For years, the conventional wisdom was that an eventual end to the U.S. embargo against Cuba would open the floodgates for millions of curious Americans dying to visit the once-forbidden island — while the rest of the Caribbean would, at least initially, suffer a sharp downturn in U.S. tourist arrivals.
Caribbean islands are aggressively courting new tourism markets as restrictive U.K. airline taxes and hard times in the United States keep thousands of potential British and American visitors at home.
St. Maarten and St. Kitts will soon be home to two unrelated mega-resorts that aim to dramatically boost tourism to both Eastern Caribbean islands.