Anguilla has reached a major milestone in its tourism development. In 2025, the island recorded 229,734 visitors its highest number of arrivals in 33 years according to official data from the Department of Statistics and the Anguilla Tourist Board. This performance represents an increase of 11.2% compared to 2024 and confirms the strength of this Caribbean territory’s tourism model.
In a regional context marked by intense competition between destinations, Anguilla has demonstrated its ability to maintain a premium positioning while increasing its visitor numbers.
Anguilla reaches a historic milestone in 2025
The year 2025 will remain a benchmark for the island, which achieves its highest annual visitor volume in over three decades. With 229,734 arrivals, the destination is not only outperforming its recent performance, but also the levels recorded prior to the pandemic. The increase in 11,2 % compared to 2024 illustrates a controlled growth dynamic. It is based on a targeted promotional strategy, continuous improvement of the tourism offering and close collaboration between public and private players in the sector.
This performance also confirms Anguilla’s resilience in the face of fluctuations in the global tourism market, and its ability to maintain a high level of attractiveness to a demanding international clientele.
Growth driven by two complementary segments
The island’s tourism success in 2025 is based on the positive evolution of two major visitor categories: stayover tourists and day-trippers. Stay-over visitors, who spend at least one night on the island, have reached 114,965 arrivals. These figures testify to the good health of the hotel sector and the upscale accommodation on offer. At the same time, the number of day-trippers reached 114,769 arrivals confirming the importance of regional flows.
This complementarity between extended stays and short-term visits is one of the pillars of the island’s tourism model. It enables the island to benefit from a high overall volume of visitors, while diversifying its economic spin-offs.
A particularly dynamic end to 2025
Tourism performance in Anguilla was reinforced by a particularly active final quarter. The month of december 2025 was the best-performing of the year, with 28,855 visitors. This illustrates the attractiveness of the destination during the peak winter season. The months of January, February and March also posted solid results, confirming the loyalty of international customers during the main tourist season. This concentration of arrivals in strategic periods underlines the effectiveness of promotional campaigns in priority markets. In this way, the island is able to consolidate its visitor numbers throughout the year, while capitalizing on its periods of strong demand.
The U.S. market, the main driver of visitor numbers
The U.S. market remains the main contributor to the island’s performance. By 2025, American visitors will account for around 70% of tourist arrivals. This confirms the strategic importance of this customer base. This dominance can be explained by several factors: geographical proximity, accessibility via regional hubs, and Anguilla’s reputation as a high-end, secure destination. Canada and Europe complete the picture, making a more moderate but stable contribution.
However, the gradual diversification of markets remains an objective for tourism authorities, who wish to reduce dependence on a single source.
A quality-oriented tourism strategy
The island’s positioning is based on a clear strategy: quality of experience rather than massification. The island continues to focus on specific segments such as luxury tourism, gastronomy, weddings and wellness holidays. This orientation enables the island to maintain a high level of spending per visitor, while preserving its identity. It also encourages balanced tourism development that respects the environment and local communities.
The results for 2025 demonstrate the relevance of this approach. The island has succeeded in increasing its visitor numbers without compromising its image or the quality of its offering.
A strong signal for the entire Caribbean
Performance in 2025 is a positive indicator for the Caribbean region as a whole. It confirms the sustainable recovery of tourism in the area, and the ability of island destinations to attract a high value-added international clientele. In a changing global tourism environment, the island stands as an example of strategic management and coherent development of its tourism industry. The year 2025 offers encouraging prospects for the years to come.
Anguilla welcomed 229,734 visitors in 2025, its highest level in 33 years. This 11.2% increase can be attributed to the upturn in international tourism and the strength of Anguilla’s upmarket positioning.
The United States is Anguilla’s leading outbound market, accounting for around 70% of visitors, followed by Canada and Europe.
This record strengthens Anguilla’s tourism economy, supports local employment and confirms the island’s place among the Caribbean’s premium destinations.
At the heart of the port of Fort-de-France, the Tourelles Cruise Terminal has taken a new step in its evolution by becoming a genuine cultural space. In the midst of Martinique’s carnival season, this reception area is transformed into a lively stage where international visitors, artists and locals meet.
On Saturday February 14, the inauguration of a 200 m² cultural space within the tourelles cruise terminal marked a turning point: making the port a place open to the city, rooted in Martinique’s identity. As soon as they disembark or before boarding, cruise passengers and travelers are immersed in the excitement of Carnival, enjoying an immediate and authentic cultural experience. This initiative comes at a time when cruise tourism is growing steadily in Martinique, confirming the port’s strategic role in the cultural enhancement of the region.
A new cultural space in the heart of the port
Designed as a multi-purpose venue combining culture, conviviality and mediation, this new space at the Tourelles cruise terminal hosts ephemeral exhibitions, artistic encounters and one-off events. Equipped with screens and a digital connection, it is designed to be accessible to cruise passengers and local residents alike.
The objective is clear: to offer international visitors a first cultural immersion on arrival, while offering Martinique residents a space for artistic expression within the port itself. This positioning reflects the desire of the Grand Port Maritime de la Martinique to assert itself as a cultural player in its own right, at the service of the region.
For several years now, Fort-de-France’s cruise terminals have been designed as reception and discovery areas, integrating craft villages and events for passengers in port. However, the opening of this cultural space marks a further step: that of a permanent artistic presence.
