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Tourist season is in full swing on the islands and Carnival Cruise Line's new Mahogany Bay terminal is operating perfectly! This past week 2 ships were in port and transportation around the island worked perfectly!! Roatan welcomes its visitors with friendly smiles, exciting tropical activities and low priced Real Estate. Property inquiries are up and it looks like 2010 will be a banner year for sales of all sorts!
Wishing you and yours a very special Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! Thank you all for your continued support throughout 2009! We look forward to exciting changes in 2010 and invite all of you to be a part of it! In these changing times we remind everyone that......
From our family to yours.... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Cheers
TJ Lynch
BuyRoatan.com
Yesterday the governments of Canada and the United States both cancelled the travel advisories on their State Department websites for Honduras. Although they never officially included Roatan and the Bay Islands as part of their alerts, many folks read these to include the Islands and cancelled trips here.
The "non-essential" travel warning was posted back in May after the Honduran Supreme Court stripped then President, Jose Manual Zelaya, of his powers and ordered his arrest for various crimes including treason, drug-trafficking, theft and abuse of power. The military, assigned to do the arresting, made a decision to exile Zelaya out of the country to minimize any violence that may ensue from Zelaya's paid supporters.
Despite at few riots and demonstrations on the mainland Honduras, the Bay Islands remained relatively calm, peaceful and "open for business" to the more than 600,000 tourists that vacation on Roatan annually. Cruise ships and airlines continued to bring vacationers to Roatan and we anticipate that with the lifting of the travel ban, these numbers will increase dramatically.
"Planes from the States are filling up", said one Continental Airlines employee behind the Roatan ticket counter, and TACA, DELTA and the Canadian Charter companies are all reported increased ticket sales this week. Resorts continue to offer great seasonal specials for the holidays and it's not too late to book your trip to paradise this year!!
A friend and colleague, Tommy Hough, called me today to tell me Houston is under siege... not from a foreign country, terrorists, or local thugs... but from snow!!! Very rare in Texas indeed, it's snowing in Houston today! Usually, when this happens our website hits go up and our Roatan Real Estate inquiries also spike.. probably due to people being stuck indoors due to closed businesses and schools. Kind of good news for us in the Tropics.
And while it's snowing in the US, it's currently 86º, sunny and not a cloud in the sky here in the western Caribbean. And yes, we've entertained some inquiries today. Tourists are starting once again to flock to our white sand beaches, seafood restaurants and the many outdoor activities Roatan offers its visitors.
Hotels are offering great deals for the holidays these days including 2 for 1's, all-inclusive rates and special pricing for dive packages and meal plans. If you're interested in visiting us sometime in the near future, drop me a note to [email protected] and I'd be happy to point you in the direction of the deals.
Come on down to Roatan! We're open for business and happy to be at your service! As alway, if you're interested in the Real Estate market here in the Islands.. you can browse all of Roatan's MLS listings here.
