Caribbean islands enter BBC’s 2024 list of top sustainable travel destinations

Two Caribbean islands made it to BBC Travel’s top 10 sustainable travel destinations for 2024.

Saba, the Netherlands’ smallest special municipality, has earned the third spot, with BBC Travel dubbing it an emerging “champion of sustainable tourism in the Caribbean.”

The website mentioned Saba’s initiatives on sustainable tourism, including a solar park, recycling system, marine park, ban on single-use plastics, and a water bottling plant. Notably, the Saba Bank is recognized as a Hope Spot for ocean health, and the island hosts the first marine lab in the Windward Islands. The Sea & Learn Foundation engages in various environmental projects, from studying fluorescing scorpions to monitoring endemic orchid growth, BBC Travel further highlighted.

Dominica takes the tenth spot, recognized as the eastern Caribbean island with a bold aspiration to be the world’s first climate-resilient nation.

“While the development of early-warning systems and resilient housing is now helping to safeguard residents, a new kayaking trail is helping to promote the island – already home to the Caribbean’s longest hiking trail – as a sustainable tourism destination,” wrote BBC Travel.

The new kayaking trail is the Waitukubuli Sea Trail, spanning over 60km along Dominica’s picturesque west coast. This trail, stretching from south to north, showcases charming communities, secluded beaches, breathtaking scenery, and local cuisine.

Dominica’s commitment to sustainability goes beyond tourism and extends to enhancing the island’s overall quality of life. Following the impact of Typhoon Erika in 2015 and Hurricane Maria in 2017, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit’s government initiated robust infrastructure projects focused on climate resilience, adhering to the “Build Back Better” philosophy.

Collaborating with the private development company MMC Development Ltd., the government has actively participated in the construction of 2,000 climate-resilient residential units.

The other countries that made it to BBC Travel’s Top 10 sustainable tourist destinations include Valencia Spain (No. 1), High Atlas Mountains and Marrakesh, Morocco (No. 2), Singapore (No. 4), Belfast, U.K. (No. 5), Southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia (No. 6), Panama, Central America (No.7), Maui, United States (No. 8), and Greenland (No. 9).