces changes at B'dos Tourism Authority
The Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) is to be split into separate entities as authorities in the island move to boost tourism figures, on the heels of a 7.7 per cent drop in long-stay arrivals.
Tourism Minister Richard Sealy said the changes would be made by the end of this year.
The development will see one entity being responsible for marketing - the Barbados Tourism Marketing Company - and the other for product development - the Barbados Tourism Product Development Company. Sealy said there would be no duplication of work involving the two entities and administrative costs would be shared.
"We will have two entities that are engaged in two activities that are crucial to the long-term survival of our tourism industry. There will be a common services company for these two entities, so that corporate services and so on, administrative functions, those costs can be shared and we can have two efficient organisations that are focused on the tasks that confront them," the Tourism Minister said.
Sealy added that there had been adjustments to the BTA Board, trimming it from 18 to 11. But he said no one had been left without a job.
"We have not sacked or chased away any-one...merely invited them to be a part of this [new] entity," he explained.
The Tourism Minister has acknowledged that this year would be very challenging for the country's biggest foreign exchange earning sector.
Although the cruise industry has been doing well, with arrivals up by 5.4 per cent, long-stay arrivals were down by 7.7 per cent at the end of February when compared to the same period in 2008 - a record year in which the industry made "more money than it has ever earned".
The biggest decline was in the United States market where there was a 14 per cent decline up to the end of last month and there was also a significant 9.2 per cent drop in arrivals from the United Kingdom - its largest market.
The Tourism Minister suggested the decrease was a result of cutbacks in flights to the island by international airlines but said the government is in negotiations with existing partners and new ones to boost airlift to the island.
Tourism Minister Richard Sealy said the changes would be made by the end of this year.
The development will see one entity being responsible for marketing - the Barbados Tourism Marketing Company - and the other for product development - the Barbados Tourism Product Development Company. Sealy said there would be no duplication of work involving the two entities and administrative costs would be shared.
"We will have two entities that are engaged in two activities that are crucial to the long-term survival of our tourism industry. There will be a common services company for these two entities, so that corporate services and so on, administrative functions, those costs can be shared and we can have two efficient organisations that are focused on the tasks that confront them," the Tourism Minister said.
Sealy added that there had been adjustments to the BTA Board, trimming it from 18 to 11. But he said no one had been left without a job.
"We have not sacked or chased away any-one...merely invited them to be a part of this [new] entity," he explained.
The Tourism Minister has acknowledged that this year would be very challenging for the country's biggest foreign exchange earning sector.
Although the cruise industry has been doing well, with arrivals up by 5.4 per cent, long-stay arrivals were down by 7.7 per cent at the end of February when compared to the same period in 2008 - a record year in which the industry made "more money than it has ever earned".
The biggest decline was in the United States market where there was a 14 per cent decline up to the end of last month and there was also a significant 9.2 per cent drop in arrivals from the United Kingdom - its largest market.
The Tourism Minister suggested the decrease was a result of cutbacks in flights to the island by international airlines but said the government is in negotiations with existing partners and new ones to boost airlift to the island.
And in airline news...
American Eagle expands air service to Martinique
American Eagle will offer daily service between its hub in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Martinique's capital, Fort-de-France from April.
The new daily service replaces previous the American Eagle service, which operated four times weekly.
"This is a wonderful boost for tourism in Martinique following the just concluded general strike among our local unions," said Muriel Wiltord, director of the Americas for the Martinique Promotion Bureau/CMT USA.
"The strike may have had a minimal impact on tourism, but we intend to put forth a maximum effort to ensure a successful year for our travel industry partners and visitors to the island. This is a great start to that maximum effort, and I hope to have more good news to share soon."
The strike action began in the French overseas region of Guadeloupe on January 20th and spread to neighbouring Martinique, crippling the islands.
The general strikes began over the cost of living, the prices of basic commodities, including fuel and food and demands for an increase in the monthly salaries of low income workers.
The protests ended after union leaders reached agreement with employers on a pay raise.
Winair keeps Nevis route
The St Maarten-based Windward Islands Airways International (Winair) has shelved the plans it announced a few weeks ago to cut its Nevis route.
Managing Director Edwin Hodge announced yesterday that after several days of discussion with the Nevis Island Administration (NIA), agreement was reached to keep the Nevis service going.
