Cuba’s upcoming Tourism Convention –scheduled from May 3 to 6 at the Plaza America Conference Center in Varadero- will this time around be devoted to culture as a tourist product, featuring the United Kingdom as the guest country and the local destination of Jardines del Rey as the special focus of attention.

Peru´s National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR) announced the country will be home to this year´s Latin Travel Mart with a much-anticipated turnout of 1,200 travel agencies from around the world.

The event´s international organizers have already paid a visit to Lima, as well as to all venues and hotels. CANATUR President Carlos Canales told state-run news agency Andina that the meeting will take place in September 2005.

The Cuba Convention Bureau (CCB) is planning to organize a string of events on sciences, farming and beverages during the course of the ongoing year. The announcement was broken to the press during a meeting at the Antilles Hall of the Triton Hotel -a property of Gran Caribe Co.

The list of upcoming events includes the 2004 NEFROCIMEG, the International Rum Festival and the First Latin American Meeting of Apiculture.

Santiago de Cuba, considered the island nation’s second capital, will celebrate the 490th anniversary of its foundation with a world-class party, the Cuba Convention Bureau informed this week.

Authorities from more than a dozen American and European cities brotherly bonded with similar burgs in other parts of the globe, are expected to send representatives to Santiago de Cuba for the celebration of the village’s birthday on July 25, 2005. Four hundred and ninety years ago on that date in 1515, the city was named after its holy patron, Santiago Apostle.

Jamaica will play host to the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC) scheduled from May 10 to 12 in an effort to spur up a nonstop cash flow into the region. The event -held on an annual basis- will take place at the Ritz Carlton Rose Hall in Montego Bay on a tight agenda that includes presentations by experts on finance and tourist development.

Jeremy Collymore, coordinator of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) suggested that Caribbean tourism leaders must recognize that the sustainable development of the region is influenced by how the tourism sector manages its assets and resources.