The lineup of artists and musicians for the 27th St Lucia Jazz Festival has been announced at a special reception hosted by the St Lucia Tourism Authority in London.
The event was attended by Prime Minister Allen Chastanet, who was passing through London on his way home from Bonn, Germany.
The reception, attended by various travel agents, tour operators and the media, was also used to launch the 2018 Soleil Summer Festivals which will comprise four events running from May to October starting with the Jazz Festival from 6-13 May.
Tobago hoteliers are reporting between 30 and 50 per cent decline in room occupancy and believe regular visitors to the island are losing trust in the reliability of the airbridge and seabridge.
The air and sea travel service have been flooded with complaints and problems for most of 2017, resulting in a downward spiral of visitor arrivals and potential revenue.
The seabridge issue first reared its head, during the months of June, July and August 2017 which are considered to be the peak time in which hotels earn the highest revenue.
A lot can happen in a year — but 2017 was particularly eventful when it came to how we travel the world. The threats that loomed largest in 2016, Zika and the migrant crisis, faded into the rear-view mirror as talk of a United States travel ban and Brexit suddenly dominated global headlines. And that was just the beginning. Here are six significant ways the world changed for globetrotters in the last 12 months:
Mother Nature Rewrote the Travel Map
Uber has suspended operations in Cancun. The announcement comes after a year of issues with Mexican officials and taxi companies.
According to Reportur.com, Uber’s communications director for Mexico, Carlos Olivo, revealed operations were suspended at 9 a.m. local time Wednesday as part of a collaboration with the Congress of Quintana Roo.
Ten Americans who were flying from a vacation hotspot on the tropical Pacific coast on Costa Rica died on Sunday when the small plane they had boarded suddenly crashed.
Thereafter it burst into flames a short while after its take-off, as specified by officials in the country.
The regional news media offered a list of the passengers. The list portrayed that five shared the same last name and it suggested that they were all related.
Although final visitor numbers for 2017 won't be tallied for another month or so, the Dominican Republic appears to be the clear winner once again in the Caribbean and is poised to top its 6.1 million-visitor-mark achieved in 2016.
That number represented a 6.4% jump over 2015 numbers. Through November 2017, air tourist arrivals totaled 5,560,787, up 3.9% or 208,286 more than the same period last year.
The original developer of the Bahamas' Baha Mar resort has sued its primary contractor, alleging 15 counts of fraud and breaches of contract, and claiming that it has suffered more than $3 billion worth of damages.
A new U.S. cruise docked Thursday here in its bid to promote Cuba as one of its most important destinations in the Caribbean despite a serious setback in bilateral ties.
The ship "Veendam" of Holland America Line, one of U.S. firm Carnival Corporation's brands, arrived in the Cuban capital with more than 1,600 passengers on board.
The ship plans to continue its sail to the southern Cuban city of Cienfuegos where travelers will engage in cultural and educational activities.
U.S. airlines are wagering that American tourists will keep flocking to Cancun despite rising violence in Mexico and a warning from the State Department.
Southwest Airlines Co., Spirit Airlines Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. are adding flights to the resort. United Continental Holdings Inc. is using one of its biggest jets once a week to ply the Chicago-Cancun route.
When making these decisions, many people are wondering what is open for business. Wildfires ravaged Napa and Sonoma counties and other parts of California. Hurricanes hit Florida, Texas and the Caribbean. An earthquake pummeled Mexico City and other parts of the country. And domestic terrorism hit Las Vegas with a mass shooting.
As 2017 draws to a close, LATA members have revealed forward booking statistics for 2018 showing positive growth in travel to Latin America, particularly to Peru, Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica and Colombia.
At the same time, the organization is predicting an increase in demand for less traditional and more off-the-beaten-track destinations, and a surge in luxury bookings.
This has been a challenging year for Caribbean tourism. While the first half of the year saw exciting growth in both tourism infrastructure and tourist arrivals over the previous year, in September we were hit hard by a series of unusual hurricanes that not only destroyed property, but also took the lives of many of our citizens. We must never forget the souls we lost along the way.
The Caribbean was hard-hit by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, but that doesn't mean you should skip it this vacation season. Much of the region was out of the storms' paths and spared any damage. But the islands that did get hit need are rapidly recovering and, with economies that are reliant on tourism, are eager for visitors to return.
Cruises
The cruise line announced that the automatic gratuity of $13.50 and $16.50 for suite guests will increase by $1 per guest, per day beginning January 2, 2018, rising to $14.50 and $17.50, respectively.
Passengers who book before January 2 are eligible to pre-pay gratuities prior to their cruise at the current rate, Royal Caribbean said.
The increase marks the third in as many years for Royal Caribbean, which tacked on an additional 55 cents to the cost last year.
Cuando Gran Bretaña perdió la Guerra de Independencia Norteamericana, los franceses amenazaron el imperio británico en el Caribe, pero la armada inglesa derrotó definitivamente a los franceses en 1782 en las proximidades del archipiélago de Les Saintes.
