Trade ties between Cuba and Argentina will get a new shot in the arm this week with the opening in Buenos Aires of a seminar entitled Economic Outlook and Business Perspectives on the Caribbean Island of Cuba.

The Seventh Jardines del Rey Fair –scheduled for Dec. 12 to 14- will be devoted to the German market with a view to boost up travel from that European country and applaud tour operator TUI’s good outcomes in 2002.

This time around, the fair will help promote the destination by creating all necessary conditions to turn the exhibit into a major yearend tradeshow and a way to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Coco and Guillermo keys’ big break in the tourist realm.

Aruba, the sought-after travel destination of the West Indies, is making all preparations to showcase its offers and products at the 2004 International Tourism Fair (FITUR) scheduled from Jan. 28 to Feb. 1 next year in Spain’s Madrid.

This will be the 24th edition of a tradeshow that has gained momentum in the leisure industry worldwide with each passing year. Last year’s FITUR gathered 10,015 foreign companies clustered in an exhibition surface of 76,926 square meters.

The UN Convention on Corruption kicked off Monday at the Siglo XXI Conference Center in Merida, Yucatan with a turnout of 1,800 delegates from the five continents.

Organizers have bent over backwards to make all conveniences available to attendants, including all kinds of telecommunication and information electronic relay services. As a matter of fact, planners have ordered a hundred phone lines be installed for the event.

The Havana Latin American Cinema Festival opened Tuesday with a portfolio of 200 films in which over half that figure will vie for the Coral Awards.

For a ten-day stretch, the Cuban capital will celebrate one of the island nation’s top annual cultural activities. This time around, movie theaters in town will show 45 fiction flicks, 24 premieres, 33 documentaries and 33 cartoons that round off 97 unedited screenplays and 48 posters entering the contest.

The Congress of MERCOSUR Hotelier Managers is scheduled to get cracking in Punta del Este on Nov. 29 and 30. At the same time, a marketing fair will get underway with a turnout of suppliers and providers showcasing their products.

The conclave’s main events will take place at Las Dunas Hotel while attendants will lodge at the Conrad Resort & Casino and Barceló Club del Lago Hotel. For further info, please send an e-mail to aghal@montevideo.com.uy