The Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) has contracted the British financial consultancy company, Capital Representatives, to prepare a white paper on the establishment of a prospectus for a Regional Tourism Investment Fund (RTIF). Funded by a grant from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the British Government, the objective of the RTIF project is to develop a consortium of banks and financial institutions to create a fund dedicated to tourism interests in the Caribbean, CHA said in a statement.

The Acapulco Travel Marketplace, an event that gathered 1,100 buyers from 25 countries and as many as 1,300 national providers, has chipped in 40 percent of all travel business operations for Mexico in the course of this year. Francisco Ortiz, chief of Mexico´s Tourism Promotion, said the main goal behind this year´s tradeshow was to increase the amount of operations and exchanges. With that view in mind, participants attended some 19,000 business appointments inside 425 business suites.

The sparkling Conference Center of Mexico´s Puebla will be the venue of the upcoming Second International Workshop of the Meeting Industry Standardization and the First International Workshop of Fairgrounds Managers. Caribbean News Digital has learned that a group of outstanding experts from the region and elsewhere are willing to convene and lay out new guidelines and standards for the development of incentives, congress and events.

The Mexican state of Quintana Roo, home to the finest Caribbean-bathed travel destinations, is having a hands-on attendance at the 30th edition of the Acapulco Travel Marketplace with the largest delegation from the host country. Some 500 entrepreneurs and service providers are showcasing their products at the 2005 Acapulco Tianguis that will come to a close on April 13. Some 85 companies have displayed their items in fifty stands that add up 1,794 square feet of exhibition space.

Dominican Secretary of Tourism, Felix Jimenez, announced last week a plan to increase the percentage of promotional aid to tour operators´ advertising campaigns that include Santo Domingo in their tourist packages. This incentive program is designed to encourage travel to the city. Jimenez explained that if tour operators include two or three days in the city of Santo Domingo in their travel packages to Punta Cana or other Dominican Republic destinations, they will in return receive promotional aid. The percentage of aid remains undisclosed.

Organizers of the upcoming Peru Travel Market 2005, the South American country´s number-one tourism tradeshow, hope to meet the expectations of scores of businesspeople and rake in some $25 million worth of deals and contracts, the Peruvian National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR), one of the event´s top planners, reported this week. CANATUR Chairman Carlos Canales explained this year´s event –scheduled from April 27 to May 1- will gather 150 tour operators from nearly two dozen countries in the cities of Lima and Iquitos.