"Maintaining a reliable, scheduled air link between Nevis and St Maarten is in the best interest of the island and the people of Nevis, especially in the present world economic climate," said Nevis Premier and Minister of Tourism Joseph Parry.
"Our objective was to maintain St Maarten as a gateway to Nevis for international travellers, while providing the opportunity for Nevisians to travel to St Maarten for a day trip. This we have achieved and I'm sure that the mutually beneficial relationship between Nevis and Winair will continue into the future."
A decline in the number of customers and rapidly growing operational costs that put a strain on the airline's finances had prompted management to announce plans to cut four routes - Nevis, Dominica, Tortola and St Kitts.
While the Dominica route was abandoned on March 1st and Tortola and St Kitts had their last flights on March 29th, the Nevis government approached the airline's management to see what could be done to save the Nevis service.
"The attempts and efforts made by the government of Nevis demonstrate the excellent and long-term relationship that both Winair and Nevis has shared over the years. Therefore, I commend Premier Parry and his team of officials for their efforts and significant work in saving the route as they understand the importance that Winair has been playing within the community," Hodge said.
The Winair executive pointed out that the airline has established a number of interline agreements with some of the world's major carriers, including Delta, United, Northwest, Air Canada and Air France, which will be able to connect passengers to St Maarten via Nevis.
"Winair provides a perfect platform for the growth and continued development of tourism in Nevis as it serves the island as a springboard for many tourists and visitors attempting to connect with some of the world's top airlines. We see a win-win situation with the input that the NIA administration has done and commend them for jumping immediately on board, as it is their vision which has brought the level of success that we are already enjoying," Hodge said. "I trust that we will (Winair) will continue to deliver as the expectations are very high."
Winair began servicing the island of Nevis in 1962 and has provided an uninterrupted service ever since.
The carrier also flies daily to the islands of Saba, St Barths, St Eustatius, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, and Montserrat.
Air Jamaica cuts NY-Barbados route
Air Jamaica will cut its New York-Barbados service, even as it increases travel on other routes as the airline aligns capacity to meet market demand.
Flights on the Barbados flight will be suspended on April 20.
At the same time, the other services that will increase include the New York-Grenada route, which will have four weekly flights; Fort Lauderdale to Jamaica, which will have five daily flights; New York to Jamaica, four daily flights; and a daily service between Toronto and Jamaica.
In all, Air Jamaica will increase its overall schedule to 246 weekly flights.
American Eagle will offer daily service between its hub in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Martinique's capital, Fort-de-France from April.
The new daily service replaces previous the American Eagle service, which operated four times weekly.
"This is a wonderful boost for tourism in Martinique following the just concluded general strike among our local unions," said Muriel Wiltord, director of the Americas for the Martinique Promotion Bureau/CMT USA.
"The strike may have had a minimal impact on tourism, but we intend to put forth a maximum effort to ensure a successful year for our travel industry partners and visitors to the island. This is a great start to that maximum effort, and I hope to have more good news to share soon."
The strike action began in the French overseas region of Guadeloupe on January 20th and spread to neighbouring Martinique, crippling the islands.
The general strikes began over the cost of living, the prices of basic commodities, including fuel and food and demands for an increase in the monthly salaries of low income workers.
The protests ended after union leaders reached agreement with employers on a pay raise.
Winair keeps Nevis route
The St Maarten-based Windward Islands Airways International (Winair) has shelved the plans it announced a few weeks ago to cut its Nevis route.
Managing Director Edwin Hodge announced yesterday that after several days of discussion with the Nevis Island Administration (NIA), agreement was reached to keep the Nevis service going.
"Maintaining a reliable, scheduled air link between Nevis and St Maarten is in the best interest of the island and the people of Nevis, especially in the present world economic climate," said Nevis Premier and Minister of Tourism Joseph Parry.
"Our objective was to maintain St Maarten as a gateway to Nevis for international travellers, while providing the opportunity for Nevisians to travel to St Maarten for a day trip. This we have achieved and I'm sure that the mutually beneficial relationship between Nevis and Winair will continue into the future."
A decline in the number of customers and rapidly growing operational costs that put a strain on the airline's finances had prompted management to announce plans to cut four routes - Nevis, Dominica, Tortola and St Kitts.
