When planning meetings and events, size alone doesn’t determine suitability. The Caribbean illustrates this well: small islands can host bustling resorts, while larger ones preserve extensive natural areas. The region blends cultural influences from Spanish, English, French and Dutch colonizers and the African peoples brought here during the transatlantic slave trade. Each island is distinct, yet all offer an attractive mix of business facilities and tropical appeal. Most destinations maintain professional destination management companies able to match groups with the ideal venues for gatherings of any scale or purpose.
“MICE travel to the Caribbean continues to thrive in many islands,” says Richard S. Kahn, consultant to the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association. “MICE business took a hit during the 2008–2009 financial crisis, but this segment rebounded quickly because of the Caribbean’s perennial advantages: reliable warm weather, friendly local service and competitive hotel pricing — particularly among the all-inclusive resorts that warmly welcome groups. Destinations have expanded convention centers and many hotels have added the appropriate meeting facilities.”
THE SLOGAN The Dominican Republic’s claim that it “has it all” reflects significant investment in tourism infrastructure. Luxury all-inclusive resorts and boutique hotels line spectacular beaches and sit near rich historic, cultural and natural attractions, offering planners a wide variety of venue choices.
Casa de Campo, established in 1975 on 7,000 acres, is a prime example. Renowned for 90 holes of Pete Dye–designed golf and world-class facilities for shooting, tennis, polo and boating, the resort also provides upscale accommodations, dining and entertainment. Casa de Campo can host up to 500 attendees across two conference centers totaling 15,000 square feet, plus many inviting indoor and outdoor event spaces.
Puntacana Resort & Club features more than 23,000 square feet of meeting space, and the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana (now merged with Palace Resorts) dedicates over 65,000 square feet to events. The Barceló Bávaro Beach Resort complex includes a 123,785-square-foot convention center, demonstrating the breadth of meeting infrastructure available in the country.
MEET PUERTO RICO, the nonprofit that markets Puerto Rico as a meetings destination, promotes the island with the tagline “On a tropical island, in the Caribbean.” The campaign highlights Puerto Rico’s 1.2 million square feet of meeting space, roughly 4,000 hotel rooms, numerous nonstop flights and the convenience that U.S. citizens can travel there without a passport.
San Juan’s Puerto Rico Convention Center is the largest in the Caribbean at 580,000 square feet and can accommodate up to 10,000 delegates. Its central location places it near historic Old San Juan, the business district, restaurants, beaches and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport. Nearby, the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino offers 40,000 square feet of meeting facilities. About 30 minutes from San Juan and adjacent to El Yunque National Forest, the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa features a 48,000-square-foot seaside conference center. Across Puerto Rico there are many comparable resorts and smaller hotels suited to intimate or mid-size gatherings.
THE 2013 WORLD Travel Awards recognized Jamaica as the Caribbean’s leading destination, honored the Montego Bay Convention Centre (142,000 square feet) as the region’s top convention facility, and named Half Moon Resort the island’s premier conference hotel and golf resort.
Half Moon, set on 400 acres, arranges suites and villas into distinct clusters that create private “neighborhoods” for groups, while standalone villas serve well for executive retreats. The property offers some 27,000 square feet of meeting space plus outdoor venues overlooking a two-mile beach, and it features a classic Robert Trent Jones golf course and a long history of hosting notable guests.
New developments continue to expand Jamaica’s event capacity. When opened near the convention center in late 2014, the Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall (adults only) and Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall brought 15,000 square feet of indoor event space together with 40,000 square feet of outdoor meeting areas and direct access to the Von Hagge–designed White Witch Golf Course.
A BRITISH TERRITORY, the Cayman Islands comprises Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. Grand Cayman, the most developed, is famed for scuba diving, Stingray City interactions, banking, shopping and fine dining. Many convention hotels with spas and golf courses line Seven Mile Beach, a short drive from Owen Roberts International Airport. The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, offers the island’s largest ballroom at 9,000 square feet. The Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort provides about 6,000 square feet of meeting space, while the Westin Grand Cayman accommodates 400 attendees in 8,877 square feet. Cayman’s destination marketing invites planners to “Get Warm. Only in Cayman,” an appealing proposition for groups escaping winter climates.
THOUGH IT’S ATLANTIC rather than strictly Caribbean, the Bahamas archipelago of some 700 islands shares the region’s draw of sun, sea and sand and sits closer to the U.S. mainland. About 50 resorts across 11 islands cater to groups, offering everything from secluded, nature-focused escapes to energetic nightlife and full-service resort environments.
Paradise Island’s Atlantis stands out as a vast resort capable of servicing groups of 4,000 with more than 200,000 square feet of meeting facilities, extensive accommodation options, numerous restaurants, a 141-acre water park, beaches and a large casino. The One&Only Ocean Club on Paradise Island offers exclusive luxury and an intimate setting suitable for high-level events and private meetings.
Major investments have refreshed the destination’s appeal. The Baha Mar development on New Providence includes the Meliá at Baha Mar as a central hotel and adds a Jack Nicklaus–designed golf course, multiple major hotels, a 100,000-square-foot casino and roughly 200,000 square feet of convention space across the project.
Grand Bahama Island is prized for its national parks, underwater cave systems, rare bird habitats and historic villages, alongside the tourist hub of Port Lucaya. The Grand Lucayan resort there offers two golf courses, a casino, a spa and roughly 20 meeting venues, the largest approaching 15,000 square feet.
Smaller islands are also being reinvigorated. Bimini, long associated with writers and anglers, has seen new investment including a 350-room marina hotel as part of a larger resort development. Improved airport facilities, a cruise pier and dedicated fast ferry connections to Miami have made the island more accessible for events and incentive travel.
Across the Caribbean and nearby Atlantic islands, meeting planners can choose from sprawling convention centers and full-service resorts to intimate boutique properties and secluded nature-focused venues. That range — combined with warm climates, diverse local cultures and growing infrastructure — continues to make the region an attractive option for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions of all kinds.