www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. Contact us at [email protected]
A milestone was reached on the construction of the eastern section of Santo Domingo metro Line 2 on May 20, with the completion of tunnelling works on the extension from Eduardo Brito to Carretera Malla on San Vinente de Paul Avenue, the www.railjournal.com website reports.
Excavation work began on the 1.2km tunnel last March and according to Mr Diandino Peña, director of the Office for the Reorganisation of Transport (Opret), the project involved “geotechnical work of a complexity never before seen in the Dominican Republic.”
Commissioning of the four-station extension is scheduled for April or May next year.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. Contact us at [email protected]
Marigot er hovedstaden på St.Martin (Saint Martin), et fransk oversjøisk territorium i Karbia, på øya av samme navn. Øya er delt mellom Frankrike og Nederland. Den sørlige, nederlandske delen heter Sint Maarten.
Marigot, som har rundt 6000 innbyggere, ligger på vestkysten, og har fergeforbindelse til Blowing Point på Anguilla, mot nord. Den franske delen har sin egen flyplass, L’Esperance Airport, men det er nok flyplassen i den nederlandske delen, Princess Juliana International Airport, som er mest kjent, og er verdensberømt for sin spektakulære og hårreisende innflygning, der flyene nærmest blåser solhatten av badegjestene på stranden. (se egen bloggpost under Karibia).
Det var kong Ludvig XVI som gjorde den daværende fiskerlandsbyen Marigot til hovedstad, og fikk reist Fort St.Louis på en høyde ved Marigot-bukta. Fortet, som stod ferdig i 1789, er ennå i dag en stor og viktig attraksjon i byen.
Navnet Marigot kommer for øvrig fra det franske ordet for myr, eller sump –
St.Martin, som skal være den minste bebodde øy i verden som er delt mellom to land, er 87 km2 stor. Den nordlige, franske delen, Saint-Martin, utgjør 53 prosent av arealet, og den sørlige, nederlandske delen, Sint Maartin, 34 prosent. Sint Maarten er en selvstyrt nasjon i Kongeriket Nederland. Hovedstaden Philipsburg ligger på sørkysten.
Turen mellom Marigot og Philipsburg tar en halvtimes tid. Det er ingen grenseformaliteter mellom de to delene av øya, som siden den tilhører Frankrike og Nederland, er en del av EU.
Både Marigot og Philipsburg er svært populære turistdestinasjoner.
Øya har et innbyggertall på ca.78,000, hvorav 41,000 bor i Sint Maarten og 37,000 i Saint-Martin.
Øya har vært delt mellom Frankrike og Nederland siden 1648.
For mer om Sint Maarten, se egne bloggposter på denne bloggen, under Karibia.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. Contact us at [email protected]
The Cayman Islands Seven Mile Beach has been designated the world’s top beach vacation spot by the U.S. News & World Report, www.compasscayman.com reports.
Seven Mile Beach lies on the western shores of Grand Gayman, north of George Town, the capital.
The rankings, released by the publication’s U.S. News Travel website, are based on a review of commentary by visitors and certain expert evaluators, not the editors individual opinions.
The ratings consider a number of factors including ambiance, accessibility, affordability and approval among tourism experts and travelers. Based on evaluations of those areas, the world’s top 12 beaches were chosen.
“In truth, there isn’t one ideal strip of sand that would suit everyone,” the U.S. News Travel website states in its review. “Still, our ranking of the best beaches in the world showcases what makes a beach stand out.”
On why it picked the Cayman Islands as the top beach vacation destination, the website opines: It’s hard to compete with the coral sands of Grand Cayman’s Seven Mile Beach. Brimming with luxury hotels and casual restaurants, the Cayman Islands leave travelers with little to complain about.
George Town
The website review also puts in a plug for George Town shore dive location Eden Rock before linking to a fairly detailed Cayman Islands travel guide.
Moses Kirkconnell
Cayman Islands Deputy Premier and Minster of Tourism, Moses Kirkconnell, who hadn’t seen the rankings yet when contacted, said this welcome news puts another feather in Cayman’s tourism hat.
