Travel to the Caribbean is on an upswing one year after
hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated some islands, according to luxury travel
agency network Virtuoso.
For the Christmas season, the period from Dec. 22 to Jan. 3,
bookings are up 8%.
Virtuoso said Caribbean business for January and February 2019
is up 21% from a year earlier.
Interest is particularly strong in the Bahamas, Dominican
Republic and Turks & Caicos, Virtuoso said.
Air bookings for the 2018 holiday season are down 29% to the
islands hit hardest by the storms, like the British Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin
Islands and St. Maarten, but Virtuoso said as resorts reopen, that trend should
reverse.
"With 70% of the islands unaffected by last year's busy
hurricane season, and 90% of room inventory open in impacted regions, the
islands are coming back," Virtuoso said.