While the Dominica route was abandoned on March 1st and Tortola and St Kitts had their last flights on March 29th, the Nevis government approached the airline's management to see what could be done to save the Nevis service.
"The attempts and efforts made by the government of Nevis demonstrate the excellent and long-term relationship that both Winair and Nevis has shared over the years. Therefore, I commend Premier Parry and his team of officials for their efforts and significant work in saving the route as they understand the importance that Winair has been playing within the community," Hodge said.
The Winair executive pointed out that the airline has established a number of interline agreements with some of the world's major carriers, including Delta, United, Northwest, Air Canada and Air France, which will be able to connect passengers to St Maarten via Nevis.
"Winair provides a perfect platform for the growth and continued development of tourism in Nevis as it serves the island as a springboard for many tourists and visitors attempting to connect with some of the world's top airlines. We see a win-win situation with the input that the NIA administration has done and commend them for jumping immediately on board, as it is their vision which has brought the level of success that we are already enjoying," Hodge said. "I trust that we will (Winair) will continue to deliver as the expectations are very high."
Winair began servicing the island of Nevis in 1962 and has provided an uninterrupted service ever since.
The carrier also flies daily to the islands of Saba, St Barths, St Eustatius, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, and Montserrat.
Air Jamaica cuts NY-Barbados route
Air Jamaica will cut its New York-Barbados service, even as it increases travel on other routes as the airline aligns capacity to meet market demand.
Flights on the Barbados flight will be suspended on April 20.
At the same time, the other services that will increase include the New York-Grenada route, which will have four weekly flights; Fort Lauderdale to Jamaica, which will have five daily flights; New York to Jamaica, four daily flights; and a daily service between Toronto and Jamaica.
In all, Air Jamaica will increase its overall schedule to 246 weekly flights.
Amy Winehouse, Jazz and other stuff
It’s been a while since Meka Caribbean has updated you folks on the goings on in regional tourism and we do apologise. The last three months have indeed been very interesting so, to make up for our lack of activity on the blog, we’ve decided to give you a round up of what’s been happening in the world of Caribbean tourism, so you’ll be up to speed.
Jazz by any other name
The Plymouth Jazz Festival is no more. Held for the last four years in Tobago, the festival was cancelled back in February. Major sponsor CL Financial, facing financial difficulties, pulled out of the affair but organiser Anthony Maharaj cited the global economic downturn and an expected low turnout as the reason for the cancellation, Hoteliers in Tobago cried foul though, citing fully booked rooms for the jazz weekend as evidence that people were still interested in attending. In a move to save face, the Tobago House of Assembly has organised another jazz festival which will feature local and regional performers and will take place throughout the island. It’s still jazz but the question remains, can Tobago ever recover the popularity of the Plymouth Jazz festival?
St Lucia Jazz going strong
I would’ve given anything to be a fly on the wall at the St Lucia Tourism Board when the news of the cancellation of Tobago Jazz hit. Usually held a mere week or two before St Lucia’s famed jazz festival, the Tobago version has been St Lucia’s biggest competition, pulling away patrons from Trinidad, which has traditionally been St Lucia’s biggest regional market. Obviously capitalising on the void, the St Lucia tourist board has been running full-page ads in Trinidad newspapers for their festival, which features a slew of big names, including performers such as Patti Labelle, James Ingram, Angelique Kidjo, Chaka Khan, Jeffrey Osbourne and Michael McDonald. I guess Tobago’s loss will undoubtedly be St Lucia’s gain.
Star gazing
On the topic of St Lucia, that island has certainly been enjoying some international attention thanks to Amy Winehouse. The beleaguered British singer recently spent two months on the island to reportedly get her life back in order. From all reports she fell in love with St Lucia and its people and even plans to do some recording there. Winehouse will be the headliner at the upcoming Jazz festival and recent reports say she is heading eyeing a villa to buy on the island. The Turks and Caicos was in the news too when American actor Bruce Willis wed British model Emma Heming there. Willis owns a home on the exclusive Parrot Cay. Singer Mariah Carey was also spotted frolicking under the Caribbean in Barbados with her hubby Nick Cannon for her birthday. Queen Latifah spent her Christmas vacation in Tobago and although some items were reportedly stolen from her room, she had nothing but praises for the country when she appeared on Jay Leno’s show.
