USVI eyes OECS ties
Governor John de Jongh of the US Virgin Islands has said he wants formal observer status in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

The two sides were due to sign a memorandum of understanding on the sidelines of an OECS summit on Tortola, the British Virgin Islands.

deJongh said: “The agreement calls for greater collaboration with the OECS in the areas of tourism, agriculture, historical preservation/archives, sports, education, emergency management, health, environment, arts and culture, and trade.”

Caribbean looks to winter
Summer tourism could be grim for some Caribbean destinations, but early signs are that a recovery could begin in the autumn and winter.

British Airways has just announced new or additional flights to five island destinations from the fall, citing demand. The American low-cost carrier Jet Blue is also starting services to three Caribbean countries.

St Lucia’s tourism minister Allen Chastenet told BBC Caribbean that much hard work is still required to lift the region as a whole out of a downturn.

Two destinations which have bucked the spring malaise are the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, partly because the swine flu outbreak in Mexico has shifted traffic from the Central American nation.

Europe’s largest tour operator, TUI, has told BBC Caribbean that the two countries also appear robust for the summer. The company said it had seen a significant increase in popularity of Jamaica in the last few weeks, with sales up 30 percent.