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  • Director of Tourism Turks and Caicos after Irma: Tourism, visitors, hotels current status

    ARUBA, 2017/09/10 Resilient, powerful, strong and faithful. This is how Ramon Andrew described the people of Turks and Caicos. Ramon Andrews, the outspoken director of Tourism for the Caribbeans island country Turks and Caicos sounded somehow relieved at the same time as he updated the media today on the current situation on his island, specifically commenting on the safety of visitors and visitor industry professionals.
  • UNWTO: International tourism – strongest half-year results since 2010

    AFGHANISTAN, 2017/09/09 Destinations worldwide welcomed 598 million international tourists in the initial six months of 2017, some 36 million additional than in the same period of 2016. At 6%, increase was well above the trend of recent years, making the current January-June period the strongest half-year since 2010. Visitor numbers reported by destinations around the world reflect strong request for international travel in the initial half of 2017, according to the new UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Worldwide, international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) increased by 6% compared to the same six-month period last year, well above the sustained and consistent trend of 4% or higher increase since 2010. This represents the strongest half-year in seven years.
  • Pray for my island. Irma is hitting Cuba hard !

    CUBA, 2017/09/09 Pray for my island. Irma is hitting Cuba hard. I’m very protective of Cuba.The place I was born in, the place I love most, and my country. I hope everyone stays safe. These are some of tweets seen online while Hurricane Irma is lashing Cuba with strong winds and heavy rain next devastating several Caribbean islands. Upgraded from category 4 to category 5 Irma has no regret hitting the Caribbean Country. Irma hit the Camaguey Archipelago late on Friday, threatening nearby coastal towns and villages.
  • Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas: A history with hurricanes

    AMERICAS, 2017/09/09 Extremely dangerous winds from Hurricane Irma pounded the island of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, damaging the roof of the famous luxury Ritz Carlton. The resort’s website states: The Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas is currently closed due to Hurricane Irma. Spread across 30 acres of oceanfront, The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas – at the same time as operating – offers a luxury resort experience amid breathtaking natural beauty. It is a favorite part tourists, but presently, it is anyone’s guess at the same time as the hotel will be able to re-open.
  • Trinidad and Tobago seeks to leverage broadband in diversification efforts

    TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 2017/07/01 A national drive is gaining pace in Trinidad and Tobago to prioritise access to data services as an engine for economic increase, part of wider plans to reduce the country’s reliance on hydrocarbons. In late April Maxie Cuffie, the minister of public government and communications, announced that a new broadband strategy targeting universal access to internet services was almost finalised. Speaking at a conference titled “Internet of Things: Smarter Living in the Caribbean”, held in Port of Spain, Cuffie said the potential broadband offered could be compared to that of T&T’s hydrocarbons sector. He voiced his confidence that increased reach and speed, combined with a rise in Wi-Fi-capable devices, could deliver significant ripple effects across the national economy.
  • Jamaica Tourism Minister urges more tourism investment

    JAMAICA, 2017/05/29 Financial institutions, inclunding the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), are being urged by Jamaica’s Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, to better establish a window of opportunity for Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) and to invest additional in tourism in the region. Bartlett argued that a additional significant contribution to national economies and its citizens can only come through improving the capacity of people to provide an enhanced visitor experience. Bartlett’s analysis came out his participation in a high-level panel discussion Thursday at the 47th Annual Conference of the Board of Governors of the CDB in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
  • Economic headwinds look set to revive African M&A

    EGYPT, 2017/05/07 Two-thousand and sixteen was relatively quiet for African banking markets on the merger and acquisition (M&A) front. In most of the continent’s larger economies, inclunding Nigeria and South Africa, major transaction announcements were absent despite the challenging economic conditions of recent times. Buy-ins to African banks from European and Middle Eastern players were as well low, according to data from Mergermarket. This contrasts sharply from 2015 at the same time as buyers from Norway, Kuwait and the UK all made significant acquisitions on the continent. These deals were complemented by several bold intra-regional transactions, inclunding Kenya’s Equity Group acquiring a stake in a microfinance provider in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Morocco’s Banque Centrale Populaire buying a position in BIA Niger.
  • Economic headwinds look set to revive African M&A

    EGYPT, 2017/05/07 Two-thousand and sixteen was relatively quiet for African banking markets on the merger and acquisition (M&A) front. In most of the continent’s larger economies, inclunding Nigeria and South Africa, major transaction announcements were absent despite the challenging economic conditions of recent times. Buy-ins to African banks from European and Middle Eastern players were as well low, according to data from Mergermarket. This contrasts sharply from 2015 at the same time as buyers from Norway, Kuwait and the UK all made significant acquisitions on the continent. These deals were complemented by several bold intra-regional transactions, inclunding Kenya’s Equity Group acquiring a stake in a microfinance provider in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Morocco’s Banque Centrale Populaire buying a position in BIA Niger.
  • Jamaica Could Get Five Million Visitors Earlier than Projected

    JAMAICA, 2017/05/04 Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett says there are strong indications that Jamaica could reach its goal of five million visitors in a single year, before than before projected. Bartlett, recently back from a working trip that included stops in Addis Ababa, Dubai and Bangkok, added that the island seems poised to make inroads in both the Asian and African markets, which would significantly boost before projections.
  • Two Caribbean Islands Among World’s Most Scenic Airport Approaches

    AMERICAS, 2017/05/04 PrivateFly, a booking platform for private jet charters, recently named the world’s top 10 most scenic airport approaches, and the Caribbean took off in style with the number one spot, going on to fly high in seventh place. Taking top spot, Saba’s Juancho E Yrausquin Airport is not only the sole airport on the Dutch Caribbean island, but has the shortest commercial runway in the world (396 metres).