The Sherbourne Conference Center in Barbados has been the venue Monday and Tuesday of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC) and PROFIT Partnership Meeting, designed to promote partnership and investment opportunities in the region´s hospitality industry. The main objective of the event, whose main organizer is the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), is to create a sustainable forum for bringing together business partners from the European Union and third countries to promote investment in and development of the tourism sector in the ACP Caribbean.

The fifth edition of the International Conference on Tourist Rights came to a close last week in Havana amid some serious debates on such hot issues as international travel hiring, tourist insurance and traveler protection. Planned by Cuba’s Trade Right Association and the Financial and Economic Rights Association, the event gave attendants the opportunity of exchanging views on tourism investment, international hiring, bankrolling operations and industry supplies.

Two dozen nations will attend the Ministerial Travel Summit of the Americas scheduled for May 25 and 26 in Santiago de Chile. The event s aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and exchanging experiences on tourism, Oscar Santelices, chief of Chile´s National Tourism Service (SERNATUR) informed earlier this week. The summit is planned and convened by the Regional Commission of the Americas (CAM) and the World Tourism Organization (WTO) in an effort to share views among countries in the region.

Cuban travel agency Paradiso will present a brand-new institution multimedia and website during the upcoming International Tourism Fair in Havana, scheduled from May 10 to 13. The tradeshow is extremely important based on the fact that the travel industry is by and large Cuba´s top income source, churning out some $2 billion annually.

Following the success of the First World Conference on Tourism Communications (TOURCOM), the World Tourism Organization will be staging the first regional version of the event for Asia and the Pacific on May 20-21 2005 in Bali. Organized by the World Tourism Organization with support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Indonesia the Conference is an integral part of the Phuket Action Plan for post-tsunami recovery and will deal with a crucial area in the region´s tourism development.

Santiago de Cuba has just unveiled this week a new hotel offer for tourists interested in attending the Caribbean Festival, scheduled for July 3 to 9 in that city of eastern Cuba. The travel package included daily lodging with breakfast, in-out transfer, accreditation to the cultural event, guide services and customized services. A second package includes dinners.