Innovative Destination of the Year — Antigua and Barbuda

It’s always nice to see a Caribbean country thinking big — and that’s precisely what Antigua and Barbuda has been doing. The Eastern Caribbean country’s government has been pushing an agenda to become an economic powerhouse, and that’s extended to the tourism sector, where the destination (led by Tourism Minister Asot Michael) has signed a wave of new development projects (including one with Robert De Niro) and launched a series of concomitant green energy initiatives. But the party piece is the country’s new airport terminal, easily the most advanced in the Caribbean region, which launched earlier this year.