Daily Archives: April 3, 2017

Karolin Troubetzkoy addresses U.S. Virgin Islands Hotel and Tourism Associations Annual General Meeting

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS The head of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) called on the region to work together to ensure the Caribbean remains one of the worlds leading destinations.

Delivering the keynote at the Annual General Meeting of the U.S. Virgin Islands Hotel and Tourism Association earlier this month, CHTA President Karolin Troubetzkoy noted that while Caribbean destinations are very different, they share many of the same challenges from the impact of climate change to the high cost of operations.

Troubetzkoy, who is the executive director of operations at St. Lucias Anse Chastanet and Jade Mountain resorts, believes a collective resolve is needed, leveraging the strength of diversity and the commonalities of the regions countries and territories to fulfill tourisms true potential.

She pointed to the some of the issues many regional destinations are facing, such as improving intra-regional travel, the high costs of airlift to the region as well as importing food, taxes and the growing activity of the sharing economy.

Troubetzkoy indicated she is encouraged by recent movements towards greater public-private sector collaboration to address the regions tourism competitiveness and development.

She cited a recent presentation by CHTA and the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) at the CARICOM Intersessional meeting where the leaders gave the green light to the organizations to draft a plan for submission to the CARICOM Summit in July for a sustained region-wide tourism development and marketing initiative.

Quoting from a recent CTO report on the industrys 2016 tourism performance, Troubetzkoy observed that while the Caribbean reported its seventh consecutive year of growth with an increase of visitor arrivals by 4.2 percent and a total of 29.3 million stay-over visitors to the region, that growth was unevenly distributed, with Cuba and the Dominican Republic being the primary beneficiaries.

Similarly, despite the increase in visitor arrivals, many regional hotel properties did not experience a successful 2016, as measured in terms of key performance indicators such as Occupancy, ADR (Average Daily Rate) and RevPar (Revenue per Available Room).

Underscoring the need for integrated regional approaches, Troubetzkoy reminded attendees that the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) expects the Caribbean regions tourism share to decline from 2.1 percent to 1.7 percent by 2030.

The CHTA president issued a call to tourism professionals across the region to work together to make their destinations more competitive on the global market: We also must keep an eye on the many international tourism destinations out there that perform better than us destinations that have been able to offer 5- and 6-star products at a cost that probably would buy a 3- or 4-star holiday in the Caribbean.

She called for stronger partnerships between the public and private sectors at the destination and regional levels to tackle the difficult issues of increased airlift, air travel costs, taxation, improved inter-regional connectivity and figuring out together how to price products more competitively in the global marketplace: Our discussions may be uncomfortable and sometimes heated but they must take place because, in the end, we are in this together.

Pointing to the rapid growth of the alternative accommodations sector through online platforms like Airbnb, she asserted: Rather than fighting the trend we have much to gain by working with (them) to find ways of cooperating for the benefit of our visitors, our dedicated hoteliers and tourism professionals, as well as our hospitable citizens who are willing to share their homes with visitors from abroad, and from within our destinations.

CHTA Chairman Richard Doumeng with CHTA President Karolin Troubetzkoy (center) and Lisa Hamilton, President of the U.S. Virgin Islands Hotel and Tourism Association

Key issues related to the sharing economys participation in the hospitality industry include the need to ensure safety and security for guests, and to establish policies that require the homestay community to make a reasonable contribution to each destinations infrastructure maintenance and construction costs.

Noting that people are key to competitiveness, Troubetzkoy urged destinations to develop and fine-tune every aspect of our customer service experience, enhancing our product itself whether we are talking about availability of real, authentic Caribbean cultural and culinary offers, locally made products or renovated and enhanced hotel accommodations that have taken into account changing customer expectations.

None of this can be achieved, she declared, without well-trained and informed people in the sector: We have to ensure we are training people who will continually improve our product as they make fulfilling careers in tourism, and we need to also provide these stalwarts of our sector with continuing education and training. Because, lets face it our landscapes, adventures and beaches will draw travelers to our shores but it is our Caribbean people who will keep them coming back.

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People and Partnership Needed To Keep Caribbean Competitive - South Florida Caribbean News

The latest trailer for the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Dead Men Tell No Tales, just hit YouTube with a revealing detail that has OG fans losing their minds: Orlando Bloom makes a return appearance as the OG character Will Turner!

Last time we saw Will was in the third movie, At World's End, when his heart was carved out and placed in the Dead Man's Chest. This granted him immortality but forced him to take over as captain of the Flying Dutchman, able to venture ashore just once every 10 years. And boy, have we missed him in the series!

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In Dead Men Tell No Tales, ghost sailors led by Captain Salazar escape from the Devil's Triangle intent on killing all pirates especially Jack Sparrow. Jack's only hope of survival lies in finding the legendary Trident of Poseidon, and he enlists the help of Carina Smyth, a brilliant astronomer, and Henry, a headstrong young sailor in the Royal Navy (who just happens to be Will Turner's hot son).

