Caribbean News

Increased airlift to the Caribbean fuels new opportunities for the region

Published

7 years ago

December 14, 2018

#Miami, December 14, 2018 – USA – The Caribbean’s private sector has a unique opportunity to generate strong profits in the new year with the unprecedented quantity of airlift coming into the region.

Director General and CEO of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), Frank Comito, encouraged regional stakeholders to get ready for what the association believes can be an especially strong winter season.

“With new routes and upgraded aircraft announcements over recent months, market-savvy hoteliers are positioned to increase occupancy and generate additional business.”

Comito, whose team is preparing to host the 37th annual Caribbean Travel Marketplace, the Caribbean’s largest tourism marketing event, in Montego Bay, Jamaica from January 29 to 31, 2019, said that while the 2017 storms affected year-over-year growth, with new, re-opening and upgraded hotels the region is poised for growth.

Destinations which were impacted by the 2017 hurricanes are seeing a return to pre-2017 flight levels while many other destinations in the region are seeing increased service. “We are confident that hotels participating in Marketplace this January in Jamaica will be in a great position to promote their properties, especially with the added airlift,” added Comito.

The CHTA chief executive cited JetBlue Airways’ continued growth into the region with additional flights and upgraded Mint service starting in early 2019. Delta Air Lines is bumping up its service to The Bahamas; Kingston, Jamaica; St. Kitts and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Similarly, American Airlines has added capacity to Aruba, Bahamas, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, St. Kitts, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Turks and Caicos, and is increasing its service to Barbados, Curaçao, Puerto Plata and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; and St. Lucia.

Also on CHTA’s radar are new Southwest flights to Cancun and the Mexican Caribbean; Grand Cayman; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; and Turks and Caicos. The airline is also expanding its service to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Copa Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Iberia, LATAM Airlines, Norwegian Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Sunwing, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic are also extending their reach into the Caribbean.

Comito noted that regional carriers are also undergoing considerable expansion and some are entering into new partner agreements, helping to improve connectivity, particularly to those destinations with fewer nonstop flights. Examples include the rapid expansion of InterCaribbean Airways flights, now covering 22 cities in 13 countries; Caribbean Airlines with more than 600 weekly flights; LIAT, which is teaming up with Air Antilles and Winair; and Seaborne Airlines, which was recently acquired by Silver Airways.

These among other travel, tourism and hospitality trends will be discussed in Jamaica during Caribbean Travel Marketplace, which will attract hotel and destination representatives, including high-level executives and key decision makers; wholesalers and tour operators; online travel agencies; Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) planners; and members of the media for several days of business meetings, including a busy program of thousands of pre-scheduled appointments to expand their businesses.

Comito explained that while demand for the region is strong, major investments in airport expansions were contributing to the growth in airlift, which bodes well for the destinations and travelers.

Airports in Antigua, Bahamas and San Juan, Puerto Rico have recently benefited from upgrades, while those in Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Curaçao and St. Maarten are under construction. Officials in Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Grenada, Haiti, Kingston, Martinique, St. Lucia and the U.S. Virgin Islands are each examining expansion plans.

Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2019 is produced by CHTA in collaboration with co-hosts Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association, the Jamaica Tourist Board and the Jamaica Ministry of Tourism. It is the leading event in the Caribbean tourism industry where more than 1,000 delegates from 26 Caribbean countries meet with buyers from over 20 markets.

This year’s host sponsors are Interval International, Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association, Jamaica Tourist Board, JetBlue Vacations and MasterCard, while Platinum sponsors include Adara, AMResorts , Figment Design, Marketplace Excellence, OBMI, Sojern, STR, Travelzoo, and the United States Virgin Islands. Gold sponsors are Best Western International, Condé Nast Traveler, Delta Air Lines, Flip.to, HCP Media, Northstar Media, Prevue magazine, Rainmaker, Recommend magazine, SiteMinder, Simpleview, The New York Times, Travalliance Media, Travel Relations and TravPRO Mobile.

The 2019 event is expected to have an increase in the number of buyers and suppliers and exciting new activities that will strengthen the connectivity between industry stakeholders.