When Carnival enters the terminal
To inaugurate this new venue, Carnival was a natural choice. At the start of the carnival season, masks and wearers took over the tourelles cruise terminal in a lively performance combining a parade, music and direct interaction with visitors. The masks, which had been on display for two months, left their immobility behind and went into motion. Crossing the terminal right up to the ships in port, they offered cruise passengers an immediate immersion in Martinique’s carnival imagination.
This encounter between international visitors and local identity transforms the transit area into a genuine cultural experience. Tourists, Martinican families and children present during the school vacations were able to photograph, interact and get caught up in the Carnival atmosphere before even reaching the city. In addition to the show, the initiative was a response to a precise strategy: to enable travelers to discover local crafts and culture as soon as they arrived, but also to offer departing passengers the opportunity to take home a tangible souvenir of Martinique.
Sylviane Enelada's masks: between sea, ecology and memory
At the heart of this immersive exhibition are the creations of visual artist and actress Sylviane Enelada, artistic director of the LAPERKUT association. His work, developed over several years, draws on the marine world to question the relationship between man and his environment. Inspired by the ocean floor, his masks evoke fish, anemones, corals and hybrid creatures. But behind the carnivalesque aesthetic lies a deeper message: the fragility of marine ecosystems and the impact of plastic on the oceans. The dialogue between recycled materials and organic forms becomes a visual metaphor for the relationship between man, the sea and pollution.
Presented at the Tourelles cruise terminal since December, the exhibition has found a natural extension in the carnival movement. Bringing the masks to life, taking them out of the exhibition space and into the public eye, corresponds to a desire to circulate art and create a direct dialogue with spectators. Fourteen exhibitors, wearers and students collaborated on this collective project, combining artistic creation and transmission.
Transmission, craftsmanship and the therapeutic dimension
Behind each mask lies precise handwork: papier-mâché, foam, polystyrene, acrylic paint and patient assembly. At the association, mask-making is also seen as a form of self-expression. For some participants, creating a mask is a way of releasing tensions and emotions, transforming the workshop into a space of liberation and sharing. This therapeutic dimension reinforces the social scope of the project, where art becomes a tool for transmission and cohesion.
Sylviane Enelada’s workshops are part of this approach: to pass on a passion, to initiate the younger generations and to remind them that the mask, present in many cultures around the world, remains a universal symbol of expression and identity.
Tourism, culture and Martinique's identity: a new vision for the port
The event organized at the Tourelles cruise terminal is much more than a one-off. It illustrates a broader evolution: that of a port that positions itself as a crossroads between tourism, culture and citizenship. On an island where Carnival is a major marker of collective identity, the integration of artistic expression within the port enhances the visitor experience while promoting local talent.
Transforming the Tourelles cruise terminal As a meeting place for cruise passengers and Martinique’s culture, the Grand Port Maritime is laying the foundations for a cultural and digital living space that will evolve over the coming months. A way of asserting that, from now on, the voyage begins at the port, and that it can also be an encounter with the artistic soul of a territory.
The tourelles cruise terminal, thus confirms its role as a bridge between tourism and culture. The tourelles cruise terminal intends to reinforce this artistic immersion at every port of call. For visitors and locals alike, the tourelles cruise terminal becomes a meeting point. With this initiative, the tourelles cruise terminal is part of a sustainable cultural dynamic. In the future, the tourelles cruise terminal could become a key venue in Martinique’s artistic life.
On Saturday February 14, a cultural and carnival event marked the launch of a new 200 m² cultural space with an immersive mask exhibition and an artistic parade in the heart of the terminal.
The mask exhibition was organized by the LAPERKUT association under the artistic direction of Martinican artist Sylviane Enelada, with the participation of artists, wearers and students.
The Grand Port Maritime de la Martinique wants to transform the terminal into a living space, accessible to citizens and cruise passengers alike, to showcase Martinique’s arts, crafts and cultural identity from the moment visitors arrive.
On Colombia‘s Caribbean coast, Cartagena de Indias has established itself as one of the region’s most structuring areas. A port city founded in the XVIᵉ century, it has long been a strategic point for Spanish maritime trade. Today, it remains a major destination for travelers attracted by history, architecture and the Caribbean coastline.
Cartagena de Indias is more than just a seaside resort. It’s an active, inhabited city whose identity is built around its port, fortifications and historic districts. For visitors, it offers a direct view of the continental Caribbean and its heritage.
A port city at the heart of Caribbean history
Founded in 1533, Cartagena de Indias quickly became one of the Spanish Empire’s most important ports in the Americas. It served as an export point for the continent’s gold, silver and other resources, as well as a military center to protect the sea routes. The fortified city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984, bears witness to this strategic importance. Ramparts, bastions and forts still encircle the historic center. These defensive structures, built to repel attacks by pirates and rival powers, give Cartagena its distinctive silhouette.
A stroll through the historic center reveals how the town was organized around the sea. Squares, churches, administrative buildings and colonial houses follow an urban plan that has remained largely intact.
