Pulse of the Caribbean

#135 Caribbean News Round Up Episode 4 Week of October 27

• Pulse of the Caribbean

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Here are some of the stories making Caribbean headlines.

  • Hurricane Melissa's impact across Jamaica and the road to recovery
  • CARICOM calls for lower insurance costs
  • Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela Relations
  • St. Vincent and the Grenadines election date set
  • Barbados reports GDP growth and record low unemployment gains
  • Caribbean Tourism Organization 11th Human Resources Conference held in Tortola, British Virgin Islands 

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SPEAKER_01:

This podcast is brought to you by Diamond Key Marina, Yosem Dyke, British Virgin Islands, home of Foxy's taboo and gateway to the bubbly pool, a natural jacuzzi and hidden gem. Want to reserve moorings at Diamond Key? Visit Botiball, B-O-A-T-Y, Ball.com. Welcome to the Pulse of the Caribbean News Roundup, Episode 4 for the week of October 27th. Here's a look at what's making Caribbean headlines. We still report in Jamaica. In the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa's devastating impact on Jamaica, large portions of the country are without electricity or communication due to blocked and lost highways, widespread flooding after massive rain and storm surge. Jamaicans worldwide are organizing to aid with rehabilitation. People on social media have described the situation as horrific. Melissa has been recorded as the worst storm to hit the island at a category five with winds of 185 miles per hour and higher gusts for hours. As Jamaica recovers from Hurricane Melissa, Jamaica's transportation minister, Daryl Vaz, says DeNorman Manley International Airport in Kingston and the Ian Fleming International Airport in St. Mary open for relief flights on Wednesday. Vaz, who toured the airport, says Norman Manley and Ian Fleming commercial flights will begin today, Thursday, October thirtieth. Vaz says the Mantigo Bay, St. James Sangster International Airport will open for relief flights on Friday and a decision on commercial flight resumption is expected after further assessments. VAS hopes to have passenger flights begin on Friday. Our next stop is CARICOM. CARICOM Secretary General, Dr. Carla Barnett has urged for rapid global cooperation to lower tourism insurance costs in small island developing states. The 16th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Sixth Global Services Forum, Dr. Barnett discussed CARICOM's service-based economies vulnerability to increasingly frequent and intense climatic disasters on a high-level panel. Insurance costs are rising for older tourism establishments while new investments are hard to cover. This requires global corporation, she said. The Forum Services a New Frontier of Economic Transformation for Equitable, Inclusive, and Sustainable Development, studied how the services industry boosts jobs, growth, and exports. It said services account for two-thirds of global GDP and 75% in CARICOM countries like the Bahamas, St. Lucia, and Barbados. Services make over 60% of GDP in varied countries like Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, the Secretary General said. She said tourist stakeholders worried about Hurricane Melissa, stating, we tried our best, but prepared for the worst. Dr. Burnett said international relationships help CARICOM countries close structural gaps and build resilience. She said United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the World Trade Organization, and International Development Banks must collaborate to enhance institutional and service provider capacity. Tourism, financial, information and communication technology, professional, entertainment, cultural, and sports spans the CARICOM service sector. Dr. Barnett highlighted that focused global support is needed to maximize these businesses' potential and protect them from climate shock. Our next stop is Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamala Prasad by Cesser remarked Monday night in a live interview on the Crime Watch program with Ian Allen, CARICOM is proving to be unreliable partners in some regards. Some of our CARICOM partners have chosen Venezuela over Trinidad and Tobago, and that is something we need to remember, she said. The Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat reported that regional leaders reviewed many problems on the regional agenda this month, including the Caribbean security buildups and their effects on member states. It indicated that Trinidad and Tobago government did not support that meeting's position. On the live program, Prasad by Cesar said that her government, which took office on April 28th, has not negotiated with Venezuela on energy matters and has not received any formal notice about suspending bilateral energy corporation. On the program, she said whether it is Venezuela, CARICOM, or any other entity, no one will pressure or blackmail my government into retreating in the fight against drug cartels. Prasad by Sessor said, We have no plans for Trinidad and Tobago to be used as a base for any attack on Venezuela. There has been no such request from the U.S. government, she said, adding that while her administration stands in solidarity with the people of Venezuela, it will continue to support international efforts to combat narcotics trafficking, illegal firearm trade, and human smuggling across the