Caribbean: quiet hurricane season

The six-month hurricane season that ended Nov. 30 saw only nine named storms formed in the Atlantic and for the first time in three years, no hurricane struck the U.S. mainland or a Caribbean island.

Source: Travel Weekly; find article here>>.

Grenada: ban on off-beach bathing suits

According to Associated Press, Grenada began enforcing an indecent exposure law banning bathing suits away from the beach. While violators are usually just ordered to cover up, the law allows for a $270 fine or six months in jail.

Caribbean: Hurricane Season Summary

The 2008 season produced 16 named storms, ranking it as one of the more active seasons in the 64 years since comprehensive storm records began. The 2008 season ranks second in destructiveness, causing up to $54 billion in damage, and is the only season to feature a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher) every month from July through November.

Source: Travel Weekly; find article here>>. (free registration required)

Details on this year's as well as previous hurricane seasons are available here>>.

Caribbean: beaches shrink as thieves steal sand

Caribbean round grains, favored in creating smooth surfaces for plastering and finishing, are being hauled away by the truckload late at night. On some islands, towns and ecologically sensitive areas get exposed to tidal surges and rough seas.

Among the hardest hit is Grenada, where officials are building a $1.2 million seawall to protect the 131-square-mile island. Large-scale sand thefts have exposed north-coast towns to rough seas.

About 706,000 cubic feet of sand were taken from private property beaches in the northwest of Jamaica in late July.

Source: The Boston Globe; find article here>>.

Caribbean: heavy hurricane season to be expected

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA) revised its predictions for the 2008 hurricane season. In the August update to the Atlantic hurricane season outlook, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center has increased the likelihood of an above-normal hurricane season and has raised the total number of named storms and hurricanes that may form. NOAA now projects an 85 percent probability of an above-normal season. The season could produce 14 to 18 named storms, including 7 to 10 hurricanes with three to six being intense (Category 3 strength or higher).

See details here>>.

Mexico: tax on cruise passengers postponed

Mexico's Ministry of Tourism had planned to apply a $5 head tax on cruise passengers who stop at the country's ports starting this summer but has postponed the implementation until Oct. 1. The Florida Caribbean Cruise Association, some Mexican ports and cruise lines are opposed to the tax, which supporters say will generate about $30 million annually.

Source: Travel Weekly; find full article here>>.

Belize: agreement to balance cruise ship tourism and conservation

Members of Belize’s cruise tourism industry on Monday signed a Declaration of Commitment, in which key industry stakeholders - including government, private sector, civil society (NGOs) and the cruise lines – commit to create sustainable cruise tourism practices, such as protecting coral reefs. The commitment is the second such environmental agreement developed for Caribbean passenger cruise line destinations by Conservation International’s (CI) Mesoamerican Reef Tourism Initiative (MARTI). It is also the first to address considerations by an established nature tourism destination and will likely serve as a model for cruise line travel destinations around the world.

Source: EurekAlert!; find full article here>>.