by Brian Major
Last updated: 3:49 PM ET, Mon February 17, 2014
PHOTO: The scenic beaches and serene waters of St. Kitts and Nevis.
One of the Caribbean's dominant hoteliers is also quickly expanding its regional tour and excursion operations. Caribbean tour excursion firm Island Routes will set up shop in Belize, Dominica, and St. Kitts and Nevis by the end of 2014, company officials announced Monday.
The launch of the company's zipline, ATV, snorkeling, horseback and other adventure-themed excursions into three new destinations brings the number of Caribbean countries where Island Routes operates to 11. The move is only the latest leap forward for the excursion company owned by Sandals Resorts.
In 2013 Island Routes sold 600,000 "tour and experiences," said David Shields, the firm's general manager. Island Routes also expanded its operations into Aruba, St. Maarten, Dominican Republic and Nassau, Bahamas last year.
The firm also staked a claim to the cruise lines' lucrative Caribbean shore excursion market in 2013. "Last year for the first time we entered the shore excursion space," said Shields at the January opening of the company's new offices at the former Air Jamaica headquarters in Montego Bay. "We are now providers of shore excursions in 11 Caribbean destinations."
Shields said Island Routes has established a web site portal that allows guests booked aboard Caribbean-bound cruise ships to select their own shore excursions in the destinations where it operates.
"If you are traveling from Miami to the Northern Caribbean you can choose your ship, choose your location, and Island Routes locations will pop up and tell you where you can book your Island Routes tour," he said. "So if you cruise ship stops in Ocho Rios, or Grand Cayman, the portal will feed you the locations where you can book an Island Routes excursion."
Island Routes' expansion may even be a harbinger for its parent company's growth across the Caribbean. Just as Island Routes has expanded operations to several new Caribbean countries, Sandals is planting its resort flag in new destinations for the company in 2014, most notably in Grenada and Barbados.
"Island Routes exists in locations that have not yet considered Sandals," said Shields in January. "I am sure our parent company will be following us to some those paths that we are already creating."
The company's expansion doesn't stop at the tour and shore-excursion products. In January Island Routes launched its first land-based adventure park, the River Bumpkin Farm, in Jamaica's Trelawny district.
Located on a former sugar plantation, the park offers excursions ranging from river tubing and kayaking down the Martha Brae River to walking and biking tours across lush Jamaican landscapes. Several of the plantation's original buildings remain, including the boiling, curing and distilling houses from the plantation's rum production process, and are incorporated into walking tours.
"We are constantly growing while always remaining true to our 'routes' and our dedication to showing visitors to Jamaica the true beauty and off-the-beaten-path experiences available in our backyard," said Shields.
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