region. It is reported that Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro said on TV that the oil ministry and state-run oil producer board proposed suspending a Trinidad Corporation Agreement, which he stated that he approved. That might mean Venezuela revokes the permission to develop the enormous Dragon Natural Gas field and other projects. Maduro said his order immediately froze the energy agreement with Trinidad and Tobago and he requested Congress and the Supreme Court for more suggestions. The move by Venezuela comes following the arrival of a US Navy ship to Trinidad on Sunday and additional military buildup in the region. Now we head to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. On Tuesday night, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonzales said that the general election in St. Vincent and the Grenadines will be on november twenty seventh. At the Labor Strong Rally for the ruling Labor Party, Gonzales declared that the Parliament with 15 seats has been dissolved and that nomination day is November 10th. Gonzales added it is now time for our free and democratic people to choose between the ULP and NDP, the new Democratic Party, in free and fair elections. In 2020, the ULP won North Leeward by one vote following a recount. If Gonzales wins again, this will be his sixth term in a row. Next up, Barbados economy grows and its unemployment hits record lows after this. For Pulse of the Caribbean podcast advertising or marketplace feature opportunities, email biz BIZ at pulse of the Caribbean.com. Get your ads in front of our ever expanding Caribbean and diaspora community. Contact us at BizBIZ at pulsofthecaribbean.com. Engage in networking and advertising with Pulse of the Caribbean. This is the Pulse of the Caribbean News Roundup Episode 4 for the week of October 27th. At a news briefing to evaluate Barbados's third quarter economic performance, Central Bank Governor Dr. Kevin Greenage said growth was steady despite global trade concerns and cooling in several advanced economies. Tourism, agriculture, and construction boosted output and unemployment fell to its lowest level on record in the first nine months of 2025, the central bank stated on Wednesday. Avericulture, construction, tourism, and business and other services boosted real GDP by 2.7%, and the unemployment rate dropped to a historic low of 6.1% at the end of June, 1.6% points below a year earlier. But jobless claims rose 3.2%. He added, inflation eased as import costs fell. Tourism and long-term funding kept the country's external position healthy, the governor said. He said international reserves measured$3.3 billion at the end of September as increased travel credits and capital inflows to both the public and private sectors offset a wider merchandise deficit, a larger income deficit, and lower receipts from the international financial business sector. He added both traded and non-traded sectors grew broadly in the first nine months. He stated airlift marketing and cultural events encouraged tourists. With flights from Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Atlanta, the U.S. dominated growth, contributing 36% of visitors and rising 12%. The governor said Europe expanded 15.5% due to marketing, and CARICOM markets rose 8.2% due to Caribbean Airlines and Inter-Caribbean Airways operations. Because of airline cutting seats, UK and Canadian arrivals declined 2.6% and 1.1% respectively. Cropover and Cara Festa boosted summer demand. Additionally, in transit cruise passenger arrivals grew 31.5% in the first nine months of this year due to higher vessel capacity rates. Due to higher vessel occupancy rates. And here's our final note. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Caribbean Tourism's 11th Human Resources Conference in Tortola, British Virgin Islands Premier Dr. Natalia Whitley said the event's theme, the human touch point, redefining HR excellence in Caribbean tourism, was fitting for a sector built on personal connection and care. The British Virgin Islands Premier called Human Capital the tourism industry's drive and urge Caribbean governments to invest more in their people. Dr. Wheatley said we must prioritize our most precious resource people. The Premier said the Caribbean has to invest in people to compete globally. Our region is brilliant, creative, and heartfelt. He said we invest in Caribbean tourism's future by developing our people, inspiring confidence, and equipping them with leadership skills. Dr. Whitley termed the conference a movement to elevate how we see human resources not as a department, but as the heartbeat of the tourism industry.com. Have news and information you'd like to share with us, send news releases to news at pulse of the Caribbean.com. This has been your Pulse of the Caribbean news roundup episode four for the week of October twenty-seventh. Here's a special greeting going out to our listeners in Jamaica, New York, Florida, Texas, Japan, and the Netherlands. Thanks for listening, and do spread the word and share our podcast with others across the region and the diaspora. I'm Keisha Blyden. See you next time.

SPEAKER_00:

For more Caribbean news stories and information, visit us online at pulsofthecaribbean.com. If you found value in this podcast, be sure to like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. And thank you in advance for choosing Pulse of the Caribbean Caribbean news roundup as your source for Caribbean centered news.