To register, visit http://bit.ly/2AbQ9jQ

Source: Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA)

Contact: Darcel Choy, Marketplace Excellence +1 201 861-2056

darcel@marketplaceexcellence.com

About the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA)

The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) is the Caribbean’s leading association representing the interests of national hotel and tourism associations. For more than 50 years, CHTA has been the backbone of the Caribbean hospitality industry. Working with some 1,000 hotel and allied members, and 32 National Hotel Associations, CHTA is shaping the Caribbean’s future and helping members to grow their businesses. Whether navigating new worlds like social media, sustainability, legislative issues, emerging technologies, climate change, data and intelligence or, looking for avenues and ideas to better market and manage businesses, CHTA is helping members on issues which matter most.

For further information, visit www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com.

Caribbean News

Guyanese Scholar and Olympian Arrested in Iowa ICE Crackdown

Published

7 days ago

September 27, 2025

Deandrea Hamilton

Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

September 27, 2025 – In a shocking breach of public trust and institutional oversight, Ian Andre Roberts, superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, who is a citizen of Guyana, was arrested on September 26 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under a string of serious offenses that raise troubling questions about hiring practices, accountability, and public safety.

Roberts, born in Georgetown, Guyana, is a former Olympian and accomplished scholar. According to online reports, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Coppin State University after transferring from St. Francis College in Brooklyn, where he played soccer. He holds two master’s degrees—from St. John’s University and Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business—attended an Executive MBA program at MIT Sloan School of Management and earned a doctorate in education with a focus on urban educational leadership from Trident University.

Despite these accomplishments, Roberts was living and working without legal authorization. ICE reported that he fled a traffic stop and abandoned his school-issued vehicle. At the time of his arrest, he was reportedly in possession of a loaded handgun, a fixed-blade hunting knife, and $3,000 in cash. He also has a prior weapons-related charge.

ICE officials questioned how Roberts could hold such a prominent role while subject to a final deportation order issued in May 2024. The school district said they were unaware of his immigration status, noting that he had undergone background checks and completed an I-9 form confirming work authorization. Roberts was placed on administrative leave pending further investigation.

This case highlights vulnerabilities in systems meant to safeguard public institutions and underscores the challenges ICE faces in identifying individuals operating outside U.S. immigration laws while in positions of authority.

For many, Roberts has become a near-literal poster child for these enforcement gaps.

Caribbean News

Bermuda Shaken by Targeted Murder as Crime Returns After a Decade of Calm

Published

2 weeks ago

September 21, 2025

Deandrea Hamilton

Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

Bermuda is reeling after the brazen murder of 37-year-old Janae Minors, a mother of two, who was gunned down in her own beauty supply store on Court Street, Pembroke. The attack, which police describe as “targeted,” has rattled the island, not only for its brutality but for what it says about the state of law and order in a country that less than a decade ago was celebrating a dramatic fall in violent crime.

The Attack on Court Street

According to police, at approximately 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday, September 16, a lone gunman pulled up on a stolen black motorcycle, walked into the Beauty Monster shop Minors owned, and shot her multiple times. Despite the rapid response of emergency services, she succumbed to her injuries shortly after being transported to hospital.

Detectives say the killer was thin, tall, dressed in dark clothing with a full-face helmet, and wearing bright gloves. CCTV shows him fleeing north on Court Street, down Tills Hill toward TCD, before turning onto Marsh Folly Road. Investigators are pursuing all leads, with a focus on recovering evidence from nearby cameras and eyewitness accounts.

Police Commissioner Darrin Simons confirmed the attack bore the hallmarks of gang-related violence, a chilling indicator that Bermuda’s gang rivalries — long simmering beneath the surface — may once again be spilling into broad daylight.

A Vibrant Life Cut Short

Minors, remembered as a hardworking entrepreneur with “a vibrant, beautiful personality,” leaves behind two children, ages 16 and 18. Her murder has ignited outrage across Bermuda, not just for its senselessness but for its timing: the island had once prided itself on virtually stamping out gun violence.

Then: Near-Zero Murders

Back in 2014, Bermuda made international headlines for reporting zero firearm murders — a remarkable achievement given the small island had endured a spate of gang-related shootings in the early 2010s. Police credited intelligence-led operations, tighter firearms interdictions, and aggressive prosecutions of gang leaders. Community programs and mentoring initiatives also played a role, giving at-risk youth alternatives to gang life.

By 2015 and 2016, gun crime was at historic lows. That period was hailed as proof Bermuda could beat back the tide of violence with coordinated policing, social investment, and political will.

