Caribbean Holidays are growing in popularity with some destinations, e.g. St. Lucia reporting record levels of visitors even in these times of economic meltdowns, financial woes and rising debt. How is that possible you may ask? Well we at Caribbean Insider’s Guide® have put forward what we feel are just some of the many reasons.
Melting pot: The Caribbean is a crucible for culture, art and cuisine. Many cultures were brought together by different influences over the years and now live in harmony, learning from each other and sharing experiences, knowledge and skills. As a result the Caribbean is very fortunate to share festivals; art forms such as music and folk dance and; many culinary classics with influences from Africa, India, China, Syria and South America just to name a few.
The winter factor: A major pull factor is that the winters of many countries coincide with the loveliest part of the year in the Caribbean. The period ending November to just around Mid-April mark the post and pre-hurricane season respectively. It is amazing to see many parts of the Caribbean with their near perfect climates.
Beaches: The Caribbean boasts of some of the best beaches on the planet and its warm waters, thriving sea life and diving and/or snorkeling havens seem to be that proverbial “proof in the pudding”. Not the snorkeler or diving type? Why not try our deep sea fishing which is some of the best around with many annual world classics held in various islands e.g. Antigua and St. Thomas just to mention a couple. If this is still not your thing, then we encourage you to bring that book that has been on your bedside table for the longest while, give us a week or less. Just go to the beach, park yourself on the soft bed of sand or beach chair and we will do the rest.
Diversity in landscape: The Flora and Fauna in the islands varies around the Caribbean. From the thick tropical rainforest type regions of Trinidad and Dominica to dry shrubbery but equally beautiful landscapes of Anguilla and Aruba, there is something for any visitor’s whim. Eco-tourism is now one of the fastest growing niche markets in the world and the concept is also popular in the Caribbean.
Service: The tourism sector is the single largest employer besides the public service in the islands and as a result a great deal of emphasis is placed on service and customer satisfaction. Tertiary institutes like the University of the West Indies open campus (U.W.I.), University of St. Martin (U.S.M.) and many hospitality institutes (e.g. Antigua and Tobago) around the region certify students before they seek work in the industry. Here the customer is indeed king.
The exchange rate factor: Currencies such as the USD (US Dollar); GBP (Great Britain Pound); CAN (Canadian Dollar) EUR (Euro) gives you very good value for the exchange rate it attracts versus the island’s currencies like the Jamaican Dollar, Eastern Caribbean Dollar, Barbadian Dollar and Trinidad & Tobago Dollar to name just a few.
Ease of transport: Flying from North, South, Central America and different parts of Europe has never been easier. Several prestigious airlines have seen the demand for the Caribbean destinations on the upsurge and have facilitated this by adding the best of their fleet to travel to many of these exotic islands. Examples of airport hubs include Antigua, St. Maarten, Barbados, and St. Lucia. From these hubs you can transfer to different islands using the various regional airlines.
Stable Governance: Though many Caribbean people are very passionate about their politics and government actions (or inactions), the Caribbean has been very stable politically over the years. A few instances of strife has reared its heads over the years e.g. in Trinidad (1990) and Grenada (1983), but generally any instability has been non-existent. Visitors can visit without worry that tomorrow army tanks and curfews would be in place; lots of our islands do not even have armies or even police carrying arms!
Caribbean stress does not exist: Visitors are mesmerized by the islands that seem to be held in time when stress was not in the dictionary. The laid back attitudes of locals taking their time and “feeling the breeze” even on the odd occasion it is not blowing sometimes annoys first-time visitors. But many are soon converted and convinced of what is importance in life.
See if any of these fit your profile:
• You are indispensable and the office needs you to be in constant communication 24/7;
• You have to be latched on to social media to learn what your friends are up to always;
• Just hearing an e-mail or text buzzing in or hearing a phone ringing send up your blood pressure;
• You cannot be bored, must always be doing something;
• A family meal consists of dad checking his e-mail on his mobile, daughter texting, son’s eyes stuck in a hand-held game and mom on laptop. Yes mom did not get away from us either!
If you fit any one or more than one of the above then you need to visit the region for your Caribbean Holidays No one is indispensable; you can have a thousand acquaintances on social media but no friends; we will insist you switch off that stupid phone, be it smart, not so smart or basic; if you can’t allow yourself to be bored then you really need to wind down and; there is nothing in life than quality family time.
We at Caribbean Insider’s Guide® hope we have covered some of the main reasons for Caribbean travel and look forward to serving you in the very near future.
