Spanish hotel chain Sol Meliá pointed out this week that the evolution of its lodgings in the Caribbean Basin made a significant contribution to the company´s good outcomes in the first quarter of the ongoing year. In terms of operations worldwide, the Spain-based megabuck firm raked in €10 million worth of revenues by the end of the year´s first quarter, up 0.1 percent from the first three months of 2003.

On behalf of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), companies Classic Custom Vacations, Expedia, and Interactive Corporation have granted $40,000 to Water Missions International (WMI) for the installation of half a dozen systems to help 18,000 flooding victims in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Dominican hotelier Simon B. Suarez, who´s just wrapped up his tenure as CHA president, thanked donors for "such a significant gesture of cohesion."

Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela are the first markets chosen by Amadeus for the launching of its new business line that will provide training and professional consulting services. Amadeus´s new division will make all necessary arrangements to add extra value to its services in order to give GDS customers the possibility of streamlining their own technological and human resources.

Cuba showed off its very best business opportunities during the course of the first Latin America & Caribbean Incentive Market Exchange (LACIME) that unfolded from June 23 through 25 in Brazil. The tradeshow, organized by Reed Exhibitions together with the Brazilian Association of Travel Agencies (ABAV), provided a perfect setting to showcase all business opportunities that Latin America and the Caribbean have to offer as far as events and incentive travel are concerned.

Jamaica´s economy will leapfrog dramatically following the enhancement of the island nation´s cruise service on the basis of a new agreement signed between Royal Caribbean Cruises and local authorities. The treaty will bring a minimum of 2 million cruise passengers to Jamaica and over $16 million worth of revenues over the next five years. A similar accord had been inked last February with Carnival Corporation to take some 50,000 travelers to Jamaican shores, the island nation´s Minister of Transportation Robert Pickersgill told Caribbean News Digital.

The Nicaraguan travel industry put on a whopping 19 percent growth in the first quarter of 2004 compared to the same span of time the year before, according to a report provided by the National Tourism Institute (INTUR). The report indicates that as many as 196,843 tourists visited the country between January and April this year, with $54.9 million worth of revenues.