Tourism Ministers, Commissioners and their counterparts in the private sector in the Caribbean have come to see that the region’s tourism industry is vastly underperforming compared to the potential that they see.

Bahamas' Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe yesterday described the casino gaming industry as being “fundamentally important” to the Bahamas tourism product, noting that proposed reforms were vital if it was to compete with rival jurisdictions.

The APD, as it is known, is a tax on all flights originating in the United Kingdom, with the amount levied calculated using the distance flown. At the beginning of this month, the tax increased to $126 per person on a given flight to the Caribbean in economy class, with substantially higher tax rates for higher classes.

Does social media and internet based information sources such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Blogs and many more influence our decision on where we travel to and how we share our experiences with others? The evolution of the internet and the web are major factors of the changes in the tourism and travel industries and in the ways in which tourists purchase and experience travel.

After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, New York City lost $323.7 million in tourism revenue as visitors avoided the city in fear of another attack. And though tourism to New York City today is higher than it's ever been, it took several years to rebound. Some fear that the same will happen to Boston now, in the wake of Monday's devastating Boston Marathon explosions that left 3 people dead and hundreds injured.