The popularity of Caribbean Holidays
Caribbean Holidays are growing in popularity with some destinations, e.g. St. Lucia reporting record levels of visitors even in these times of economic meltdowns, financial woes and rising debt. How is that possible you may ask? Well we at Caribbean Insider’s Guide® have put forward what we feel are just some of the many reasons.
Melting pot: The Caribbean is a crucible for culture, art and cuisine. Many cultures were brought together by different influences over the years and now live in harmony, learning from each other and sharing experiences, knowledge and skills. As a result the Caribbean is very fortunate to share festivals; art forms such as music and folk dance and; many culinary classics with influences from Africa, India, China, Syria and South America just to name a few.
The winter factor: A major pull factor is that the winters of many countries coincide with the loveliest part of the year in the Caribbean. The period ending November to just around Mid-April mark the post and pre-hurricane season respectively. It is amazing to see many parts of the Caribbean with their near perfect climates.
Beaches: The Caribbean boasts of some of the best beaches on the planet and its warm waters, thriving sea life and diving and/or snorkeling havens seem to be that proverbial “proof in the pudding”. Not the snorkeler or diving type? Why not try our deep sea fishing which is some of the best around with many annual world classics held in various islands e.g. Antigua and St. Thomas just to mention a couple. If this is still not your thing, then we encourage you to bring that book that has been on your bedside table for the longest while, give us a week or less. Just go to the beach, park yourself on the soft bed of sand or beach chair and we will do the rest.
Diversity in landscape: The Flora and Fauna in the islands varies around the Caribbean. From the thick tropical rainforest type regions of Trinidad and Dominica to dry shrubbery but equally beautiful landscapes of Anguilla and Aruba, there is something for any visitor’s whim. Eco-tourism is now one of the fastest growing niche markets in the world and the concept is also popular in the Caribbean.
Service: The tourism sector is the single largest employer besides the public service in the islands and as a result a great deal of emphasis is placed on service and customer satisfaction. Tertiary institutes like the University of the West Indies open campus (U.W.I.), University of St. Martin (U.S.M.) and many hospitality institutes (e.g. Antigua and Tobago) around the region certify students before they seek work in the industry. Here the customer is indeed king.
The exchange rate factor: Currencies such as the USD (US Dollar); GBP (Great Britain Pound); CAN (Canadian Dollar) EUR (Euro) gives you very good value for the exchange rate it attracts versus the island’s currencies like the Jamaican Dollar, Eastern Caribbean Dollar, Barbadian Dollar and Trinidad & Tobago Dollar to name just a few.
Ease of transport: Flying from North, South, Central America and different parts of Europe has never been easier. Several prestigious airlines have seen the demand for the Caribbean destinations on the upsurge and have facilitated this by adding the best of their fleet to travel to many of these exotic islands. Examples of airport hubs include Antigua, St. Maarten, Barbados, and St. Lucia. From these hubs you can transfer to different islands using the various regional airlines.
Stable Governance: Though many Caribbean people are very passionate about their politics and government actions (or inactions), the Caribbean has been very stable politically over the years. A few instances of strife has reared its heads over the years e.g. in Trinidad (1990) and Grenada (1983), but generally any instability has been non-existent. Visitors can visit without worry that tomorrow army tanks and curfews would be in place; lots of our islands do not even have armies or even police carrying arms!
Caribbean stress does not exist: Visitors are mesmerized by the islands that seem to be held in time when stress was not in the dictionary. The laid back attitudes of locals taking their time and “feeling the breeze” even on the odd occasion it is not blowing sometimes annoys first-time visitors. But many are soon converted and convinced of what is importance in life.
See if any of these fit your profile:
• You are indispensable and the office needs you to be in constant communication 24/7;
• You have to be latched on to social media to learn what your friends are up to always;
• Just hearing an e-mail or text buzzing in or hearing a phone ringing send up your blood pressure;
• You cannot be bored, must always be doing something;
• A family meal consists of dad checking his e-mail on his mobile, daughter texting, son’s eyes stuck in a hand-held game and mom on laptop. Yes mom did not get away from us either!
If you fit any one or more than one of the above then you need to visit the region for your Caribbean Holidays No one is indispensable; you can have a thousand acquaintances on social media but no friends; we will insist you switch off that stupid phone, be it smart, not so smart or basic; if you can’t allow yourself to be bored then you really need to wind down and; there is nothing in life than quality family time.
We at Caribbean Insider’s Guide® hope we have covered some of the main reasons for Caribbean travel and look forward to serving you in the very near future.