Guadeloupe Tourism Authority (GTA) officials are betting this month’s launch of JetBlue flights between New York’s John F. Kennedy airport and Guadeloupe’s Pointe-à-Pitre airport, combined with multi-million euro investments in new and renovated hotels, will generate increased visitation from North American travelers.
The airline initiated the New York-Guadeloupe flights earlier this month, offering a seasonal winter schedule departing Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays. JetBlue is the only airline currently operating flights between the northeastern U.S. and Guadeloupe, an archipelago of five islands: Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Le Désirade, Les Saintes and Marie Galante.
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The new flights in effect replace service lost in 2019 when European carrier Norwegian Air scrapped its French Caribbean service from New York, said Sandra Vénite, GTA’s U.S. director. JetBlue’s flights are also expected to increase Guadeloupe’s North American visitors and will operate through April 27; the departures will resume in November 2020.
Vénite said six percent of Guadeloupe visitors are from North America with 62 percent from the U.S. and 38 percent from Canada. Eighty percent of the French overseas territory’s visitors originate in Europe.
“We have been working with Jet Blue for the last two years and we are so happy they decided to fill the gap for Norwegian,” Vénite said. “I’m happy the flights are non-stop because for New Yorkers, if it’s not non-stop they just don’t go,” she joked. “It is amazing news for Guadeloupe.”
“We are delighted we were able to maintain a connection between New York and Pointe-à -Pître as this route is crucial for the development of our archipelago,” said Alain Bièvre, chairman of the board of Guadeloupe Pôle Caraibe Airport. “We are convinced that American travelers will leave the Guadeloupe Islands with lifetime memories and come back again and again.”
The territory hosted 735,200 land-based, overnight visitors in 2019, an 11.6 percent increase compared with the 650,000 visitors in 2018, said GTA officials. The archipelago’s visitor numbers have grown as travelers have become more interested in “experiential” vacations that incorporate eco-tourism, Vénite said.
“Seventy-seven percent of the archipelago is a natural reserve. The population is just enough for the island, so you can wander around and not feel bothered,” she said. “You can literally find your own beach in Guadeloupe.”
Guadeloupe’s two main islands both feature extensive natural beauty. Basse-Terre is located amidst volcanic peaks that form part of a national park, with dense tropical forests and lush hiking trails.
Grande-Terre is set atop a vast limestone plateau bordered by idyllic beaches with secluded lagoons. The smaller islands of Marie Galante, Les Saintes and La Désirade are accessible via short ferry rides from the main islands.
“When you go to Guadeloupe it’s going to be a real adventure,” Vénite said. “You have an opportunity to brush up on your Francois [and] if you’re looking for adventure and cultural experiences, Guadeloupe has it all. We have adventure parks and national parks, [and] a Jacques Cousteau diving reserve,” she said.
“Americans are looking for something new because many have been to [several] Caribbean islands,” but many are unfamiliar with Guadeloupe,” Vénite added.
Hotel Heaven
Guadeloupe’s expanding hotel base is also expected to increase visits from North America. Traditionally, European travelers have been more amenable to the Airbnb and bed-and-breakfast accommodations that compose a large share of Guadeloupe’s hospitality sector said Vénite. But Americans “are getting loose a little bit” even as new hospitality options arrive in the destination.
Over the past five years, hotel companies have invested “more than 70 million euros in building new properties and upgrading existing ones,” Vénite said. Within the next three years, developers will invest another 100 million euros on hotel launches and renovations, she said.
Newly refurbished properties include the Club Med Caravelle, which completed a $47 million renovation in December. The property includes an adults-only section, a spa, rum cellar and Zen Oasis, a new beach lounge.
La Toubana Hotel & Spa has been renovated and upgraded to a five-star property, Vénite said. “It is our first five-star property; we’ve never had that before,” she said. “It is in an amazing location in Sainte-Anne overlooking Les Saintes.”
She added, “I’m proud to say you can go to Guadeloupe and find nice hotels. We have [fewer] than 10,000 hotel rooms, so it’s not a lot, but it’s just enough,” she said. “We’ve never had big resorts; the biggest hotel is about 500 rooms.”
Vénite said, “The goal in five years is to be around 11,000 rooms in the archipelago, so a lot of new properties will be coming to Guadeloupe in the next couple of years.”
Guadeloupe’s annual visitor numbers place the destination near the mid-point of the 29 destinations tracked by the Caribbean Tourism Organization, but Vénite says GTA is aiming to trend higher.
“The goal of the authority is to diversify our clientele. We want to get in line with the other Caribbean islands. We want to be one of those.”
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