By NAN Staff Writer
NEWS AMERICAS, WASHINGTON, D.C., Weds. Sept. 21, 2022: A Caribbean immigrant is celebrating after reaching his goal of visiting all of the 195 countries in the world.
Jamaican-born world traveler Romaine Welds completed his goal in Antigua and Barbuda on September 18th and was celebrated by at the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority at the V.C. Bird International Airport.
Welds migrated to the United States of America in 2007 and is the first Jamaican, and possibly the first person in the Caribbean to achieve this goal.
Welds said his travel adventures begun when he decided to visit bucket-list places he would see on National Geographic. From there he moved on to the ‘7 Wonders of the World,’ then the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries and the list kept growing.
In 2016 when he reached his then goal of visiting 100 countries by the age of 30, he decided to take on the world.
“As a student in Jamaica, I used to love geography. It was my favorite subject, but never in a million years did I imagine that I would end up visiting every country in the world,” Welds commented. “It has been a life changing experience. I’ve learned so much while travelling and meeting other inspiring globetrotters around the world and now finally, I have made it to the finish line, visiting 195 countries while working full time!”
On his reason for choosing Antigua and Barbuda as his final destination, Welds said, “I thought it would be great to complete this journey close to home where it all started. I settled mostly on Antigua because it seems like a mini hub in the Caribbean with lots of flight connections. As I wanted my friends and family to get flights easily to join me on this final journey, and also for the beautiful beaches – the choice fell on Antigua & Barbuda.”
Welds currently lives in San Francisco, California where he works for a major American airline company as a ground agent which assists him in his travel pursuits. His next goal is to visit festivals and tribes around the world.
He is spending a week in Antigua, exploring the destination with friends. You can follow Romaine Welds Travel Adventures on Instagram @Travelingtheworldwithromaine.
