Roatan in Review 2016
As we like to do at the beginning of a new year, it’s time to take a look back at Roatan’s year in review. We had a fantastic 2016 filled with notable mentions in international media. Let’s take a look at all the articles that loved Roatan last year.
Roatan started off 2016 with a bang, with West Bay Beach being named the #9 best beach in the entire world in the 2016 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards. Being top beach in all of Central America is no small thing! We wore that badge of honor proudly and made sure to tell absolutely everyone we knew to come check it out for themselves.
Roatan as an Expat Destination
We then had several outlets talk about our affordable cost of living here in Roatan – encouraging potential expats to take a look. U.S. News and World Report called Roatan a “Beautiful and Affordable Caribbean Isle.” CNBC shared an article from
International Living magazine published an article written by Roatan resident Deb Crofutt: “A Tropical Caribbean Island Retirement for $1000 a Month.” And then CNBC shared that same article as “How You Can Retire in the Caribbean for $1,000 a Month.”
Roatan was named one of its “Top 20 Best Islands to Live On” by Islands Magazine and International Living gave us “5 Reasons to Move to the Tropical Island of Roatan.”
Roatan as a Tourist Destination
Roatan isn’t just a nice place to move to, though. There were tons of articles highlighting the many reasons why you should visit Roatan. There was the LA Times showing Roatan off in its article: “The beach life is the best life on Roatan Island in Honduras.”
ABC News added the Bay Islands into its list of “5 Caribbean Destinations You Never Think of Visiting.” We assume you always think of visiting the Bay Islands, especially Roatan, but it was nice to be included anyway!
For all of you Texans, don’t forget you can take United Airlines direct to Roatan year-round! Despite that convenience, the Houston Chronicle placed Roatan on its list of “Exotic Vacation Spots Most of Us Can Only Dream of Visiting.” You can dream, and dreams can come true!
Increased Airlift to Roatan
The Costa Rica Star highlighted the new air service helping visitors get from Costa Rica to Roatan via only one stop in Panama: “AirPanama Announces New Route Costa Rica – Roatan.”
And – although this is actually news for 2017, we’ll include it here – Cayman Airways just announced that it’s adding a direct service to Roatan twice-weekly. As of March 2017, you can head to Grand Cayman straight from Roatan for a week of frolicking on their lovely isle. We’re thrilled to have that option for another fabulous island getaway!
Roatan as a Cruise Stop
The UK Telegraph said that Roatan had “unspoilt appeal” and included a Roatan stop as one of their “10 Amazing Cruises for Solo Travellers.”
The Irish Examiner called Roatan one of the “Very Best Places to Stop on a Caribbean Cruise.” Finally, Roatan was also voted one of the top 10 Caribbean Cruise Ports in the 4th Annual Cruise Fever Fan Awards!
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Roatan News July 2015
The Roatanet.com Monthly Newsletter is back, each month we will feature informative travel articles, Roatan news and new videos from the Roatan Travel Network.
New Roatan Articles thanks to Roatanet.com
Roatan How To: Buy Locally Made Products – www.roatanet.com/roatan-how-to-buy-locally-made-products/
Jolly Roger Catamaran Sail and Snorkel Cruises – www.roatanet.com/jolly-roger-catamaran-sail-and-snorkel-cruises/
Roatan Top 5: Places to Listen to Live Music – www.roatanet.com/roatan-top-5-places-to-listen-to-live-music/
Roatan News
– Multiple business leaders from Roatan attend the FCCA Central America Cruise Conference in El Salvador to promote Roatan as the leading cruise destination in Central America.
– The dates for the 16th Roatan International Fishing Tournament have been announced, September 11th to 14th, 2015.
– William Trubridge (New Zealand) and Ashley Chapman (USA) won the respective men and women’s titles at the Caribbean Cup Roatan Freediving Competition.
– Low season visitor numbers are up, national, regional and international flights are coming in very full and Roatan is set for a great second half of the year.
Roatan Travel Network
The Roatan Travel Network can now be seen in 95% of Roatan hotel rooms on channel 117, and offers value for money advertising options on Roatan’s very own local travel channel. View below the most recent programs on the Roatan Travel Network.
