On a night of many words, Mathieu Meril may have said it best.
“Martinique,” he said, “is a slice of France in the Caribbean. You’ve got great cheese, wonderful cuisine, great beaches, and great wine. And the wine is cheaper than in Toronto.”
Meril is the development director for Martinique and Guadeloupe for Couer Des Iles, a group that works with consumers and travel advisors and organizes everything from airport welcomes to hotel transfers, tours and emergency assistance.
“It’s like having a good friend on the island,” he told Open Jaw at a Martinique tourism event in Toronto on 05NOV.
Their services also are handy for a travel advisor who isn’t familiar enough with the island to plan excursions or offer other advice, Meril said.
“Canada’s French market is naturally familiar to us, so it’s been a privilege to get to know more travel industry partners in Canada’s English-speaking market,” said Gaetan Paderna, Director of Communications (aka, “Chief Happiness Officer”) for the Martinique Tourism Authority.
Paderna said Canada is the second leading market for inbound tourism to Martinique with 9.5% of all visitors being Canadian. France, of course, is their top market.
He also said the tourism authority is “proud and grateful” for its relationship with Air Canada.
Air Canada flies direct to Fort-de-France FDF from YUL year round, with up to six flights per week. The airline last December began non-stop flights from YYZ to FDF on a seasonal basis. The YYZ flights begin again on 14DEC, 2024 and will run until 19APR, 2025.
“We’re very happy with the Toronto flights, and Martinique has always been a strong destination for Quebec,” said Yazdan Bakhtiary, manager, regional sales for Air Canada. Passengers also can connect via Calgary and Vancouver, and there are packages available from Air Canada Vacations.
Destination representatives told a gathering of advisors and media that there’s a wide range of accommodations to be found on Martinique, including huge villas that overlook the ocean and suites with full kitchens. Top choices include the Panoramic Hotel, Bambou Hotel and Villas, as well as Tangarane and Kaouanne Residences.
Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek is the only all-inclusive resort on the island. It’s a fine spot on the beach with excellent food that your Open Jaw correspondent enjoyed for a few days last fall.
Samantha Gillingham, Club Med’s key account manager, Ontario, and business development manager, Western Canada, said all rooms at the resort have been fully renovated. An adults-only area could be coming in the future.
Juan Antonio, an inside sales manager for MSC Cruises, said the MSC Virtuosa home ports in Fort-de-France at times, and offers one-week and two-week itineraries. Antonio suggests advisors sell their clients on the high-end MSC Yacht Club experience, which he calls “a ship within a ship.”
Tourism officials said Martinique is a great place to mingle with locals; perhaps at one of the island’s plentiful markets, or early in the morning on the beach, when you can help a fisherman bring in his nets and perhaps be rewarded with a sample or two.
Martinique is home three UNESCO heritage designations, the most recent being the Pitons du Carbet. It’s also home to waterfalls, hiking trails, natural spa, surfing beaches, quiet waters for kayaking or snorkeling. One of the big attractions for visitors is La Savane des Esclaves, which illustrates the island’s precolonial and slavery periods, as well as the post-abolition era.
Canadians don’t need a visa, the roads are well maintained, and the driving is on the right side of the road.
And did we mention the wine and baguettes?
