The beautiful village of Vista Hermosa, in Mexico’s Tabasco, played host to the First International Congress on Rural Tourism that took place on November 29 and 30 with the support of governmental institutions involved in this matter. The event featured a number of round tables, expositions, tours to ranches, lectures, conferences and gourmet functions.

Representatives of children advocacy groups from Central America and Mexico gathered in Panama City to propose legal reforms in the struggle against the abuse, smuggling and sexual exploitation of children and teenagers. Nils Katsberg, director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for Latin America and the Caribbean, said the meeting’s goal was to find some common ground for local policies implemented in the region to foil sex tourism.

The Congress of the International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA), that took place in Turkey’s Istanbul this year, bestowed its annual Innovation for Better Environmental Protection Policy Award on the Aruba & Bucuti Beach Resort in a presentation ceremony held at the Conrad International Hotel in the Turkish capital. The distinction was created by American Express in association with the United Nations Environmental Protection Program, Green Globe 21 and Shell LPG in an effort to both recognize and praise leading environmental management within the hospitality industry.

The Confederation of Latin American Tourism Organizations (COTAL is the Spanish acronym) is giving the finishing touches to a professional meeting of lawyers and impresarios linked to the travel industry that’s scheduled to take place on November 25 and 26 in Buenos Aires. Attendants will broach such hot issues as responsibility in the transportation of airborne passengers, IATA’s current outlay and situation, travel contracts and passenger protection, as well as regulations and guidelines of today’s Latin American tourism.

Ecuador was home last week to an international tourism congress that weighed different alternatives to beef up the Latin American travel industry and assessed the going of the leisure sector in the region. The conclave was organized and sponsored in part by the Ecuadorian Association of Travel Agencies, Tour Operators and Wholesalers (ASECUT).

Mexico’s Tabasco will be home to the First International Congress on Rural Tourism on November 29 and 30. This first edition will be focused on the development of the Aztec nation’s own agricultural tourism. Organizers told Caribbean News Digital this will be an ideal moment to exchange views and learn about new concepts for the advance of concrete marketing projects and operations aimed at rural tourism.