Preserved, inhabited architecture
The historic heart of Cartagena de Indias is made up of several distinct districts: the fortified center, Getsemaní and the old port areas. Colorful facades, wooden balconies and cobbled streets form a coherent whole, where tourist activity blends with everyday life. Getsemaní, once a working-class port district, has undergone a cultural revival in recent years. Artists’ studios, cafés, lively squares and murals are all to be found here. This transformation has not erased the presence of local residents, maintaining a balance between tourist traffic and local life.
A constant relationship with the sea
The sea remains a structuring element for Cartagena de Indias. The modern port is home to cargo ships, cruise liners and fishing boats. The quays and coastal promenades offer a glimpse of the continuity between economic activity and the maritime landscape. A few dozen kilometers offshore, the archipelago of the Rosary Islands (Islas del Rosario) complete this relationship with the sea. These islets, part of a national nature park, are renowned for their clear waters and coral reefs. They are one of the main excursions for visitors wishing to get away from the city for a day.
A city on the move
With more than a million inhabitants in its urban area, Cartagena de Indias is also a bustling contemporary city. Modern districts, port areas and hotel infrastructures coexist with historic sectors. This overlapping of eras is part of its identity. Visitors can easily move from a colonial street to a modern avenue, from a local market to a marina. This diversity reinforces the impression of a living city, not stuck in the past.
Access and organization
Cartagena de Indias has an international airport well connected to the major cities of Latin America, the USA and Europe. From Rafael Núñez airport, the historic center can be reached in less than twenty minutes. The city is ideal for both short and longer stays. Discoveries can be organized around the historic center, contemporary neighborhoods, the coastline and sea excursions to nearby islands.
A key Caribbean destination
Highlighting Cartagena de Indias is to present a territory that encapsulates several essential dimensions of the Caribbean:
- – a central colonial history;
- – a major architectural heritage ;
- – a busy port city ;
- – direct access to the sea and islands.
For travelers, Cartagena is a solid point of entry to the continental Caribbean. It provides an insight into maritime traffic, historical exchanges and the evolution of the region’s port cities. Cartagena de Indias is not just a tourist destination. It’s a territory that tells the story of the Caribbean in its continuity, between memory and the present.
Cartagena de Indias is located on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, in the north of the country, facing the Caribbean Sea.
Its fortified historic center, ramparts and colonial architecture bear witness to its strategic role in the maritime history of the Caribbean.
The busiest period is from December to April, when the climate is drier. Despite the high humidity, the city can be visited all year round.
In the Turks & Caicos archipelago, a British overseas territory in the northern Caribbean, Providenciales has established itself as the main island for international visitors. Renowned for the clarity of its waters and the regularity of its climate, it is now one of the region’s most structured tourist hubs, while retaining a legible territorial scale.
Providenciales is not a huge island: it covers some 98 km². Yet it is the main focus of the archipelago’s economic and tourist activity. Its simple geography – continuous coastline, spaced residential areas, nature reserves – makes it easy to understand the territory as soon as you arrive.
An island in the heart of Turks and Caicos
The Turks and Caicos comprise some 40 islands and cays, but only a fraction of them are inhabited. Providenciales is today its economic and tourist center. The island’s international airport provides the majority of connections with North America, the Caribbean and Europe.
Tourist development on Providenciales accelerated in the 1980s. Unlike other destinations in the region, the island experienced gradual growth, accompanied by a framework for construction and protection of the coastline. This evolution has preserved the accessibility of the beaches and kept the natural areas intact.
Grace Bay, an iconic coastline
The name Providenciales is inextricably linked with Grace Bay. This vast strip of clear sand stretches for more than 10 kilometers along the north coast. This beach is regularly cited as one of the most remarkable in the Caribbean for its clear water, soft sand and low currents.
The offshore coral reef protects the coast, creating generally calm seas. This natural configuration favors swimming, light boating and marine observation. Public access to beaches is guaranteed along the entire coastline, helping to maintain a balance between tourism infrastructure and public use.
A protected marine environment
Around the island, several marine areas are protected. The Princess Alexandra National Park covers a significant part of the coastline and reefs. These areas are home to seagrass beds, coral and tropical fauna, essential to the island’s ecological balance and diving activities.
The management of these areas aims to reconcile tourist traffic with the preservation of ecosystems. Nautical activities are regulated in certain areas to limit the impact on the seabed.
A clear territorial organization
The island is organized around several sectors:
- – Grace Bay and Leeward for tourist accommodation;
- – the center of Providenciales for services and shops;
- – Chalk Sound and the south coast for more residential and natural areas.
This distribution avoids over-concentration and keeps traffic flowing smoothly. Distances are kept short, making it easier to explore the island without long journeys.
An economy largely driven by tourism
Tourism is the island’s main economic driver. Hotels, villas, restaurants and related services employ a significant proportion of the population. However, the island also retains sea-related activities: fishing, shipping and port services.
The presence of an international population, notably from other Caribbean islands, the UK and North America, contributes to the cultural diversity visible in daily life.
Access and stay
The island is accessible via Providenciales International Airport (PLS). Direct flights link the island to Miami, New York, Toronto, London and several Caribbean capitals. This accessibility largely explains its central role in the archipelago.
Locally, travel is mainly by car. The well-maintained road network makes it easy to reach the different areas of the island.
A structured Caribbean destination
This is an island that has built its tourism development without sacrificing the legibility of its territory. The coastline remains open, natural areas are still visible and economic activity is largely based on the sea.