South Shore Canopy Zip Line – www.roatantravelnetwork.com/south-shore-canopy-zip-line-roatan/
Cordelia Banks, Roatan – www.roatantravelnetwork.com/cordelia-banks-roatan/
Roatan Travel Network Complete Programming – www.roatantravelnetwork.com
Tortuga Digital News
It is a great time to get your business listed in Roatanet.com which has been Roatan’s leading marketing product for over 18 years. To find out more visit the new website at www.roatanet.com. Tortuga Digital would also like to remind everyone of our complete service list: Website Design & Hosting, Search Engine Optimisation, Social Media Marketing, Roatan Travel Network, Film Production, Product Representation, Product Marketing and Graphic Design, to find out more contact us at www.tortugadigital.com
Regards
Dean Milverton
Tortuga Digital
Lawson Rock Business Center
Roatan, Honduras
W: www.tortugadigital.com
E: dean@tortugadigital.com
T: +504 9693 7952
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Where are the best reefs in Mesoamerica?
Healthy Reefs have released their Mesoamerica Reef 2015 Report Card. And we are excited to hear that Honduras was the highest ranked from the four countries of the Mesoamerica Reef, Honduras has ranked 3.3 on a scale of 5, giving Honduras the best rated areas of reef in the region. This is amazing news and proof that protection of the reef does work and even with approx 1 million cruiseship visitors and growing tourism numbers Honduras is able to maintain the best areas of reef in the region. This adds to the ever growing list of reasons why you should visit Roatan now – To find out more about visiting Roatan visit Roatanet.com.
The Mesoamerica Reef 2015 Report Cards can be viewed here: Click here.
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Roatan News May 2015
The Roatanet.com Monthly Newsletter is back, each month we will feature informative travel articles, Roatan news and new videos from the Roatan Travel Network.
– New Roatan Articles
Check out our latest Roatan articles thanks to Roatanet.com
Roatan How To: Save the Reef, Eat a Lionfish – https://www.roatanet.com/roatan-how-to-save-the-reef-eat-a-lionfish/
Caribbean Cup Freediving Competition – https://www.roatanet.com/caribbean-cup-freediving-competition/
Roatan Top 5: Places to Eat Healthy – https://www.roatanet.com/roatan-top-5-places-to-eat-healthy/
Roatan News
– Roatan was rated the number #3 Island in the World in the TripAdvisor Travelers Choice Awards and featured on CNN, Today Show and many more.
– Huffington Post features Roatan in an article “5 Caribbean Destinations You Haven’t Considered (But Should)”.
– Honduras leading file director Juan Carlos Fanconi has begun shooting a new feature film “Un Lugar En El Caribe”, the romantic – comedy is being filmed in Roatan.
– The second Extreme Roatan Mud and Obstacle Run, was held over Easter Week. Over 140 participants took to the hills, obstacles, mud and challenged themselves to complete the 4.5 km course
Roatan Travel Network
The Roatan Travel Network can now be seen in 95% of Roatan hotel rooms on channel 117, and offers value for money advertising options on Roatan’s very own local travel channel. View below the most recent programs on the Roatan Travel Network.
Roatan’s Music Festival for the Angels 2015 – http://roatantravelnetwork.com/roatans-music-festival-for-the-angels-2015/
Maya Key – http://roatantravelnetwork.com/maya-key-roatan/
Tortuga Digital News
The new Roatanet.com has been launched and now the market push begins, it is a great time to get your business listed in Roatanet.com which has been Roatan’s leading marketing product for over 18 years. To find out more visit the new website at https://www.roatanet.com. Tortuga Digital would also like to remind everyone of our complete service list: Website Design & Hosting, Search Engine Optimisation, Social Media Marketing, Roatan Travel Network, Film Production, Product Representation, Product Marketing and Graphic Design, to find out more contact us at http://www.tortugadigital.com
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5 Caribbean Destinations You Haven’t Considered (But Should)
Roatan has been recently featured as the #3 island in the world by the Trip Advisor Travelers Choice Awards and featured on by CNN on the Today Show and many others.
The islands accolades continue as it is featured by the Huffington Post as a Caribbean Destination you should consider as a vacation destination.
“Cruising aficionados have been enchanted with Roatan for years, and it’s high time everyone else got in on the secret, too. Right in the path of the second-largest barrier reef system in the world, Roatan Island has everything you think of when you think of the Caribbean: resorts, beachside bungalows, a cruise port, and dive shops. Once an English colony, Roatan locals speak English as well as their native Garifuna Creole. Hit the island’s West End Village for some laid-back hippy vibes.”
