by Jose Carlos de Santiago
CHA Caribbean Marketplace 2008 - Bahamas
Aruba wrapped up 2007 with good-looking numbers on the board as far as tourism is concerned and prospects for the now-unfolding 2008 can’t look any better. As Aruba is willing to split the outbound travel markets on wiser shares in an effort to cut down on the heavy reliance it has on the U.S., more Spanish hotel companies are planning to open properties on the island. In this exclusive interview with Caribbean News Digital, tourism Minister Edison Briesen talks about his country’s projects on the road ahead.
Although Richard Skerritt, St. Kitts’ minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism, Sports and Culture, is delighted to announce that most objectives for 2007 have been met, he will not lay the “wicket” down just yet, months after hosting the Cricket Cup.
Q & A with Jean Holder, Former Secretary-General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and currently chairman of LIAT airline
Q.- Following your long tenure at the helm of CTO, when did you actually join LIAT?
A.- I left CTO at the end of 2004 and commenced here (at LIAT). As a matter of fact, I was on leave before I left CTO and I actually started here in August 2004, so it’s just three years that have gone by.
Q.- What new investment projects are you considering for the Caribbean region?
A.- At the moment we have under construction a new Breezes in Panama, about an hour from Panama City in an area called Playa Blanca. We’ve completed a major renovation of 300 to 400 rooms at the Breezes Bahamas, which included new bathrooms, flat-screen TVs, new sliding doors, new furniture.
Grupo Gira is currently working on a concept of customized tourism that meets the needs of its clientele and moves travelers to a number of destinations across Cuba, chiefly those spots where the island nation’s nature and history are at their best. In this exclusive interview with Caribbean News Digital, both execs bear this out.
Up to the month of August, Costa Rica’s travel industry has climbed a staggering 9.5 percent, way above the estimated 5 percent increase the UNWTO has predicted for the Central American nation this year. This country continues to put the smart money on the sector’s sustainable development and, as all of the region, strives in a head-on battle against sexual tourism.