Jul 01 Five Caribbean destinations achieve marine protection goals ahead of schedule
ANTIGUA - Five Caribbean countries and territories were recognized for their early achievement of the ambitious marine protection target they committed to when joining the Caribbean Challenge Initiative (CCI).
The CCI 20-by-20 Conservation Goal challenges members to conserve and manage at least 20 percent of their marine and coastal environment by 2020.
The Dominican Republic led the list of early achievers with approximately 75 percent of its marine area under protection, followed by St. Kitts and Nevis (50 percent), the U.S. Virgin Islands (44 percent), Puerto Rico (27 percent), and Haiti (23 percent).
"It is a momentous occasion to reach a conservation goal that will benefit the ocean and communities in the Caribbean for generations to come," said St. Lucia-based CCI Envoy Karolin Troubetzkoy, who honored the early achievers at a ceremony in Antigua last week.
The CCI is an innovative platform uniting government, the private sector and partners - such as funding agencies and NGOs - in a collaborative movement to conserve and sustainably manage the Caribbean's marine and coastal environments.
Launched in 2008, the CCI aims to incentivize Caribbean governments to meet their marine conservation objectives and to support them by catalyzing new funding and accelerating meaningful action. It also works to create more prosperous and stable economies - achieved through sustainable development and growth - to help ensure a more secure future for the entire region.
In congratulating the CCI "Early Achievers", Troubetzkoy noted that "recognizing these nations' successes in marine and coastal conservation is an important message to the other CCI members that getting to the 20 percent target by 2020 is not an impossible goal." She hoped to be celebrating with the remaining CCI destinations next year.
In addition to the awardees, four other Caribbean countries and territories were celebrated for taking steps to propose marine areas that will more than double their current levels of protection. These included the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, Grenada and St. Lucia. The Bahamas recently announced that it will declare an additional eight-plus million acres of marine protection, which will more than double its area of protection and meet the CCI 20-by-20 target ahead of the 2020 deadline.
Source: https://www.traveldailynews.com/post/five-caribbean-destinations-achieve-marine-protection-goals-ahead-of-schedule
Aug 31 9 CARICOM Countries Canada Just Issued Travel Advisories On
TORONTO, Canada, Tuesday August 30, 2016 - The Canadian government yesterday updated its travel advisory for nine Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nations, among a list of countries across the world.
And it's the Zika virus that's responsible.
The government has urged its citizens travelling to the Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Suriname, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago, to "exercise a high degree of caution".
It suggests that pregnant women and those planning a pregnancy should avoid travel to those countries.
"If travel cannot be avoided or postponed strict mosquito bite prevention measures should be followed due to the association between Zika virus infection and increased risk of serious health effects on their developing foetus," the travel advisory states.
Zika is caused by a virus which is primarily spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. It can also be transmitted from an infected pregnant woman to her developing foetus. In addition, Zika virus can be sexually transmitted, and the virus can persist for an extended period of time in the semen of infected males.
Symptoms of Zika virus can include fever, headache, conjunctivitis and skin rash, along with joint and muscle pain. The illness is typically mild and lasts only a few days and the majority of those infected do not have symptoms. There is no vaccine or medication that protects against Zika virus infection although trials are underway.
Source: http://www.caribbean360.com/news/9-caricom-countries-canada-just-issued-travel-advisories
Oct 25 St. Kitts and Nevis, one of 10 Caribbean destinations where tourist arrivals growing
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, October 24th 2013 (CUOPM) - The Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) says St. Kitts and Nevis is one of 10 tourism destinations in the Caribbean where tourist arrivals are growing faster than the world average.
According to the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper arrivals to the Caribbean remain flat, despite 15.6 million tourists visiting the region between January and July this year.
Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), Beverly Nicholson-Doty said there was no incremental difference when compared to the same period last year, but actual levels still remain above pre-crisis levels.
The CTO chairman told the media during a briefing on the final day of the State of the Industry Conference at the Madiana Palais des Congrès Convention Centre in Martinique last Friday that the findings, which were compiled by the CTO, show results from 18 destinations within the Caribbean.
She said seventeen of them recorded increases in tourist arrivals, with 10 growing faster than the world average of 5.2 per cent.
The 10 include Anguilla, Aruba, Belize, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Guyana, Haiti, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Suriname.
Jamaica was not included in this list, owing to the closure and refurbishing of several hotels.
Indications are that the best-performing sub-region is the Dutch Caribbean, which recorded a 4.6 per cent increase over the corresponding period last year, while other markets such as South America have been doing exceptionally well.
While the United States (US) remains the region's largest source market, only a marginal growth of 0.8 percent was recorded in the January to July period, revealed CTO Secretary General Hugh Riley.
Riley said about 7.8 million tourists visited the region from the United States, an indication that the market share for the US rose slightly, moving from 49.6 percent in 2012 to 50.4 percent.
In the case of the Canadian market, which was referred to as the saving grace up to two years ago, there was contraction by 1.5 percent for the same period.
Riley, pointing out that the market share fell marginally to 13.1 percent, said 2.1 million Canadians visited the region in 2013 compared to 2.2 million in 2012.
Canadians took 1.6 percent fewer outbound trips to places other than the US. Their trips to the United States increased by 4.3 percent, a shift that statisticians at the CTO warn should be noted.
Not surprising, European arrivals to the Caribbean declined by 5.1 percent so far this year, a situation many still blame on the air passenger duty imposed by the United Kingdom.
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States was the region worst hit by the fall-off in European arrivals. It registered a 4.1 percent drop in arrivals from the UK, while CARICOM countries, including Jamaica, registered a 1.7 percent fall-off.
Cruise passenger arrivals to the Caribbean are also down, with 13.4 million visitors sailing into the region up to the end of July.
The State of the Industry Conference brought together decision-makers from the public and private sectors, academics, government officials, hoteliers, travel professionals, and journalists from the region and around the world. The conference ran from October 16-18.
Source: http://www.sknvibes.com/news/newsdetails.cfm/80658
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