Caribbean Cruises Tops for International Travelers
Also making the Top 10 list of most popular international destinations is Montego Bay, Jamaica (#7), Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic (#9), and Mexican cruises (tied for #10). Among the Top 5 Cruise Destinations, the Western Caribbean ranked #2 (behind #1 Alaska), the Eastern Caribbean was #3, and the Southern Caribbean was #5 (Europe/Mediterranean was #4). That's a whole lot of Caribbean!
"Internationally, Caribbean cruising and Cancun, Mexico, deliver the 1-2 punch for the second straight year among the most popular international 'destinations,'" noted Carlson Wagonlit. "In fact, Caribbean cruising has been named as the top international 'destination' for five straight years."
On the other hand, this was the first year that Alaska beat out the Caribbean as the top cruise destination. And Punta Cana slipping from the #6 spot in the 2007 rankings.
"Punta Cana continues to be a great value for an all-inclusive destination," noted Steve Phillips, a Carlson Wagonlit Travel expert in Crystal, Minn. "However, the American tourist is used to a certain type of destination ... [with] some of the comforts of home. The Dominican Republic has struggled to acquire and build an infrastructure to support American tourists. Therefore after going there once, clients are not as likely to want go back, even though they feel they received great value for their vacation dollar."
That's a fair assessment, but things also are changing rapidly in the Dominican Republic, with a slew of upscale, U.S.-style hotels -- from brands like Westin, Ritz-Carlton, and Four Seasons -- poised to transform the image of Punta Cana and other resort destinations currently dominated by Spanish hotel companies.
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