“We compete globally on sand, sun and sea and for us to be ranked globally No. 1 is a huge tool for us to use – to attract more tourists to the island,” Mr. Kirkconnell said.
Mr. Kirkconnell was also interested to know how other Caribbean tourism destinations fared in the rankings. Three other destinations in the Caribbean Sea made the U.S. News top 12 list. Anguilla was ranked No. 5 while the Turks and Caicos Islands came in at No. 7 and Playa del Carmen, along Mexico’s Caribbean coast, was rated No. 12.
“We’re competing with these other islands,” Mr. Kirkconnell said, noting that Cayman was always keeping an eye on the competition, particularly Cuba and the Turks and Caicos in recent years.
Other destinations on the top 12 list included Kauai (No. 2), Seychelles (No. 3), and Maldives (No. 4). Rounding out the list were Bali, Sanibel Island in Florida, Corfu in Greece, Bora Bora and Fiji.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. Contact us at [email protected]
The Dutch Caribbean’s tourism sector is surging. Curaçao received 122,074 visitors in the first quarter of 2015, a 13 percent increase compared to the same period in 2014, the www.curacaochronicle.com reports.
That was a major shift compared to 2015, when the island reported a modest 2.5 percent increase in tourism.
The improvement was likely driven in large part by new JetBlue service between New York’s John F Kennedy Airport and Curaçao that launched late last year.
Additionally, the Dutch Caribbean island has seen new flights out of Canada, with more service set to launch this summer on Air Canada out of Toronto.
Last year, Curaçao welcomed a total of 450,953 stay over visitors.
Curaçao’s growth comes as its Dutch Caribbean neighbour, Aruba, reported a whopping 20.2 percent increase in arrivals in the first quarter.
Only Aruba and Cuba had higher rates of increase in the first quarter among destinations with complete reporting, according to data from the Caribbean Tourism Organization.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. Contact us at [email protected]
The caribbean airline LIAT, based in Antigua and Barbuda are set to restart a direct flight between Port-of-Spain, capital of Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados, four times a week.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
Barbados achieved a record 171,471 long stay visitor arrivals during the first quarter of this year, breaking a long standing 25-year figure, chairman of the Barbados Tourism Marketing, Inc (BTMI), Alvin Jemmott has said.
“This was a very strong winter season. The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has predicted a five per cent increase in long stay arrivals for the region for the entire year and we believe our performance in this first quarter bodes well for us to comfortably exceed that target.”
Jemmott said there were record arrivals in each of the first three months of 2015 and attributed this milestone performance to a number of factors including increased airlift capacity negotiated by the BTMI; healthy economic conditions in key markets, a commitment to developing new source markets, Barbados’ strong reputation among its global partners and the agency’s solid promotional strategies for reaching the travel trade, media and consumers in each market.
BTMI chief executive officer, William Griffith, said that a comprehensive review effort has begun to ensure that the BTMI’s policies support their new mandate as a private entity.
“I am pleased to say that we have begun the process of updating a number of critical polices in the areas of human resources, marketing and finance in keeping with our commitment to increasing employee engagement and productivity; maximizing our return on marketing investment, and achieving greater levels of fiscal prudence.”
He said in line with these changes, a comprehensive marketing plan featuring traditional and digital marketing programmes has also been developed to guide the organization in resource allocation and monitoring of its various marketing programmes.
According to the figures released by the BTMI, arrivals from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin American grew by 12.9 per cent, 27.7 per cent, 28.4 per cent and 10.6 per cent, respectively.
The figures also showed that arrivals from Germany also grew by 23.6 per cent.
The BTMI said that these strong performances, including a 17.7 per cent rise in arrivals from “other CARICOM” countries overshadowed the 2.4 per cent decline in the Trinidad and Tobago market and the dip in arrivals from “other Europe” by 27.3 per cent.
