Costa Rica is gearing up to host the 2009 ISA Billabong World Surfing Championship in Playa Hermosa, July 31 to Aug. 9, with 40 nations and 280 surfers participating. This year’s competition will be the largest in its history and will be broadcast over the web to over 80 million people worldwide throughout the competition’s eight-day run with additional coverage on ESPN and Fox Sports.

MITM Americas, Meetings and Incentives Travel Market, is an international travel trade show directed to the incentive and meeting markets which, for the last 12 years, has been held in 14 cities of seven countries in the Americas, including in the USA.

The 3rd annual Ministers’ Summit will be held on 10 November 2009 in London by UNWTO and the World Travel Market (WTM). This key gathering of travel and tourism stakeholders will serve to assess the effects of the economic crisis on the industry and provide new solutions to overcome current challenges.

The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), together with the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau, Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association, Puerto Rico Tourism Company and Virgin Holidays, are now accepting registrations for Caribbean Marketplace 2010.

Caribbean groovy soca artist, Biggie Irie, was one of the exciting opening night acts who set the tone for this year’s St. Kitts Music Festival with his lyrics, “Nah Goin’ Home til the Morning Comes.”

American Marketing Group will hold its first-ever global conference June 9-13, 2010, at the Boca Raton (FL) Resort & Club. Travel agents, suppliers and staff from all of American Marketing Group’s 13 travel brands will participate in the convention.