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| Caribbean Property Magazine Home / November 2009 / 'Tourism Treats November 2009' | SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND  |
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N O V E M B E R
 2 0 0 9Issue 34
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| CARIBBEAN DESTINATION NEWS DIGNIFIED BERMUDA TURN TO VALUE OFFERINGS Bermuda's economic and travel slump has prompted hoteliers to offer travel promotions, value-adds and targeted discounts, in many instances reaching consumers that would not normally consider Bermuda for a vacation due to its pricey offerings.
But when tourism numbers dropped nearly 8% in the second quarter, to 203,061 visitors, and visitors staying in commercial accommodations dropped 16.5%, Bermuda’s hotels turned their attention to the matter needed to turn its attention to value offerings, a first for most of its hotels. One promotion at the Fairmont Southampton offered rates as low as $99 a night, down from its more typical $300 to $500-per-night rates. Per the General Manager of the property, more than 15,000 room nights were booked as a result of that promotion. Also, a group of hotels participated in a 400th Anniversary promotion, which offered up to a $400 resort credit for a four-night stay, which, according to Ewart Brown, the island's premier, served to produce another 15,164 room nights as of June 30.  Bermuda has built its reputation as an upscale resort destination, one perceived as very British in its reserve and dignified informality. While that position won’t change, the perception that the product offered in Bermuda will as the island’s hoteliers go after the value-conscious travel market. The message of a new ad campaign produced under the direction of Bermuda's tourism team in New York, was carefully scrutinized. "Given that Bermuda's competitors are relying on slashing prices to drive visitation, without concerns for the effects of this behavior on the brand, it was clear the new campaign would need to sell the island without cheapening the brand," Brown said in a speech earlier this month.  ON THE BEACH CANCUN'S MASSIVE BEACH RESTORATION Cancun white-sand beaches, which have always been the resort city's main attraction, are getting a face-lift this fall in time for the winter peak season.
Commencing in October, 2009 a $120 million restoration project will pump more than 1 billion gallons of sand onto miles of beaches along the coastline of Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel that were damaged by Hurricane Wilma in 2005. The project is expected to be completed by the first week of December, according to Jesus Almaguer, director general of the Cancun Convention & Visitors Bureau.  CRUISE NEWS CARIBBEAN PORTS EAGER TO HANDLE OASIS OF THE SEAS, WORLDS LARGEST CRUISE SHIP The seven ports at which the Oasis of the Seas will call have the distinction of playing host to the largest cruise ship in the world. And each of those ports has made or promised substantial investments to earn that distinction.
All seven were willing, even eager, to do whatever was necessary to secure a hot economic opportunity: the upwards of 6,000 passengers and about 2,000 crew members the Oasis will bring to their shores each week. Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis of the Seas, with its 5,400 lower berths, will begin operations in December, 2009 making its maiden cruise from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas then on to Philipsburg, St. Maarten and Nassau, The Bahamas. The ship will alternate that Eastern Caribbean itinerary with a Western Caribbean sailing, beginning next May, 2010 to its private destination, Labadee, Haiti, as well as to Mexico’s Costa Maya and Cozumel. In late 2010, it will drop Costa Maya and begin sailing to Falmouth, Jamaica, a port being built especially for the Oasis and its upcoming sister vessel, the Allure of the Seas. Each of those ports has made infrastructure investments, ranging from a $2 million pier lengthening n Costa Maya to major dredging projects in the Eastern Caribbean ports and Cozumel, to a $75 million investment in a state-of-the-art terminal at Oasis’ homeport, Port Everglades, and the new, $121 million port of call in Falmouth. The port cities believe those investments, along with the controversies some have created, will be more than worth it. In Port Everglades, port director Phil Allen said that the $75 million in capital outlay to triple the size of its existing Terminal 18 would be paid back in six years. In exchange for building Terminal 18, the largest single-ship cruise terminal in the world, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has promised that its brands, including Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises, will be tenants for at least 10 years. RCCL guaranteed the port that it will keep each Oasis ship there for a one-year minimum, but the company also guaranteed the port 18 million passengers over 10 years, which can arrive on any RCCL brand. “If they are not sailing the Allure or the Oasis, they’d have to replace them with other ships or passengers,” Allen said. An economic impact study found that by the fifth year of the 10-year agreement, an estimated 8,012 jobs will be supported by the project. Those jobs are expected to generate $356.5 million in personal income and $32.8 million in state and local taxes. Those permanent jobs are in addition to the 1,414 construction jobs that the Terminal 18 expansion created. Costa Maya, Mexico, was a last-minute addition to the Oasis itinerary when Royal Caribbean realized that the Falmouth project would not be ready by May 2010. The Oasis will call in Costa Maya every other week from May until December, if Falmouth is indeed operational. Teofilo Hamui, president of the Port of Costa Maya, said that despite that short window, it was worth building a $2 million, 40-meter extension to Costa Maya’s pier. “It’s going to generate a lot more work and jobs and a lot more tours,” Hamui said of the Oasis, specifically pointing to the 80 people hired to do the construction, the additional security guards to accommodate the Oasis passengers and the increased shore excursions that will be sold. Royal Caribbean was able to get a fast commitment from Costa Maya because the port, a purpose-built cruise destination, was designed to accommodate the new generation of large vessels. Destroyed in 2007 by Hurricane Dean, Costa Maya set its sights on ships like NCL’s Norwegian Epic, which will call there when it debuts next year, and the Oasis-class vessels. “Our investment [in the Oasis itinerary] was not as big as it was in other places,” Hamui said. “We already had the infrastructure, and they knew that we could deliver quickly.” He also noted that the accommodations being built for the Oasis are ones any ships can use. Cozumel, Nassau and St. Maarten are dredging their harbor approaches to accommodate the Oasis’s nearly 30-foot draft. Nassau was quick to offer to undertake the $44.2 million project. “As a cruise destination, we could not afford not to do this,” said the director general of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. “We lost out two years ago when our cruise facilities could not accommodate the Freedom class of cruise ships. The [Oasis] ships are even larger, and we did not want to lose this opportunity.” |
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VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT CHAVEZ SEIZES HILTON HOTEL ON MAGARITA ISLAND
Venezuela President Hugo Chavez has ordered a takeover of the Hilton hotel on Venezuela’s Margarita Island. The Hilton Margarita & Suites will help "develop tourism projects in a socialist framework," Chavez said in a government statement.
