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In the eastern Caribbean, Guadeloupe is a perennially overlooked paradise
New flights from the United States may change its tourist profile
The five-island group is an overseas region of France
Think the old, pre-megaresort Caribbean is gone?
It’s not on pristine Guadeloupe – a five-island overseas region of France located in the Leeward Islands – but the era of relative obscurity there may be coming to an end.
First the pristine part.
With modern infrastructure and top-notch cuisine, Guadeloupe is a 629-square-mile treasure of near-empty beaches, forests, waterfalls, cliffs and healthy coral reefs.
Fresh conch kebabs, seaside bars, gwo ka drummers playing and chanting against the sound of lapping waves – how this cluster of islands has remained off-the-beaten path for so long is a mystery for out of work travel agents to contemplate.
That may change. Soon.
Historically, a stronghold of French tourists, Guadeloupe is vying to become the next big winter escape for North Americans, launching formal marketing efforts aimed at those tourists just last year.
In April 2013, American Airlines and Seaborne Airlines launched weekly, direct flights from Miami and Puerto Rico to the main city of Pointe-à-Pitre (population 132,884).
JetBlue followed in November, signing an interline agreement with Seaborne.
By the close of 2013, Guadeloupe Islands’ Tourist Board reported a 22.5% annual increase in visitors from the United States.
According to the Caribbean Journal, Guadeloupe received just 420,000 visitors overall in 2013.
If all of this doesn’t convince you to give Guadeloupe a look now, the gallery above just might.
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