For travellers, Providenciales offers a stable, comprehensible and accessible framework. It is one of the Caribbean’s most structured destinations for a seaside holiday, while retaining a direct link with its maritime environment.
They are an Amerindian people from French Guiana, belonging to the Tupi-Guarani cultural and linguistic family. Mainly settled along the Oyapock River, they perpetuate a culture based on oral transmission, the Teko language and a close relationship with the Amazon rainforest.
They live mainly in the east and south of French Guiana, notably in the commune of Camopi and in several villages along the Oyapock River. Some groups are also present on the other side of the border, in Brazil.
They represent one of the oldest human presences in the region. Their history reminds us that the Caribbean and the Guyana Plateau were already inhabited long before European colonization. Their language, knowledge and relationship with the land help us to understand the Amerindian roots of Caribbean identity.
Off the coast of Kourou, some fifteen kilometers off the coast, the Îles du Salut occupy a singular place in the imagination and history of French Guiana. This archipelago of three islets – Île Royale, Île Saint-Joseph and Île du Diable – combines a rich historical heritage, linked to the colonial prison system, with a remarkably well-preserved natural environment. The Îles du Salut are more than just a backdrop: they tell the story, in the open air, of a complex page in French and Caribbean-Amazon history.
An archipelago shaped by prison history
From the middle of the XIXᵉ century, the Îles du Salut became one of the mainstays of Guyana’s penal colony. Their isolation, powerful ocean currents and constant swell made them a place deemed ideal for detention. Île Royale housed the prison administration and some of the inmates, while Île Saint-Joseph was reserved for disciplinary cells, known for their extreme conditions of confinement. Île du Diable, the smallest and most inaccessible, is reserved for political prisoners.
This prison system, officially abolished in 1938 but effectively closed after the Second World War, has left a deep mark on our collective memory. The remains – cells, hospitals, administrative buildings – can still be seen today, and constitute a rare heritage site in the Caribbean.
Île Royale: nerve center and gateway
Today, Île Royale is the main access point for visitors. Formerly the logistical heart of the penal colony, it houses most of the infrastructure: landing stage, restored buildings, signposted paths. The former prison buildings stand alongside dense, controlled vegetation, offering a striking contrast between stone, metal and forest.
A surprisingly familiar fauna can be observed here, including agoutis and saimiri monkeys, which have adapted to the human presence. This cohabitation is a reminder that, since the closure of the penal colony, nature has gradually reclaimed its rights, without erasing the traces of the past.
Île Saint-Joseph: isolation and silence
The wilder, more austere Île Saint-Joseph embodies the darker side of the prison system. The disciplinary cells, often plunged into darkness, bear witness to the punitive use of prolonged isolation. Visiting the island imposes a slow, almost introspective pace, reinforced by the absence of heavy tourist facilities.
The paths, lined with dense vegetation, lead to open vistas of the Atlantic Ocean. The contrast between the beauty of the landscape and the harshness of history gives Île Saint-Joseph a special atmosphere that leaves a lasting impression on visitors.
Devil's Island: symbols and prohibitions
Île du Diable remains inaccessible to the public, mainly for safety reasons linked to currents and the state of the structures.
However, it remains a powerful symbol, associated in particular with the Dreyfus Affair, which profoundly shook the French Republic at the end of the XIXᵉ century.
Visible from Île Royale, Île du Diable acts as a permanent reminder of a political and judicial history whose repercussions have extended far beyond French Guiana’s borders.
A fragile but remarkable natural heritage
In addition to their historical heritage, the Îles du Salut are of particular ecological interest. The absence of modern urbanization has enabled the preservation of specific island ecosystems. The seabed, though subject to powerful currents, is home to a biodiversity adapted to equatorial Atlantic waters.
Current site management aims to strike a delicate balance between welcoming the public and protecting the environment. Travel is restricted, sensitive areas are limited, and restoration work focuses on conservation rather than complete reconstruction.
The Îles du Salut in contemporary French Guiana
Today, the Îles du Salut occupy a strategic position in French Guiana’s cultural and tourist offering. Their proximity to Kourou and the Guiana Space Center brings together historical heritage and technological modernity, two facets that are often seen as opposites, but which in this case complement each other.
For French Guiana, this archipelago represents a lever for the transmission of memories. It offers a straightforward way of tackling sensitive issues – colonization, imprisonment, justice – while at the same time enhancing the value of a preserved natural area. This dual approach – historical and environmental – sets the site apart in the wider Caribbean.
Why are the Salvation Islands so important to understand?
The Îles du Salut are more than just a former penal colony, more than just a place to visit. They are a territory of memory, where human history is permanently inscribed in the landscape. Preserving them, telling their story and integrating them into a broader reflection on colonial heritage are major challenges for French Guiana today.
In a Caribbean space often associated with images of seaside leisure, the Îles du Salut are a reminder that the region is also criss-crossed by complex histories, sometimes painful, but essential to understanding its full identity.
The Îles du Salut are located off the coast of French Guiana, about 15 kilometers from Kourou, in the Atlantic Ocean. The archipelago comprises three main islands: Île Royale, Île Saint-Joseph and Île du Diable.