According to reports, Hilton Worldwide "is evaluating how the Venezuelan government’s action affects its interest in the property," according to spokesperson Karla Viscontini. Hilton manages the hotel but does not own it. Chavez said publicly in September that his government could nationalize the hotel, Hilton’s only resort in Venezuela. He seized control of the Caracas Hilton in 2007 and renamed it the Hotel Alba Caracas, now a meeting point for Chavez sympathizers. BERMUDA'S HISTORIC ELBOW BEACH HOTEL CLOSING ITS MAIN BUILDING The 101-year-old Elbow Beach Hotel on Bermuda's south shore is shuttering the 131 guestrooms in the pastel-yellow main building for a planned renovation that will take several years. The resort’s 98 garden cottages will remain open, as will three restaurants.  Other enhancements will include a redo of the Bermuda Room in the main building, which will be restored to its 1908 design as a meeting and banquet venue for small groups, weddings and social functions. SANDALS LAUNCHING WEDDING BRAND WITH MARTHA STEWART Six different wedding themes form the heart of the partnership between two well known Stewart’s – Butch Stewart, founder and CEO of Sandals Resorts International and Martha Stewart, CEO of Living Omnimedia. The partnership forms Sandals Weddings by Martha Stewart name. The destination wedding packages were officially launched Wednesday and can be booked now for travel after January 1st at any of the 18 Sandals and Beaches resorts in the Caribbean. "Every resort in the Caribbean can do weddings, and we are certainly not experts in this field," said Sandals CEO Adam Stewart. "Martha Stewart is at the forefront of all trends in weddings. She and her team are so on the cutting edge of what brides want today, down to the smallest details. We knew we wanted the Martha Stewart brand on our wedding products." "We want to take the wedding experience we offer to the next level. That level is represented by our new partnership with the Martha Stewart brand on the Sandals destination wedding packages," said Butch Stewart. In addition to the six wedding packages, which include wedding decor, complementary bouquets, invitations, cakes and favors, couples also can customize each package, choosing from a long list of style elements, such as a petal-strewn aisle lit by floating candles in hurricane lamps or parasols to shield guests from the sun. The packages start at $1,500 each. However, the Beautiful Beginnings package is included at no additional cost if couples book a minimum six-night stay in a concierge category room or higher.
TOURISM TIDBITS
TOURISM DIRECTOR OF TURKS AND CAICOS RESIGNS The Turks and Caicos Islands Tourist Board has neither a tourism minister nor a tourism director, now that Lindsay Musgrove has resigned his post as tourism director. "There is a restructuring going on at the tourist board, and I was asked to reapply for the job that I have held for six years and to assist in sending other staff members home. I refused and so I resigned," Musgrove said.  The tourism minister’s position has been vacant since March when Michael Misick, the embattled premier who also oversaw the tourist board, resigned following official inquiries into alleged corruption, mismanagement and abuse of authority. The Turks and Caicos was placed under the direct rule of Britain on Aug. 14 until general elections are held in July 2011.
Jesus Almaguer, director general of the Cancun Convention & Visitors Bureau has indicated that hoteliers and tour operators are reporting that advance bookings for the upcoming winter peak season look strong for Cancun.
The Mexican resort city should expect arrival numbers at about the same level as last year's winter season, he said. Almaguer said Cancun was "very confident right now" that the arrival numbers for December through March will be about the same as the same period last year, which would be "pretty good," since the winter of 2008-09 saw visitor arrivals jump by 9.5% from the previous year. Almaguer said he is confident the resort has put much of the struggles of 2009 -- the fears of drug violence and swine flu -- behind it and, with hoteliers and tour operators creating packages with "very reasonable and affordable rates," the resorts will be able to draw consumers even in continuing, difficult economic times in the U.S. It is the U.S. economy that continues to be a main concern for Mexico's tourism industry, he said. "We are doing a lot of promotions, and we believe that we can compete on price without sacrificing quality or the high standards of our facilities to offer a very appealing Caribbean and exotic destination," he said.
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T R E A T S
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A fully furnished villa, overlooking the reefs at Seafeathers Bay and sits right at the waters edge. Shellavista Villa is a 4 bedroom villa with 2.5 bathrooms divided into two wings of the house and has ocean front views of St. Martin and St. Barths.
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