CARIBBEAN TODAY


TOURISM BRIEFS


* Delta flies weekly to
Bonaire
Tourism Corporation Bonaire has
announced that beginning Feb. 9,
2008 Delta Air Lines will launch a
weekly non-stop flight from its
Atlanta hub to Bonaire.
 Delta Air Lines flight 371 will
depart Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta
International Airport Saturdays at
10 a.m. arriving at Bonaire's
Flamingo International Airport at
3:10 p.m. The return flight 370
will depart Bonaire Saturdays at
4:15 p.m. arriving in Atlanta at
7:55 p.m.
* ...and St. Kitts too
The St. Kitts Tourism Authority has
announced that Delta Air Lines will
commence a new non-stop flight
from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta
International Airport to St. Kitts, the
first time the airline will offer serv-


ice to this Caribbean island.
 The flight will operate once a
week on Saturdays, beginning on
Feb. 16, 2008. Delta's flight 373
will depart Atlanta at 11:15 a.m.
and arrive at St. Kitts's Robert L.
Bradshaw International Airport at
4:05 p.m. The return flight 372
will depart St. Kitts at 4:55 p.m.
and arrive in Atlanta at 8:05 p.m.

* Hyatt to open in Port of
Spain
In December, Hyatt Regency will
open its newest hotel in Port of
Spain, Trinidad.
 The 428-room hotel will be
located in the heart of Trinidad and
Tobago's capital city and financial
epicenter.
Compiled from several
sources.
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(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15)
 "When you go to Europe
you can get one package that
will carry you to France,
Spain, Italy, Portugal and yet
their countries are a lot far-
ther apart than we are in the
Caribbean yet within the
Caribbean we don't have one
package that can carry you
to Barbados, St. Vincent, St.


CAN WE TALK?


Peter A. Webley,
 Publisher


Lucia and Grenada.
 "Not one package is there
and one of the things about
travelers and potential travel-
ers is that they love nothing
better than when they return
home they could say that they
visited more than one country
on that trip," he added.
0


 RAWLE TITUS

ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada,
CMC A United States diplo-
mat says there is no evidence
that new travel regulations
announced recently by
Washington were affecting the
tourism industry in the
Caribbean.
 Washington said that U.S.
citizens traveling to the
Caribbean had to be in posses-
sion of a valid passport in
order to re-enter the country.
 The Western Hemisphere
Travel Initiative (WHTI) first
came into effect in January,
but was relaxed to accommo-
date travelers whose passport
applications were taking
longer than expected in light
of the high demand for the
travel document.
 But the move by the U.S.
was criticized by tourism offi-


Most of us try to attract other people by the friends
we keep and the way we carry ourselves. If you
are going to a party or a formal function, don't you
dress well? We all want to promote a favorable
impression of ourselves to other people we meet
and talk to.
If we agree on that, then think of this. Why should it
be any different for your business? If you want to
project a favorable image of your company, in
order to win customers, you should keep your com-
pany with good friends and... dress your company
well in...


 CaribbeanlI-day
 Consistently credible
 For information, please call
 305-238-2868, or fax 305-252-7843


cials in the Caribbean who
said that the move would seri-
ously damage the industry that
provides employment for a
significant amount of people
and is a major revenue earner.
However, Karen Jo Mclsaac,
charge d'affaires at the U.S.
embassy here, said the author-
ities have not seen any notice-
able decline in visitor arrivals
ahead of the Oct. 1 implemen-
tation date of the new meas-
ures.
 "You will have to ask the
immigration authorities for the
actual numbers of people
going in and out, but we have
not really seen a decrease as
far as I can tell," Mclsaac
told the Caribbean Media
Corporation (CMC).
 "There are a large number
of American visitors and
Grenada particularly does not
focus on the U.S. and so a
larger number of your tourists
are still coming from Europe
and other areas but it has not
appeared to have the kind of


effect that was feared," the
U.S. diplomat said.

POSSIBLY LOSS
 A study, conducted by the
World Travel and Tourism
Council (WTTC), on behalf of
the Caribbean Hotel Association
(CHA), found that the region
stands to lose an estimated
US$2.6 billion in earnings and
more than 188,000 jobs at risk.
 "And we are not hearing
the kind of complaints that we
heard before the rule went into
effect in January that it was
going to destroy the tourism
sector. I don't think it did,"
said the U.S. charge d'affaires.
 "People continue to come
especially because again a
number of the other islands
have always required U.S.
visitors to have passports.
Grenada was the one that did-
n't so that was where I sort of
expected a difference but it
does not seem to have had a
negative impact," she added.
0


U.S. visitor arrivals in the Caribbean dip...


(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15)
revealed a brisk February/
March, but Li_-,in_-i Christmas
holiday bookings so far, which
they attribute more to higher
airfares imposed for that peri-
od. Issa had no doubts.
 "SuperClubs' winter is
looking very strong, with solid
bookings through the season,"
he said. "Our upscale Grand
Lido properties always do
very well in winter, and the
high accolades lavished on
recently renovated Breezes
Runaway Bay are generating
new business plus returning
guests."


 The temporary use of
passport applications as re-
entry documents was sched-
uled to expire on Sept. 30,
now that the summer rush has
subsided and the backlog is
supposedly under control. Yet
unless there is a last-minute
renewal of that format,
U.S./Caribbean visitor arrival
statistics for the next six
months should turn up some
revealing percentages.

Eleanor M. Wilson is a free-
lance writer for Caribbean
Today.
0


POINT OF DIVERSITY


Jamaica Tourist Board's Regional Director Clive Taffe points out Jamaica's diverse offerings to some 80 travel agents from major
markets in the United States during a recent mini-tourism trade show at the Half Moon Conference Centre in Montego Bay,
Jamaica. The four-day event was organized by the Jamaica Tourist Board and the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association JHTA),
with support from Air Jamaica. Looking on from the head table are JTB's Marketing Representative Wayne Sterling and JTHA's
First Vice President Evelyn Smith.


St. Vincent's tourism sector making

 contribution ~ minister


U.S. diplomat denies negative fallout of WHTI


 Call for Bids or Proposals
 For a listing of available Broward Community College (BCC)
 open procurement solicitations visit:
 www.broward.edu/purchasing/bids
 or contact
 954-201-7455
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 owned business enterprises (MWBE firms)


October 2007


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