Only Île Royale and Île Saint-Joseph are accessible to the public. Île du Diable remains off-limits due to the danger of sea currents and the state of its infrastructure. However, it is still visible from Île Royale.
The Îles du Salut were one of the main centers of Guyana’s penal colony between the XIXᵉ and XXᵉ centuries. Today, they are home to penitentiary remains that are unique in the Caribbean, bearing witness to French colonial history, the prison system and its human consequences.
At the northeastern tip of the Dominican Republic, the Samaná peninsula is a land of its own. Here, geography imposes its own rhythm: a wide, protected bay, reliefs covered in rainforests, villages facing the sea. It’s not a destination designed for the accumulation of quick experiences, but a coherent space where nature, local life and tourism coexist without abrupt rupture.
A clearly defined territory
The Samaná peninsula juts out into the Atlantic, separated from the rest of the island by mountainous areas and roads that have long remained secondary. This relative isolation has helped preserve its character. The territory is organized around three main centers: Santa Bárbara de Samaná, the main port; Las Terrenas, more open to residential tourism; and Las Galeras, a more discreet coastal village at the eastern end. This configuration provides a rare legibility: each zone has its own function, without overshadowing the others. Visitors quickly understand how the peninsula is structured, and can move around without feeling saturated.
Samaná Bay, the heart of the sea
Samaná Bay is one of the central features of the region. Wide and relatively sheltered, it plays a major economic and ecological role. It is also one of the Caribbean’s best-known sites for seasonal sightings of humpback whales, which come here to breed between January and March. Beyond this aspect, the bay is the backdrop to daily life: fishing, shipping links, small ports and wharves set the pace for local activity. For travelers, it offers a visual and practical anchorage point, with open seascapes and a direct relationship between the city and the water.
Forests, rivers and waterfalls
The interior of the peninsula contrasts sharply with the coastline. The relief is covered with tropical rainforests, criss-crossed by rivers and trails. The El Limón waterfall, accessible from various routes, illustrates this natural wealth: a waterfall fed from the heights, amid dense vegetation. These spaces are a reminder that Samaná is not just a seaside destination. The peninsula retains a balance between inhabited areas, farmland and natural environments, which are still very much present just a few kilometers from the beaches.
Open, non-standardized beaches
The coastline offers a wide variety of beaches: long stretches lined with coconut palms, narrower coves, areas exposed to the Atlantic and quieter areas. In Las Terrenas, the beaches are easily accessible and integrated into local life. In Las Galeras, they become wilder, often far from the main roads. The absence of large, continuous built-up fronts helps to preserve a sense of space. The beaches remain predominantly public and are used by locals and visitors alike, contributing to a natural, uncluttered atmosphere.
Visible local life
Unlike some highly specialized Dominican tourist areas, Samaná leaves plenty of room for everyday life. Markets, local transport, artisanal fishing and village festivals are all part of the landscape. Tourism is present, sometimes sustained, but it does not erase local practices. This cohabitation gives the area a clear identity. Visitors are not isolated in an enclosed space: they share places, roads and beaches with a population that lives here all year round.
Access and organization
Today, it is more accessible than ever before, thanks to renovated roads and the El Catey international airport, located on the western side of the peninsula. Transfers to the main tourist areas are by road, through agricultural and forested landscapes. The territory lends itself to both fixed stays and gradual discovery: a few days in Santa Bárbara de Samaná, followed by a trip to Las Terrenas or Las Galeras, will enable you to grasp the different facets of the peninsula.
Another view of the Dominican Republic
Putting Samaná in the spotlight means proposing a different reading of the Dominican Republic. Less urban than Santo Domingo, less standardized than some seaside resorts, the peninsula offers a territorial model based on continuity between nature, sea and villages. For travellers in search of a structured, legible Caribbean territory still deeply rooted in its landscapes, it is a solid destination. It doesn’t promise permanent exceptionalism, but a rare coherence that can be appreciated over time.
📸 ©Godominicanrepublic / Dominican Republic Tourism – Official Website
It lies in the north-east of the Dominican Republic, jutting out into the Atlantic and bordered by the bay of the same name.
The peninsula combines beaches, forests and active villages, with tourism that is present but not exclusive, leaving plenty of room for local life.
December to April is the busiest period, with a drier climate. From January to March, the bay is home to humpback whales.
In the Eastern Caribbean, St Kitts occupies a unique position. Main island of the state of St Kitts and NevisIt’s the only island to boast a large part of the region’s British colonial history, a remarkable built heritage and a volcanic geography that still shapes local life. Here, the territory is easy to read: a compact island, a central volcano, coastal villages and a capital facing the sea.
A founding island in Caribbean history
St Kitts is one of the first islands in the Eastern Caribbean to be colonized by the British in the XVIIᵉ century. It quickly became a strategic center for English colonial expansion in the region. This history can still be seen today in the organization of the territory, in the architecture and in the former sugar estates scattered across the island.
The capital, Basseterre, the city’s urban layout, with its structured streets, administrative buildings, churches and former port warehouses, is a legacy of this period. For visitors, the city offers a straightforward reading of Caribbean history, without excessive staging.
Brimstone Hill, a symbol of heritage
It’s impossible to mention St Kitts without mentioning Brimstone Hill Fortress a UNESCO World Heritage site. This monumental fortress, built by the British between the XVIIᵉ and XVIIIᵉ centuries, dominates the island’s northwest coast. It illustrates both European colonial rivalries and the island’s strategic importance in the Caribbean.