Jazz by any other name
The Plymouth Jazz Festival is no more. Held for the last four years in Tobago, the festival was cancelled back in February. Major sponsor CL Financial, facing financial difficulties, pulled out of the affair but organiser Anthony Maharaj cited the global economic downturn and an expected low turnout as the reason for the cancellation, Hoteliers in Tobago cried foul though, citing fully booked rooms for the jazz weekend as evidence that people were still interested in attending. In a move to save face, the Tobago House of Assembly has organised another jazz festival which will feature local and regional performers and will take place throughout the island. It’s still jazz but the question remains, can Tobago ever recover the popularity of the Plymouth Jazz festival?
St Lucia Jazz going strong
I would’ve given anything to be a fly on the wall at the St Lucia Tourism Board when the news of the cancellation of Tobago Jazz hit. Usually held a mere week or two before St Lucia’s famed jazz festival, the Tobago version has been St Lucia’s biggest competition, pulling away patrons from Trinidad, which has traditionally been St Lucia’s biggest regional market. Obviously capitalising on the void, the St Lucia tourist board has been running full-page ads in Trinidad newspapers for their festival, which features a slew of big names, including performers such as Patti Labelle, James Ingram, Angelique Kidjo, Chaka Khan, Jeffrey Osbourne and Michael McDonald. I guess Tobago’s loss will undoubtedly be St Lucia’s gain.
Star gazing
On the topic of St Lucia, that island has certainly been enjoying some international attention thanks to Amy Winehouse. The beleaguered British singer recently spent two months on the island to reportedly get her life back in order. From all reports she fell in love with St Lucia and its people and even plans to do some recording there. Winehouse will be the headliner at the upcoming Jazz festival and recent reports say she is heading eyeing a villa to buy on the island. The Turks and Caicos was in the news too when American actor Bruce Willis wed British model Emma Heming there. Willis owns a home on the exclusive Parrot Cay. Singer Mariah Carey was also spotted frolicking under the Caribbean in Barbados with her hubby Nick Cannon for her birthday. Queen Latifah spent her Christmas vacation in Tobago and although some items were reportedly stolen from her room, she had nothing but praises for the country when she appeared on Jay Leno’s show.
Canadians love the Caribbean
Despite the current economic challenges facing the travel and tourism industry, the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s statistics show that interest remains high in the Caribbean, particularly within North America where the core of the region’s tourist arrivals originated. Tourist arrivals to the Caribbean steadily increased in 2008 from the previous year. With a total of nearly 2.5 million Canadian visitors, the Canadian tourism market accounted for an outstanding 14 percent growth overall.
“Canadians have been long-time supporters of the Caribbean and have nearly doubled their tourism numbers to the region since 2005,” said Hugh Riley, interim secretary general of the CTO and co-chief executive officer for the Caribbean Tourism Development Company (CTDC). “The latest statistics underscore the importance of Canada as one of the Caribbean region’s top tourism markets.”
Canada is showing strong support of the Caribbean region from tour operators as well as additional investments from air carriers. Airlift from new gateway cities, particularly from the West have been added including WestJet’s new direct service to Nassau from Calgary and Transat’s new direct service to Jamaica. Barbados, Jamaica, Dominican Republic and St. Lucia all gained new airlift this past winter season, and both Air Canada and Sunwing commenced additional flights to new destinations throughout the Caribbean region.
The Caribbean, in turn, is continuing to invest in new products throughout 2009, with hotel and resort developments and openings across the region.
“Canadians have been long-time supporters of the Caribbean and have nearly doubled their tourism numbers to the region since 2005,” said Hugh Riley, interim secretary general of the CTO and co-chief executive officer for the Caribbean Tourism Development Company (CTDC). “The latest statistics underscore the importance of Canada as one of the Caribbean region’s top tourism markets.”
Canada is showing strong support of the Caribbean region from tour operators as well as additional investments from air carriers. Airlift from new gateway cities, particularly from the West have been added including WestJet’s new direct service to Nassau from Calgary and Transat’s new direct service to Jamaica. Barbados, Jamaica, Dominican Republic and St. Lucia all gained new airlift this past winter season, and both Air Canada and Sunwing commenced additional flights to new destinations throughout the Caribbean region.
The Caribbean, in turn, is continuing to invest in new products throughout 2009, with hotel and resort developments and openings across the region.
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