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Travel to the Caribbean is on an upswing one year after hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated some islands, according to luxury travel agency network Virtuoso.

For the Christmas season, the period from Dec. 22 to Jan. 3, bookings are up 8%.

Virtuoso said Caribbean business for January and February 2019 is up 21% from a year earlier.

Interest is particularly strong in the Bahamas, Dominican Republic and Turks & Caicos, Virtuoso said.

Air bookings for the 2018 holiday season are down 29% to the islands hit hardest by the storms, like the British Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands and St. Maarten, but Virtuoso said as resorts reopen, that trend should reverse.

“With 70% of the islands unaffected by last year’s busy hurricane season, and 90% of room inventory open in impacted regions, the islands are coming back,” Virtuoso said.

Source: travelweekly.com