The remarkably well-preserved site provides an insight into the military organization of the period, and offers unobstructed views of the Caribbean Sea and the nearby island of Nieves. For visitors, Brimstone Hill is a major historical landmark.
A structuring volcanic relief
The island’s landscape is dominated by Mount Liamuiga a volcano rising to an altitude of over 1,100 metres. Visible from most of the island, it influences climate, vegetation and human occupation. The fertile slopes have long been used for sugarcane cultivation, while the higher areas remain covered by tropical forests.
This relief gives the island a diversity of landscapes that is rare in such a small territory: coastal plains, green hills, volcanic craters and contrasting coastlines. For travelers, this variety means they can alternate between the sea, landscape observation and discovering the island’s interior.
A variety of beaches, from light sand to volcanic sand
The island’s coastline alternates between light sandy beaches and darker sandy beaches of volcanic origin. This diversity is a direct reflection of the island’s geology. Some beaches are developed and easily accessible, while others are more discreet, lined with vegetation and frequented mainly by locals.
The sea is generally calm on the Caribbean coast, making for pleasant swimming and supervised water sports. Most of the coastline remains open, with no systematic privatization, fostering a natural cohabitation between visitors and the local population.
An island focused on tourism, with no break with local life
St Kitts has been welcoming international visitors for several decades, notably via cruises and regional flights. This has led to the development of a solid tourism infrastructure: hotels, restaurants and transport services. However, tourism has not erased local life.
Villages, markets, cultural events and everyday practices remain visible and accessible. This continuity between tourist activity and island life gives the island a legible character, appreciated by travelers seeking a balance between comfort and territorial anchorage.
A complete Caribbean destination
Highlighting this destination means presenting an island that combines several essential dimensions of the Caribbean:
– a central colonial history,
– an internationally recognized heritage,
– a structuring volcanic relief,
– a controlled opening up to tourism.
For visitors, the island offers a clear and coherent approach to the Caribbean territory. It shows how history, geography and tourism coexist in a small space, without obscuring local realities.
📸 ©My St. Kitts / Facebook page
It is located in the eastern Caribbean and, together with Niévès, forms an independent state to the southeast of Puerto Rico.
The island played a central role in the British colonization of the Caribbean and is home to Brimstone Hill, one of the region’s most important fortified sites.
Yes, the island has a well-developed tourist infrastructure, while retaining an active local life and a well-preserved heritage.
Tourism pressure on Caribbean heritage sites is no longer a marginal or one-off phenomenon. In many areas, the steady rise in visitor numbers, the increased vulnerability of ecosystems and local economic expectations are testing management models that have reached saturation point.
It is not so much the principles of World Heritage that are at stake, but rather the ability of territories to manage them over the long term. It was against this backdrop that UNESCO brought together World Heritage site managers from Latin America and the Caribbean in Santo Domingo. It was a discreet meeting, but one that revealed a shift in thinking: world heritage is now seen as a governance issue, rather than a lever for attractiveness.
Why is UNESCO intervening now?
For several years now, UNESCO has been observing a rapid evolution in uses around listed sites. In the Caribbean, this dynamic is particularly noticeable. Tourist flows are growing faster than the capacity to regulate them, while climate change is accentuating the fragility of natural environments and urban structures. This pressure is compounded by a still largely economic interpretation of heritage, which is often mobilized as a vector of visibility before being thought of as a common good to be preserved.
UNESCO ‘s intervention is part of a process of clarification. The aim is not to call the label into question, but to point out that classification entails lasting responsibilities. The meeting organized in Santo Domingo, from November 24 to 26, 2025, brought together management authorities and experts from nine countries in the region. Organized with the Ministry of Culture and the municipality of the National District, the workshop was part of the “Communities for Heritage – Latin America and the Caribbean” program, funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Discussions focused on very concrete issues such as planning, monitoring flows, site governance and the ability of territories to arbitrate between visitor numbers, conservation and local uses.
UNESCO's "new lines": what's really changing?
Behind the discussions, a number of basic lines emerge.
- – The first concerns the shift from a promotion approach to a management approach. The World Heritage is no longer seen as a tourist showcase, but as a space to be regulated.. Controlling traffic flows has become a central challenge, supported by tools for monitoring, assessing and anticipating visitor numbers.
- – The second major change is the emphasis placed on local communities. UNESCO insists on their effective integration into site governance and economic spin-offs. Heritage cannot be sustainable if it is perceived as a resource captured from the outside, with no tangible benefit for the territories that bear it. This approach goes beyond the principle of inclusion to become a criterion for the credibility of management systems.
- – Third structuring orientation: the operational integration of sustainability. Protecting ecosystems, adapting to climate change and managing tourism infrastructures are no longer declarations of intent. They are now part of concrete requirements, calling for clear, documented arbitration.
UNESCO also emphasizes local capacity-building, through training, heritage engineering and regional cooperation, in order to reduce the gaps between well-endowed sites and more fragile territories.
What these lines mean for Caribbean territories
For sites that have already been classified, these guidelines translate into higher standards. Conservation can no longer be dissociated from tourism management, and management authorities are called upon to demonstrate their ability to reconcile visitor numbers, site protection and social acceptability.
