Cuba libre?

Now that President Obama is going to ease travel restrictions for people who want to visit their families in Cuba, can flat-out tourism to our neighbor to the South be far behind?

I know tons of people who say "I'd love to go to Cuba", and a few who've actually managed to get there via the Bahamas, or journalist visas or whatever means. The question now is, when is American Airlines --or maybe Spirit-- going to start flying the masses there? And the next question is of course, is Cuba ready for American tourism? I know that Europeans and Canadians have been able to travel there for a long time, but Americans are notoriously picky and demanding, so it will be interesting, at the very least!

Are you anxious to visit?

Get Up and Go!

Everyone is upset about people who head-up companies that needed bailout funds to keep their companies alive spending money frivolously. After all, isn't this what got them in trouble in the first place? I'm sure that's what President Obama meant when he said that people shouldn't go to Las Vegas or the Superbowl. I'm sure President Obama did not mean that people shouldn't travel --for business or for pleasure.

When people travel --to Las Vegas or anywhere else, money is spent and the economy benefits. Everyone from the bellman who helps us check-in to the maids who clean-up after us benefit when people travel. Yes the executives and the owners and stock-holders benefit too, and that is ALL good for the economy.

Fact is, because of all the layers of people impacted, travel has been called the largest industry in the world! According to World Tourism Organization in 2008 there were 924 million international arrivals. That means 924,000,000 people traveled away from home. That doesn't even count people who traveled within their own country. You know how much you spend when you take a trip, so just extrapolate that math and you can see what a big impact travel has.

I know people are staying home these days because of economic uncertainty, but once we all get out there traveling again, it will have a huge impact on the worldwide economy.

For heaven's sake, let's not be pejorative in thinking about travel, let's just get up and go somewhere and reap the benefits! If you can, get out there, have fun and spend a little money. It will do us all good.

March 12, 2009

I read this morning that Howard Hulford founder of the fabulous Curtain Bluff resort in Antigua died this week. I had only met Howard once but he was a first class guy who was justifiably proud of what he had built in Antigua. He spent a great deal of time showing me around the hotel, with special emphasis on his wine cellar the day I met him. Later that evening he was something to see, Howard holding court around the Curtain Bluff bar. Lot's of guests stopping by to shake his hand and say hello. Most of these guests had been to CB many times --Howard had built his business on repeat customers. He was clearly in his glory.

It's always sad when someone passes, but I am especially touched by losing Howard Hulford because he was part of an era that we seem to be losing. Howard was an old school owner operator. The kind of hotelier that the Caribbean --and some other parts of the world too-- was once famous for. Howard was one of those people who had a vision, and were willing to battle the difficulties of remote location, difficult business environment, a shortage of trained workers and a million other obstacles to build and share that vision. These days its more common to have a major corporation backed by investors bring a tried-and-true formula to yet another island destination. Not a bad formula, just different. And I have so much respect for the individuals who did it the old way.

Although my wine cellar is much less extensive than Curtain Bluff's (think a few bottles on the pantry floor), I promise to raise my glass tonight and toast Howard and the special place hotel owner-operators have in my heart. Cheers.

La Concha Resort in Puerto Rico

I was in Puerto Rico last week for CTC-30 and had the pleasure of attending a party celebrating the upcoming opening of the rennovated San Juan classic hotel, the La Concha. Flagged a Renaissance resort, this re-opened property is going to be an exciting addition to San Juan's hotel line-up. Right in the center of new and very upscale shopping, the hotel has the feeling of a classic, with all the modern conveniences that define a great resort.

My congratulations to the team which has worked so hard on this achievement, and check out La Concha the next time you're in San Juan!

Tourism in Haiti?

A few weeks ago I had a chance to visit Haiti. As their government has somewhat stabilized, the Ministry of Tourism is able to think about attracting tourists again. Following are some somewhat random observations about being a tourist in Haiti.

I can say without hesitation that Haiti is a beautiful country, and art is literally everywhere (more on that later!), but one has to be prepared to look past some of the kinds of things we see on the news in order to find the beauty. The Haitian people are incredibly warm and friendly. The tourist highlights are art, history, culture and soft adventure. Haiti's hotel product is quite nice.

While there I never once felt unsafe, but I would recommend that any foreign visitor should arrange an English-speaking guide and driver. This made all the difference for me. I can highly recommend Voyages Lumiere. Jacquie LeBrom the owner/operator is delightful. Totally well informed and connected. My visit was very brief and so a whirlwind with not a lot of time in any one location, but we saw beautiful art (a top priority for me!) and got a taste of Haiti's rich and inspiring history. I didn't have a chance to see the beaches, except from the air, but hope to do so on my next visit. Oh yes, I will return.

Thanks to the Ministry of Tourism for arranging my visit and planning to show me so many aspects of Haiti in such a short time.

Above is a photo of me rubbing the toes of the statue of the unknown slave in Port au Prince. It said to be good luck.

CT&L 100

Have you seen our October issue, featuring the first ever Caribbean Travel & Life 100, on newsstands now? Its the first time we've undertaken the challenge of naming 100 of our favorite things about the best vacation destination on earth, and I must say, the result is spectacular! Its all there...history, nature, personalities, beaches, entertainment, culture and more. If you haven't seen it, I recommend you pick it up. You're sure to find something you enjoy!

And please let us know what you think we've overlooked because we're already collecting ideas for next year's edition of the CT&L 100.

Thought I'd give this a try!

For quite some time now I've been thinking I should try this blogging thing. As the publisher of Caribbean Travel & Life and Destination Weddings & Honeymoons magazines I have lots of observations about the Caribbean, tourism, trends, destination weddings, destinations, resorts and more. Maybe nobody will read them, but if you care to...look here!

The photo here is me on the left when I was in my good friend Jill's destination wedding in Barbados last September...it was so beautiful and so much fun.