Anyone dubious about the ability of a reality TV show to pique interest in a destination, take note: The day after the airing of the first episode of ABC's "The Bachelor" shot in St. Lucia, visitor numbers to the island's website, www.saintlucianow.com, jumped from a daily average of 8,688 to 18,371, and page views multiplied from 14,005 to 46,075. Tweets mentioning St. Lucia grew from 146 to 717. And the website of Cap Maison Villa Resort & Spa, which was featured in the show, usually registers between 500 to 600 hits per day, but during the hour following the show it received a whopping 6,500. Trying to keep the momentum going, 20 St. Lucia resorts and American Airlines launched a "Red Rose Romance Promotion" of packages.
It's almost a year away, but there is already buzz about who will be the godmother of Oceania Cruises' first newbuild, the Marina. Oceania said it doesn't know yet, but hinted to TC that since the ship is being touted as one designed for lovers of food and wine, the godmother might be a famous culinary personality. Martha Stewart? Rachael Ray? Paula Deen? Nigella Lawson? Lidia Bastianich? If the kitchen turns out to be too hot, TC hears that Oceania will likely turn to the tried-and-true choice of a humanitarian.
On 'The Oprah Winfrey Oscar Special' last week, Academy Award-winning actress Penelope Cruz made a startling revelation. When asked by fellow Oscar winner Halle Berry what she might be doing if she weren't acting, the answer was either being a dancer -- or a travel agent. It turns out Cruz enjoys booking trips for her family, friends and strangers (whom tried-and-true agents would, of course, refer to as "clients").
St. Croix could get its second branded hotel (Divi Resorts already has a property on the island's east end) if financing loosens up so that renovations to the former Carambola Beach Resort can resume. Some of that financing might come from the U.S. Virgin Islands government. TC hears that the USVI has partnered with several investors to jump-start the project. Plans to reflag the property on St. Croix's north shore as a Marriott franchisee under the firm's Renaissance brand were announced in early 2007. Renovations started and then stopped in 2008 as the economy tanked. But the deal is that 50% of the renovations have to be completed before the branding can take place. The beachfront resort opened as a RockResorts property in the mid-1960s, briefly flew the Westin flag in the late 1980s and then had a short fling as a timeshare operation.