Opinion

Op-Ed: A New Beginning for Puerto Rico

Editor’s Note: Abaco, Grand Bahama and the Comeback to Come

By Alexander Britell On Sept. 8, 1932, the biggest storm ever recorded in Abaco pummeled the island, destroying hundreds of homes and killing 10 people, just enough to land it on page 22 of the Sept. 9 edition of the …

Op-Ed: The Future of Dominican Republic Tourism

By Carlos CastilloConsul General of the Dominican Republic in New York Tourism and hospitality have become synonymous in the Dominican Republic. They are the mainstay of the economy, and a tremendous source of pride within our culture. New York City …

Op-Ed: Rethinking Caribbean Cruise Port Revenues

By Robert MacLellanCJ Contributor Can tourism-dependent Caribbean governments learn something from oil producing countries? When relatively small and poor oil producing governments sought to get a fair price for oil – their main source of national revenue – they banded …

Editor’s Note: The Caribbean, After Irma

On Oct. 9, 1780, the Great Hurricane came to the Caribbean. Huracan San Calixto lasted 11 days in the West Indies, pummeling the southeastern Caribbean with terrifying winds as high as 200 miles per hour, destroying homes and livelihoods. Almost …

Doing Business in the Caribbean 2017: Central America Leading By Example

By Paul HayCJ Contributor Doing Business 2017: Equal Opportunity for All is the 14th in the long-standing series of co-publications by the World Bank and International Financial Corporation (IFC). This annual report on the ease in doing business, now in …

Caribbean History: Remembering Maurice Bishop

Our new Caribbean History feature takes a look at the major people and moments in the history of the region. By David P. Rowe One of the most important Caribbean leaders of the 20th century was Maurice Bishop. His career …

It’s Time for New Thinking on Caribbean Airlift

BY KAREEM YARDECJ Contributor As a relatively unexplored topic, I recently wrote a research proposal concerning airline route development in the Caribbean region. This overarching review suggests that this is certainly a topic which the Caribbean region stands to benefit …

Jamaica’s Opportunity to Shine

By DENNIS CHUNG CJ Contributor A few years ago someone asked me what I was passionate about. I mentioned that one of the things I really am passionate about is Jamaica and Jamaicans. It is that passion for Jamaica and …

Developing Jamaica’s Intellectual Capacity for Growth

BY DENNIS CHUNGCJ Contributor I recently made the point that the most important asset that Jamaica has is its three million residents, and that it is the underutilization of this asset that has caused us to attain average growth of …

Creating a Culture of Development in Jamaica

And what Jamaica can learn from Antigua and Barbuda By Dennis ChungCJ Contributor Every time we come around to this time of the year — when we debate the budget, I swear that the arguments for and against are the same. …

Op-Ed: St. Vincent’s Major New Airport — And What’s Next

Weighing the impact of Argyle By Kareem YardeOp-Ed Contributor It was recently announced with great fervor that St. Vincent and the Grenadines will be officially opening the Argyle International Airport (AIA) on February 14th 2017. Beset by challenges from the …

What Cuba Means for Caribbean Travel

Looking ahead in Cuba By Alex ZozayaCEO of Apple Leisure Group History was recently made when American Airlines and Jet Blue became the first U.S. airlines to land passenger flights in Havana in more than 50 years. More U.S. airlines …

Using Tech to Improve the Caribbean’s Business Environment

How “RegTech” could help the Caribbean By Ryan PetersonCJ Contributor In the famous words of legendary Bob Marley, “…don’t let them fool you…”. Despite the images of white sandy beaches, turquoise seas and milky coconuts, the Caribbean is notoriously known …

Getting Local Government in Jamaica to Work

What local government means if we can get it to work By Dennis Chung CJ Contributor Last week I was driving around Montego Bay with the NSWMA regional manager and stopped by the Retirement dumpsite. As I drove around, I …

Jamaica’s Competitiveness Challenges

More on Jamaica’s economic issues By Dennis ChungCJ Contributor Last week, I ended by speaking on the point that if we are to see true economic and social development in Jamaica, this can only come through increasing our competitiveness as …

Transforming the Caribbean’s Financial Ecosystems

Why this island celebrated fintech By Ryan PetersonCJ Contributor It is a truism that the global financial ecosystems are experiencing an unprecedented period of technological transformation and disruptive innovation of digitizing money, monetizing data, and virtualizing experiences. Digital currencies, mobile …

Jamaica’s Development Challenges

Exploring competitiveness and development in Jamaica By Dennis ChungCJ Contributor Recently the World Economic Forum released the Global Competitiveness Report 2016/17, which showed Jamaica improving its ranking from 86 of 140 to 75 of 138 countries. This was an improvement …

Toward Better Caribbean Aviation

Why the Caribbean Aviation Meetup Matters By Kareem YardeCJ Contributor Just shy of five months ago, air transport and tourism leaders, enthusiasts and well-wishers huddled at the Fort Young Hotel in Dominica to herald the commencement of an annual action oriented …