The government of the Bahamas signed a letter of intent on March 22 with Royal Caribbean International and the ITM Group for the purchase of the Grand Lucayan resort and redevelopment of the Freeport Harbour. The Freeport development will involve the construction of new ship berths at the port which could potentially double capacity. The […]
Caribbean
One on One with Rene Riedi, Division CEO Central and South America for Dufry
Managing the LATAM airport duty free business in challenging times The duty free and travel retail business in South America experienced one of its most difficult years in recent memory in 2018, a situation that took place practically overnight. A company like Dufry, which has airport operations in nearly every country in the region, […]
Disney signs deal with Bahamas to develop Cruise Port in Eleuthera
Disney Cruise Line has signed a heads of agreement with the Bahamas for a proposed cruise destination in Eleuthera, to be built on land it acquired from a private seller. Disney is expected to invest some-where between $250 million and $400 million to complete the project. The deal stipulates that, along with the land purchase, […]
Punta Cana International Airport reveals plans for third terminal, confirms DFA as concessionaire
Award-winning Punta Cana International Airport in the Dominican Republic is aiming to launch its U.S. Pre-Clearance facility in November this year, and has begun designing a third terminal, according to Rafael Smith, PUJ Director of Landside & Terminal Operations. Named one of ACI’s “Best Airport’s by Size and Region” in Latin America and the Caribbean […]
WEBB Banks reinforces number one position in Caribbean
WEBB Banks, the newly created wine and spirits super distributor, is having fantastic success in the region, CEO Andy Consuegra tells TMI. Created from the joining of North Carolina’s Banks Channel and Miami’s WEBB, the merger gave the combined company the scale, the leverage and breadth of portfolio that the partners did not have separately, […]
Denizen jewelry lands on Turks & Caicos
Caribbean-born jewelry brand Denizen has anchored on the British Overseas Territory of Turks & Caicos Luxury duty free retailer Royal Jewels is exclusivity distributing Denizen on the archipelago and retailing it at their flagship stores. Two stainless steel collections are currently available for Turks & Caicos and for the island of Providenciales (site of the […]
CTO projects 6-7% growth in the Caribbean in 2019 following better-than-predicted performance last year
The Caribbean tourism sector is projected to record strong growth in 2019 on the heels of a stronger-than-expected performance last year. In his annual Caribbean Tourism Performance Review news conference, Ryan Skeete, acting director of research of The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), said he is forecasting 6-7% growth this year, continuing an upward trend which began […]
Nassau Airport Development Company issues Airport Hotel RFP
Officials at the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) are seeking proponents to design, finance, construct and operate an on-site hotel at Lynden Pindling International Airport. On Monday, January 21, the company issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) document outlining details required to bid on the proposed airport hotel project. Final proposal submissions will be due […]
Grenada reaches milestone half million tourist arrivals
Booming tourism helped Grenada reach a record half million stayover visitors in 2018, an historic milestone for the Caribbean’s “Spice Island.” Growth was spread across key niche markets: the combined cruise, yachting and stay over arrivals for 2018 was 528,077, an increase of 12.90% over 2017. Stay over arrivals rose by 9.97%, up from 146,375 […]
Furla opens new store in Trinidad and Tobago as Munday announces retirement
Furla’s latest opening in the Americas took place on Nov. 2 at Piarco International Airport in Trinidad and Tobago, in partnership with travel retailer Gone Bananas. The 15 sqm space is featuring Furla’s Autumn Winter 2018 collection. Furla’s Global Travel Retail Director Gerry Munday said: “The store looks great and I’d like to extend my thanks […]
400 aviation executives attend sold-out 2018 ACI-LAC Annual Assembly and Conference hosted by MIA
Some 400 aviation executives from through-out the Western Hemisphere attended the 2018 Airports Council International – Latin America & Caribbean (ACI-LAC) Annual Assembly and Conference that took place in Miami last week, hosted by Miami International Airport, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. MIA is the busiest gateway airport of the Americas, serving […]
LAC airports face capacity challenges as passenger traffic growth continues
As passenger traffic in the Latin America-Caribbean region continues to grow, Airports Council International (ACI) World and ACI Latin America-Caribbean have called for a whole-of-industry response to the forecast growth in demand for air services in the region. This call was made as the ACI Latin America-Caribbean Annual Assembly and Conference got underway this week in Miami. […]
Kirk Freeport, Jacques Scott among local winners of new Cayman airport concessions
The Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA) has announced the winning bidders to operate the Retail, Duty Free and Food & Beverage locations at Owen Roberts International Airport. Retail and duty free shopping will be provided by Kirk Freeport, Last Chance Island Souvenirs, Bodden Freeport, Tortuga Rum Co., Jacques Scott, Island Jewellers and Churchill Cigars. The […]
Rouge Duty Free solidifies business in St. Thomas and Grenada, as it prepares to debut in the U.S.
Rouge Duty Free Retail Caribe continues to make impressive strides in developing its chain of duty free stores in the Caribbean, where it now operates major venues in Grenada and St. Thomas and is additionally debuting in the U.S. local market with a travel-friendly store in the Prime Outlets Mall in Orlando, Florida. The Group […]
Independent report links nearly 3,000 deaths in Puerto Rico to Hurricane Maria
An independent report published today, Aug. 28, estimated that there were 2,975 excess deaths in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria from September 2017 through the end of February 2018, a number that is 22 percent higher than the number of deaths that would have been expected during that period in a year without the storm. […]
