Organized by the Argentina Association of Tourism and Travel Agencies, and Mendoza´s Association of Tourism and Travel Agencies, the 30th Congress of Travel Agents will unfold on June 24 through 26 at the Governor Emilio Civit de Mendoza Conference and Exposition Center. Under a motto reading "Tourism: Generator of Wellbeing and Thruster of the National Economy," the event will be divided in working sessions dealing with red-hot issues that play a major role in the travel industry. Some of those topics will broach air transport, legal and technical matters, national service providers, receptive tourism, training, ground transportation, travel retailers and wholesalers, among other issues.

Panama’s Copa Airlines has sketched out a new product –Copa Conventions- in an effort to put the Dominican Republic, Cancun, Colombia’s Cartagena de Indias and Cuba as world-class destinations for congress and conferences. Amid increasing demand for this kind of service, the Panamanian carrier was forced to add bigger planes to its fleet with a view to assimilate the larger amount of passengers traveling to the Dominican Republic.

New experiences with eight brands of Cuban rum and a visit to the Santa Cruz factory where Havana Club is made were two highlights of the First International Rum Festival concluding Wednesday in Havana. The festival has been a forum for debate among producers, salespeople and connoisseurs, who examined distinct products as well as attending a trade fair and diverse demonstrations and tastings.

The Brazilian city of Sao Paolo will host the First Latin American and Caribbean Incentive Market Exchange (LACIME) from June 23 through 25. The gathering is jointly planned by Reeds Exhibitions and the Brazilian Association of Travel Agencies. According to organizers, the 2004 LACIME will provide a perfect setting to showcase Sao Paolo as a good destination for this kind of meetings, let alone inch its way up the world ranking of the top incentive destinations on the face of the earth.

Bogota is putting its best bib and tucker to start out a dance schedule in the second half of the ongoing year that includes salsa and tango festivals. According to the Culture and Tourism District Institute –the event’s organizer- the June agenda will also have a Senior Dance Festival (for people over 50 years of age), plus break dance and pop dance pageants. The first event is summoning enthusiasts of milonga and salsa music to come to the country from June 9 through 14 for the Ninth Tango Overtakes Bogota Festival and the Let’s Dance Salsa Meeting.

Famous Cuban Havana Club rum won most of the awards given in the First International Rum Festival, which 300 participants from 30 nations considered the "Anejo 15 anos" (aged rum) the most complete, event participants said. The Melia Havana Hotel hosted the closing ceremony and awards dinner that ended in the early hours of the morning, and where prizes were awarded for best designs in such categories as best stand (free design) to Tecnoazucar Company, and best design of a product for the range of Havana Club rums, among others.