The message is just as clear for territories applying for or registered on the tentative lists: future registrations will have to be based on sound management projects, integrating social, environmental and economic dimensions from the outset.
This development can be a real challenge. It highlights the complex trade-offs between immediate economic needs and long-term preservation, between tourist appeal and quality of life for local residents. But it also opens up the prospect of heritage tourism models that are better adapted to island realities, less dependent on growth in visitor numbers alone, and more based on the control of usage.
Figures that reinforce the urgency
The data presented at the workshop underline the scale of the challenges. Tourism accounts for almost 10% of the gross domestic product of Latin America and the Caribbean and supports more than 35 million jobs in the region. However, this rapid growth is not without consequences: around 40% of World Heritage sites now report pressure from tourism.
In Santo Domingo, for example, the number of international visitors to the historic center in 2024 was 30% up on the previous year. This trend is a concrete illustration of the tensions faced by heritage site managers, who are called upon to maintain the balance between attractiveness, conservation and urban functioning.
Towards a heritage conceived as a governance tool
The UNESCO-sponsored initiative also calls into question a tourism model that has long dominated the region. An over-exploited heritage, reduced to its image value, tends to be rapidly exhausted, to the detriment of the territories and their inhabitants. The guidelines discussed in Santo Domingo sketch out another path, that of a heritage conceived as a shared resource, to be managed and passed on rather than consumed.
The Santo Domingo meeting does not redefine world heritage; it redefines the responsibilities that go with it. For the Caribbean, these more demanding lines represent both a constraint and an opportunity.
They impose higher standards, but also offer a framework for reinforcing site governance, better controlling use and integrating heritage into sustainable territorial strategies. In the long term, World Heritage could thus become more than just a label of excellence in the Caribbean, but a veritable steering tool at the service of territories.
She observes a rapid intensification of tourist flows in the region, combined with increased vulnerability of ecosystems and historic centers. These developments are putting existing management models under strain. By reinforcing its guidelines, UNESCO seeks to remind us that World Heritage status implies lasting responsibilities in terms of governance, conservation and territorial balance.
It marks a clear shift from a promotional approach to a management approach. Controlling flows, integrating local communities and adapting to climate change become central criteria. Heritage is no longer seen simply as a lever for attractiveness, but as a space to be regulated and managed over the long term.
For sites already listed, these guidelines imply a higher level of requirement in terms of planning and governance. For candidate territories, they make future registrations conditional on the existence of solid, credible management projects. Ultimately, these guidelines may encourage tourism models that are better adapted to island realities and more respectful of local populations.
Tobago is often summed up in a few words: beaches, reefs, nature. Yet the island deserves more than a quick summary. Small in size but dense in what it has to offer, the island embodies a thoughtful Caribbean, where the territory has never yielded to excess. Here, tourism has developed without overshadowing local life, and nature remains a structuring framework.
A separate island within Trinidad and Tobago
Situated in the south of the Caribbean arc, it has formed an independent state with Trinidad since 1962. Unlike its big industrial sister, the island has retained a resolutely insular profile. The island covers just over 300 km² and has a population of around 60,000. This small scale has a direct influence on the visitor experience: short distances, limited traffic, simple human relationships.
Scarborough, the capital, concentrates the administration and part of the commercial activity. Elsewhere, coastal villages and rural areas structure daily life. It’s not trying to compete with the big seaside destinations; it’s asserting a different logic, based on continuity and stability.
Nature protected for centuries
One of Tobago’s strong points is its long-standing commitment to environmental protection. Buccoo Reef Marine Park officially created in the 1970s, is one of the oldest protected marine areas in the Caribbean. This shallow reef plays a central role in the coastal ecosystem and in the local economy, notably through artisanal fishing and supervised nautical activities.
Inland, the Main Ridge Forest Reserve established in 1776, is often cited as the world’s oldest protected forest reserve. This forest covers a large part of the island’s backbone, helping to regulate the climate, preserve the soil and feed watercourses. For visitors, it offers a distinct counterpoint to the beaches: shady paths, gentle slopes, wildlife observation.
Open, unstaged beaches
The island’s beaches are numerous and varied. Some, like Pigeon Point and Store Bay, are easily accessible and well developed. Others, on the east coast, are more exposed to the wind and less frequented. What they all have in common is the absence of massive beachfront constructions. Beaches remain public spaces, integrated into daily life.
This configuration attracts family tourism, independent travelers and visitors looking for extended stays. The island is not a quick stopover destination; it can be discovered over several days, sometimes weeks.
A culture rooted in continuity
The culture is the result of a long mixing of African heritage, British influences and Caribbean contributions. The English language structures the public space, but cultural practices remain profoundly local. Music, cuisine and community festivities are first conceived for the locals before being shared with visitors.
The Tobago Heritage Festival organized each year, illustrates this approach. It showcases villages, oral histories, dances and skills, without excessive staging. For the visitor, it’s an opportunity to observe a living culture, not a static one.
Controlled tourism
Accommodation on the island is deliberately modest. There are medium-sized hotels, guest houses and independent rentals. Large resorts are rare and concentrated in specific areas. This strategy limits pressure on infrastructure and natural resources.