The new trailer shows Will for just a split-second (at the 0:15 mark), as he appears to reach out and touch Henry's face. Will looks a little worse for wear, barnacles having taken root in his immortal flesh. Still, it's going to be an exciting ride seeing how they end up reunited! Will the new PotC gang end up on the Flying Dutchman?

Check out the trailer below and make your own guess!

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See Will Turner's Surprising Return in the New "Pirates of the Caribbean" Trailer - Seventeen.com

U.S. Ambassador Linda Taglialatela

Basseterre, St. Kitts The region can expect continued cooperation with the United States under the Trump administration in the area of security, Bridgetown-based U.S. Ambassador Linda Taglialatela says.

She was responding to questions about the likelihood of U.S. relations with the Caribbean changing because of the policies of President Donald Trump.

I think its been very clear that Mr. Trump and his administration have been highly supportive of security and because of the security ramifications with the Caribbean and the fact that we consider them our third border, there is always going to be an engagement with the Caribbean, Taglialatela said. There may be some shifts in some of the programs that we do here in the Caribbean, but for the most part, we will continue to maintain and sustain a relationship with the Caribbean nations.

On the issue of climate change and deportation, for example, WINN asked how much room is there for common ground on those and other differences?

I think that, in those cases, well have to see how the administration moves forward. Mr. Trump has talked about the fact that climate change is less important and it may impact on exactly what were doing in the Caribbean, but itll be something well continue to monitor and provide assistance as we can, the ambassador said.

Some of Trumps critics have suggested that his make America great again is a code for making America white again.

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Ambassador: Trump Policies Not Likely to Impact Caribbean-US Security Cooperation - Atlanta Black Star

If only we could all quit our jobs to sail the Caribbean. Lucky for us, there are people like Catherine Marks and her husband Will Marks who take the plunge and bring us along via YouTube for some vicarious adventuring. The couple share their experiences on Monday Never, a blog that documents the time they spent sailing the ocean and also exploring the Bahamas and Europe.

But first, a bit of background: The Marks, previously a management consultant (Catherine) and an engineer (Will), met at Yacht Week in the British Virgin Islands back in 2011. (Sense a theme?) It was the very first time Catherine had sailed, according to the Monday Never blog. It was the beginning of the pair's relationship, which sent them to San Francisco.

They eventually decided to cut costs in a slightly unconventional way, by buying an old sailboat and sailing around the Caribbean for 10 months but saving some money wasn't the only benefit. In an interview with Islands.com, the couple talks about how much it ended up relieving stress: "It gave us a break from the stress of work and let us live a simpler life. We got to spend all of our days together, snorkeling and freediving the most beautiful water in the world."

Doesn't sound like the worst way to live.

While they're looking to take to the seas again, the couple also spent some time exploring Europe in a sidecar motorcycle. It may sound like a casual experience spending your days freediving and catching dinner but the couple saved a pretty penny for their 10-month adventure.

"We saved aggressively for several years to buy a 36-foot, 1989 CS Merlin sloop for $37,000, which we sold for close to that when our adventure was over," they shared with Islands.com. "We budgeted to spend $4,000 per month on expenses, emergencies, and boat repairs, but we rarely spent more than $3,000."

It's a dream for many, kicking conventional paychecks to the curb to instead see the world. But it's not impossible. Want to know more about the Marks and their extended vacation? Head on over to their YouTube account, Monday Never.

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This Couple Quit Their Jobs to Sail Around the Caribbean for 10 Months - Travel+Leisure

Details Written by Ken Richards Category: Local Published: 03 April 2017 Hits: 299

St Kitts and Nevis (WINN): St Kitts and Nevis and other Caribbean nations are getting some advice on measures that should be taken in their quest to strengthen their economies.

US Ambassador Linda Taglialatela, who heads the American Embassy in Bridgetown, says regional states are having a hard time like the rest of the world.

She is of the view however, that there are measures that can be taken to help islands she labels very proud Caribbean nations move forward economically despite existing hardships.

Each island needs to have a long term plan, I think first they need to not only look at building additional hotels and attracting more tourism but look at infrastructure. Work on their roads, work on their schools, look at ways to diversify out of the tourism sector. I realize thats probably the biggest and primary source of revenue but they need to look beyond that. I know that St Kitts and Nevis is looking at geothermal energy, I think they do need to diversify to get their energy costs down and they need to find ways to attract business, both private and foreign investors in their country. There are some issues with youth unemployment which leads to the risk of youths turning to crime, I think you need to address how were going to deal with it but I think on a whole, each of them has a plan its just a matter getting to the point of implementing.

Ambassador Taglialatela is expecting continued good relations between the Caribbean and the United States.

I think that the Caribbean has a lot to offer to the world and has a lot to offer the United States as far as a partnership goes. I think that we will continue to have a good relationship and I think that there has to be a good partnership and collaboration between the United States and the Caribbean. We have over 2 million Americans coming to the Caribbean every year and a number of dual citizens living both in the United States and here in the Caribbean and there will always be a close tie between the two areas.

Author: Ken RichardsEmail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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US Ambassador Offers Advice to Caribbean States - WINN FM