Central America is stirring great interest among both tourists and businesspeople in Europe, so Iberia, the Spanish airline, decided to create a new hub in the region back in 2004 and the effort is certainly paying off. Right now, the carrier holds a 50 percent share of that market. In other words, one out of two passengers traveling from Europe to Central America is flying Iberia.
El Salvador has set out to reach a tough goal in 2007 as far as the European market is concerned: put the number of visitors from the Old World in double digits, climbing from just a current 2.3 percent rate. The going was getting even tougher due to the lack of nonstop airlift between Europe and that Central American nation. However, an accord recently inked between Italy’s Livingston Air and the TACA Group opens a new window of opportunity in both directions.
The Dominican Republic’s travel industry posted an 8.4 percent increase in 2006 in terms of international arrivals and hopes to go that figure one better this time around. In the first two months of 2007, the country has put more good numbers on the board and heads for a successful first-quarter homestretch. The Caribbean nation keeps improving the tourist infrastructure and raising the quality of its hotels in a bid to draw in far more visitors.
The Mayan Riviera needs to put on a good promotional and advertisement show because even though it’s one of the most sought-after travel destination of the Mexican Caribbean, this hot spot is still fledgling and should be putting a message across to the rest of the world. Its attendance to the Madrid International Tourism Fair (FITUR) in January -under the Mexican Caribbean trademark- sought to beef up the inflows of European travelers, especially of Spaniards.
Banking on codeshare agreements and flights of its own, Aeropostal Airlines keeps great connections going among the Caribbean, Central America and South America, with far-reaching plans in store to ratchet them up through luring multi-destination offers.
Q & A with Victor Manjarres, Iberian American Division Chief for Sandals & Beaches Resorts and Royal Plantation Boutiques in Jamaica
Sandals & Beaches Resorts boasts a far-reaching development plan for the Caribbean in 2007. In June 1, the company will open the Mediterranean Villa in Antigua & Barbuda and has just bought a hotel there that will be reflagged as the Beaches Antigua. Also underway there are three projects under the Royal Plantation brand, two of them in Jamaica and the third in Turks & Caicos. It has no plans to be the region’s largest hotel chains, but it is intended to be the finest in terms of luxury products for couples and family trippers.