While the cruise sector declined by 6.1 per cent to 217,139 passengers, there was a welcomed increase in home porting, resulting in ships purchasing goods and services from local dairy, retail and other suppliers. There is also a trend being observed with smaller ships being replaced by larger vessels, some with the capacity to carry of over 4,000 passengers.
Griffith said that the island’s total airlift capacity for the May 1 – October 31, 2015 summer period was set to rise by 3.6 per cent, largely driven by additional flights and the use of larger aircraft by the island?s airline partners.
The BTMI is projecting a successful summer period for the island, banking on the fact that “there is increasing alignment between our internal operations and structure, and our global strategic marketing efforts”
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
Photo: cruiseindustrynews,com
With the expansion complete, the BVI cruise pier in Road Town, Tortola, is now 1,039 feet long and 60 feet wide. Mooring dolphins provide another 273 feet, giving a grand total of 1,312 feet of berthing space. Now the pier can safely berth two ships up to 180,000 tons each, the www.cruiseindustrynews.com website reported.
The British Virgin Islands welcomed the 153,000-ton Norwegian Getaway on its inaugural visit, arriving with more than 4,000 passengers and 1,600 crew, as the first ship to dock at the expanded pier. The Getaway is scheduled to call on Tortola every Wednesday throughout the season, according to the Virgin Islands Daily News. Photo: virginislandsdailynews.com
Road Town, capital of the British Virgin Islands
The pier completion was recognised with an official ceremony and celebration on April 29, the same day Norwegian Cruise Line’s Getaway made its inaugural call.
Since the pier is complete, the BVI Ports Authority has turned its focus to Tortola Pier Park, the adjacent landside development, which will feature retail and entertainment Spaces.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
The raw, seemingly unending winter weather pounding most of North America is reason enough for travelers to opt for a Caribbean getaway this spring. Nevertheless regional destinations today face stiff competition for vacationers as several Caribbean countries have successfully expanded their tourism marketing efforts in recent years, the www.travelpulse.com website reported.
For the U.S. Virgin Islands, strong air transportation connections, activities ranging from the familiar to the unexpected and passport-free entry continue to create a strong draw for leisure travelers, said Beverly Nicholson-Doty, the US Virgin Islands tourism commissioner to www.travelpulse.com
The tourism commissioner says Charlotte Amalie, the territory’s capital, on the island of St.Thomas, should become a 24-hour city.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
Grace Bay Beach, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
The government of the Turks and Caicos Islands has announced an agreement with a hotel developer to build a $224 million resort project on the most populous island of the British territory.
A statement from the governor’s office says the Desarrollos Hotel Group will build the 124-room hotel, resort, casino and spa in the Grace Bay area of Providenciales, in the western part of the Territory, and the Ritz Carlton Hotels Co. LLC will manage the property.
Premier Rufus Ewing welcomed the boost to the luxury tourism market during a signing ceremony Thursday in the island chain southeast of the Bahamas.
Construction is scheduled to start in November and take three years.
Desarrollos Hotel Group previously announced plans to develop a 380-room JW Marriott Hotel and Casino in Providenciales. It is scheduled to open next year.
The capital, Cockburn Town, is situated on Grand Turk in the eastern part of the territory.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, the environment, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
Anguilla is one of the Caribbean’s most villa-heavy destinations, with more than 300 luxe roosts on its 35 square miles. And now there’s another to add to the island’s inventory: Kishti on Meads, the www.caribjournal.com reported.
In fact, Kishti on Meads adds two more residences to the famous north-coast beach, south west of the Capital The Valley, as the enclave comprises a pair of plush six-bedroom villas with interiors designed by Toronto, Canada firm Cecconi Simone Inc., each with rooftop and patio gardens; a home theater; home office; a gym; and two kitchens a piece.
The property itself was designed by Taylor Smyth Architects, also in Toronto.
Fully staffed with a butler, chef, manager, gardener and offering 24-hour concierge service, the pair of properties, which sleep a maximum of 12, also boasts an infinity pool and hot tub.
Rates, which begin at $3,500 a night, include complimentary WI-FI and calls to the US and Canada.