Each month the island’s exposure is more and more and well more.
Check out the full article by Clicking Here.
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The Past, Present and Future: Roatanet.com
After many months’ work, we are happy to announce the newly designed Roatanet.com has been launched. This is the very first step of a new marketing plan that will be implemented over the coming months. It is going to be an exciting time as everything comes together and we take Roatanet.com to a completely new level.
The design launch has also been a time to reflect on everything Roatanet.com has achieved since its launch as a business directory for Roatan in 1996. At that time the Internet had just arrived in Roatan and Roatanet.com was there. So much has changed since then, but bear with us as we take a quick stroll down memory lane.
Launched on 5th May 1996, Roatanet.com was one of the first websites built to promote tourism in Roatan. Today it is the oldest marketing product promoting Roatan. Over the past 19 years, Roatanet.com has received over 3,000,000 unique visitors who have found local hotels, dive shops, tours, real estate, and general travel information simply by searching online and browsing the website from the comfort of their home.
As Roatan came online, Roatanet.com started to develop and a need was seen for a community component. Through Yahoo groups, the Roatan Discussion Group was launched in March 2001; during the next 14 years, over 40,000 messages would be shared through the groups 3,000 members. The Coconut Telegraph had gone global. The Roatan Discussion Group connected people in the rest of the world to the day-to-day events in Roatan.
In 2002, Roatanet.com expanded to include Travel-to-Honduras.com, which presented Roatan as the key destination on a website that promoted the whole of Honduras. Even today, Roatan is still presented in national marketing products as a minor destination – not as the key destination – and the goal was to change this with Travel-to-Honduras.com.
From 2002 until today, we have maintained local business information, event info, classifieds, articles, newsletters, and discussion groups that were all driven by Roatanet.com. The website has ridden through high and low seasons, the good times and the bad.
As technology changed and the online world went social, so did Roatanet.com with the Roatan News Network social media network. Over the years, Roatanet.com has been referenced in international news, in magazines, and in press releases as a reference point for more information on traveling to Roatan.
The new design of Roatanet.com brings a modern, fresh, and updated feel to the website and presents this very unique destination in a very unique way. The website is now mobile- and iPad-friendly, and is ready to capture the ever-increasing number of people browsing and searching from their mobile devices.
Currently you will find 135 local businesses listed in Roatanet.com. All business listings have been updated to include an image, a description, a website, a Facebook page, a TripAdvisor link, a telephone number, a Google map, and also a video. This enables users to have all the local businesses’ details right at their fingertips to connect directly with them in just a click.
Roatanet.com will continue to include up-to-date travel info, informative articles, high quality photos, upcoming event listings, travel FAQs, and local maps. The new design also connects every page of the website to our social media network of over 70,000 people through Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, and Vimeo.
Additionally, an old service we are revamping is the Roatan Newsletter, which over the years has accumulated over 5,000 subscribers. The newsletter will be bi-monthly and will share all the latest Roatan news with subscribers and with our social media network. Roatanet.com will also continue its partnership with the Roatan Relocation and Investment Guidebook and will be giving away free copies. Over the past eight years, Roatanet.com has assisted in distributing over 20,000 relocation guidebooks to people interested in relocating and investing in Roatan.
More recently, Roatanet.com has formed a partnership with the Roatan Travel Network. This tourism-based travel channel runs locally on Channel 117. Roatanet.com will become a key online distribution partner for the Roatan Travel Network’s online channel and will showcase these high-quality videos directly from its homepage.
The upcoming months will see Roatanet.com take its next steps forward to continue marketing Roatan to the world.
We would like to finish this piece by thanking all the local business that has supported Roatanet.com from day one through to today. Many businesses have advertised with us for 5, 10, or 15 years and have been a key part of making Roatanet.com work. Thank You.
If you have any questions about Roatanet.com, your business listings, or if you would like to list your business with us, please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to working with you over the upcoming months and in promoting Roatan through Roatanet.com.
Regards
Dean Milverton
Tortuga Digital
Lawson Rock Business Center
Roatan, Honduras
W: www.tortugadigital.com
T: +504 9693 7952
