WHY IT RATES: Travel agents selling Caribbean vacations should once again be considering Dominica, as the island continues touting its astounding recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria.-Donald Wood, Breaking News Senior Writer.
March 18 marked six months since a powerful Category 5 hurricane slammed the island nation of Dominica. Six months following Hurricane Maria, Dominica has made major progress in restoring routes to and from the island, essential services and amenities, and transportation throughout the island.
"Nothing is better for our recovery from Hurricane Maria than visitors to our island," says Colin Piper, CEO of the Discover Dominica Authority. "We have made significant progress in getting the island ready for guests. Whether it's for a relaxing getaway, special event or meaningful travel, visitors will see the same vibrant spirit of our people and beautiful scenery and features that make Dominica the Nature Island of the Caribbean."
Access
Dominica has full connectivity to international and regional markets with regular flights offered by regional carriers including LIAT, Seaborne Airlines, WINAIR, Air Sunshine, Coastal Express Carrier and, most recently, InterCaribbean Airways. As of March 22, InterCaribbean Airways will operate non-stop scheduled services between Dominica, St. Lucia and Tortola. Chartered flights are also available via Sky High Aviation Services and Trans Island Air.
The Douglas Charles Airport, located at Melville Hall, and the Canefield Airport have welcomed passengers since October 2017. Connections are available to Barbados, Antigua, San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Tortola, St. Thomas, Anguilla, St. Lucia, St. Croix and St. Thomas.
Air access has been expanded with night landing available at Douglas Charles Airport until 8 p.m. for public flights and until 10 p.m. by special arrangement.
L'Express des Iles fast ferry service, operational within a few weeks after Hurricane Maria, provides service between Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique and St. Lucia. L'Express des Iles has partnered with Air Caraïbes to offer simultaneous airline and ferry bookings with connections to L'Express des Iles destinations.
Accommodations
A total of 393 hotel/guest house rooms are available. This represents 41 percent of the total stock of 962 rooms available before Hurricane Maria. Fort Young Hotel will open additional rooms and Secret Bay, Calibishie Cove and Citrus Creek Plantation are expected to reopen in the last quarter of 2018. Two additional properties, Jungle Bay Resort and Cabrits Resort Kempinski, are expected to open during the first half of 2019, and Anichi Resort late in 2019. The opening of these three hotels will increase Dominica's room stock by 340.
Sites and Attractions
The majority of sites and attractions are officially open to visitors. These include the signature sites of Trafalgar Falls, Middleham Falls, Emerald Pool, Fresh Water Lake and the Indian River. Visitors can enjoy magnificent easy to moderate hikes across the island including, Syndicate Nature Trail, Cabrits/Fort Shirley, and others.
Diving tours are currently available with six dive operators offering dive tours at all of the key dive sites on the north, south and west coasts of the island. Divers can explore a world of incredible underwater vistas and discover why Dominica is ranked amongst the world's top ten dive sites.
Voluntourism Packages
Dominica encourages visitors to get involved in meaningful tourism by considering a voluntourism package. These unique packages are offered to assist Dominica with the cleanup of sites such as the Indian River, dive sites, and the Waitukubuli National Trail. Packages are being offered by the Tamarind Tree Hotel, Fort Young Hotel, Secret Bay, Cobra Tours, Cool Breeze Tours and Cabrits Dive.
Cruise Travel
Before Hurricane Maria, Dominica was on course to receive 219 cruise calls during the 2017-2018 cruise season. This number has since been reduced to 34 calls, with the country welcoming the first cruise vessel following the hurricane December 28, 2017. The Sea Cloud II anchored off Portsmouth and one month later, the MV Mein Schiff 3 of TUI cruises docked at the Roseau cruise ship berth. Since then, the island has received an additional 16 cruise calls. Carnival Cruises is expected to make a total of five visits, commencing with three in July.
The people of Dominica continue to show their resilience and steadfastness in building a better Dominica. In mid-February, the country celebrated Carnival and plans are in motion for the Ninth Annual Jazz 'n Creole on May 20 at Fort Shirley in the Cabrits National Park, along with fringe events in Portsmouth on the weekend of the Jazz 'n Creole main stage.
Plans are being made for World Creole Music Festival from October 26 -28 followed by the island's 40th Anniversary of Independence celebration on November 3.
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