Local authorities, including the Tobago House of Assembly. The local authorities play a central role in regional planning. Decisions relating to tourism, the environment and transport are often taken on an island-wide basis, which reinforces the coherence of the choices made.
A clear destination for travellers
Tobago is accessible by regional and international flights via A.N.R. Robinson International Airport. Entry formalities are straightforward for many travelers, and the island has sufficient infrastructure for a comfortable stay without excess.
For tourists, it represents a well-balanced destination: beaches, nature, culture and services are all present, without permanent competition between these elements. The island doesn’t seek to surprise, but to last.
Highlighting the island today means underlining that another trajectory is possible in the Caribbean. That of an island that has chosen protection, moderation and continuity. It’s not spectacular for its accumulation, but for the coherence of its model.
For travelers with an eye for how a territory develops, the island offers a rare example: an island that welcomes visitors without transforming itself excessively.
Tobago lies to the south of the Caribbean arc. Together with Trinidad, it forms the independent state of Trinidad and Tobago, off the coast of Venezuela.
Tobago is characterized by deliberately limited tourism, strong protection of its reefs and forests, and local life that is still very much alive.
Yes, the island offers a stable environment, sufficient infrastructure and a pace of life conducive to stays of several weeks, without excessive tourist pressure.
In Martinique, attracting tourists is no longer just about beaches, landscapes and cultural heritage. It’s also built behind the scenes: on the productive sectors, local know-how and infrastructures that make coherent development possible. As part of Touristriel Week, Richès Karayib took a look at a little-explored dynamic: the opening up of industrial sites as a lever for attractiveness, providing a concrete illustration of how the region really works.
On a regional scale, this dynamic is part of the AMPI (Association Martiniquaise pour la Promotion de l’Industrie). Through its member companies, including BATIMAT Recyclage, it deploys a coherent cycle combining the structuring of sectors, the opening up of industrial sites and the transmission of know-how.
The touristriel: understanding before consuming
The word touristriel takes on its full meaning here. It refers to an experience of understanding the region, based on openness, pedagogy and a clear understanding of know-how. Visiting an industrial site means taking a fresh look at the flows, materials, constraints, technical and environmental choices that shape the area.
For Charles Larcher, President of AMPI, the stakes are clear:
“Opening our factories means that Martiniquans and visitors alike can discover their industry, meet its employees and understand local know-how. Industry is a heritage, part of the soul of a territory.”
Touristriel doesn’t add another offering: it enriches the existing offer by bringing coherence between sustainable tourism discourse and productive reality.
BATIMAT Recycling: open to explain, not to seduce
In the field, BATIMAT Recyclage is a perfect illustration of this approach. Specializing in the recycling of inert construction waste, the company transforms rubble, concrete and deconstruction materials into reusable resources, as part of a circular economy approach.
For Yannis Bride: Quality, Health, Safety and Environment Manager, the opening of the site is not part of a tourism strategy in the strict sense of the term:
“We open our doors because we have nothing to hide. Showing our processes, explaining how we manage waste, how we limit our impacts, it’s a way of making our action understandable and visible.”
This transparency arouses curiosity among schoolchildren, elected representatives, professionals and visitors alike. A curiosity focused on understanding waste flows and the structural choices that determine an island’s sustainability.
Territorial appeal: credibility before image
The link between industry and tourism is not based on staging, but on credibility. credibility. A region that welcomes visitors while outsourcing the management of its waste, materials or resources loses coherence. Conversely, a well-structured local industry boosts confidence and the overall image of the destination.
On the scale of Martinique, this logic goes far beyond the construction sector alone. Agri-food, energy, construction, recycling: these are just some of the areas in which openness and pedagogy can play a key role. indirect levers of attractiveness by showing that the region produces, transforms and innovates.
A Caribbean dynamic yet to be structured
Discussions during Tourist Week also highlighted a broader issue: Caribbean cooperation.
While the challenges are common – waste management, limited resources, environmental constraints – responses are often fragmented, hampered by standards, regulations and the absence of a shared strategy.
For both AMPI and BATIMAT Recyclage, the opening of sites can also become a starting point for starting point for regional professional exchanges. This is another area where the touristriel is an eye-opener. Here again, touristriel acts as an eye-opener, creating spaces for dialogue where previously there were only silos.
Show to welcome
The touristriel reveals industry as a living, visible component of the region. In this way, it is helping to change the way people look at Martinique. By opening their doors, players like BATIMAT Recyclage, supported by the vision conveyed by AMPI, are contributing to a more mature attractiveness, based on understanding, consistency and responsibility. An attractiveness that not only seduces, but also reassuring, credible and inspiring.
In a Caribbean in search of sustainable models adapted to its island realities, this approach could well become one of the markers of a more conscious tourism – and of a more assertive territorial development.
FAQ
Touristriel is an approach that combines tourism and industry, opening up productive sites to help visitors understand the know-how, constraints and choices that structure Martinique’s territory.
Touristriel enhances attractiveness by bringing coherence between sustainable development rhetoric and production reality. It enhances a region’s credibility before its image, by showing how it produces, recycles and innovates locally.
No. The touristriel is also aimed at Martiniquans, schoolchildren, elected representatives and professionals. It fosters a collective understanding of how the region works, and paves the way for local and Caribbean cooperation.