Now: Alarming Resurgence

Fast forward nine years, and the picture looks starkly different. In 2024 and 2025, Bermuda has recorded a rise in gun-related deaths. Rival gangs such as Parkside and 42 have resurged, fueled by a new generation of recruits. Economic pressures, high youth unemployment, and the easy flow of smuggled firearms through maritime routes have undermined earlier gains.

Community trust in the police has also eroded, making investigations harder and retaliations more likely. Opposition MPs and neighborhood leaders warn that without sustained focus, Bermuda risks sliding back into the violent cycles of the early 2010s.

Public Alarm and Political Pressure

Premier David Burt condemned Minors’ killing as “an escalation of community violence that cannot be tolerated,” promising stronger enforcement and deeper engagement with residents. The Bermuda Police Service has appealed for CCTV, dashcam, and doorbell footage from the area, urging residents that even the smallest detail could break the case.

Yet among the public, frustration is growing. People remember the calm of 2014 — when zero murders were recorded — and cannot understand how the island has returned to headlines dominated by gun violence. The contrast is stark: from celebrating the elimination of gun murders to confronting the targeted execution of a businesswoman in broad daylight.

A Test for Bermuda’s Future

The murder of Janae Minors has become more than a single case; it is now a symbol of Bermuda’s struggle to hold on to the progress it once made. The question facing the island is whether the successes of a decade ago can be replicated and sustained in today’s harsher climate of economic pressure and gang rivalries.

For Minors’ family, nothing can erase the tragedy of losing a mother and daughter so violently. But for Bermuda at large, her death is a wake-up call — that the island cannot afford complacency when it comes to crime.

As one community leader put it: “Nine years ago, we had beaten this. Now, we’re back to fearing what happens when the sun goes down. That is not the Bermuda we want to live in.”

Caribbean News

CARICOM-Africa Summit Yields Draft Pact on Trade, Travel and Reparations

Published

2 weeks ago

September 19, 2025

Deandrea Hamilton

Imagine an Atlantic Bridge connecting the Caribbean Region to the African Continent

Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — When CARICOM leaders convened with African counterparts and Afreximbank officials in Ethiopia, the outcomes were savory and exactly what many Caribbean people want to see materialise as the islands become uniquely reconnected to the African continent.

At the Second CARICOM-Africa Summit, held at the African Union headquarters, leaders moved beyond symbolic language to agree on a draft communiqué that, if finalized, would anchor this partnership in practical action. While not yet officially published by the AU or CARICOM, the document points to an agenda that blends history with urgent twenty-first century priorities.

The draft outlines commitments to improve air and sea transport links, including the pursuit of a multilateral air services agreement to break down the barriers that still keep the Caribbean and Africa physically apart. It also calls for visa facilitation and simplified entry regimes, making it easier for citizens of both regions to travel, study, and work across the Atlantic.

Equally significant are pledges to advance double taxation treaties that could remove one of the most stubborn obstacles to investment. With Afreximbank’s Caribbean headquarters already established in Barbados and the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) gaining momentum, leaders now want to lock in the financial and legal frameworks that will drive new business.

Reparatory justice also featured prominently, with the draft communiqué sharpening a joint call for coordinated advocacy. CARICOM’s long-standing Reparations Commission is expected to work more closely with African institutions to demand global recognition and redress for the shared traumas of slavery and colonial exploitation.

CARICOM’s incoming chair, Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew of St. Kitts and Nevis, captured the spirit of the gathering when he urged that the Atlantic Slave Trade be reimagined as an “Atlantic Bridge — a bridge of hope, a bridge of advancement, a bridge that will ensure our people take their rightful place in this world.”

For Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett, the meeting was a “homecoming,” but also a reminder that concrete steps like the Health Development Partnership for Africa and the Caribbean (HeDPAC) and improved transportation links are needed to transform rhetoric into results.

For citizens back home, wrestling with inflation and economic uncertainty, the Addis outcomes — transport, visas, investment, health, and reparations — are precisely the kinds of measures that can validate leaders’ journeys and rekindle faith in South-South cooperation. What was once only rhetoric now hints at the beams of an Atlantic Bridge, connecting the Caribbean and Africa in ways that could finally turn history’s tragedy into tomorrow’s advantage.