Turbulent economic times have set off warning bells for Caribbean tourism officials who are fully aware that any upheaval in the global economy -if left unchecked- could spell disaster for the main driver of economic activity in the region.

These days, travelers want to experience something more than the gated resort and the cruise ship buffet. They want to go on a walking tour, climb a mountain and kayak down a river -adventures that can make a vacation more meaningful.

Abridged version from the piece posted by the Daily Sun - Voice of The Nation (Barbados) This week’s Travels aim at throwing up possibilities of practical and affordable trips or arm-chair travel. Better still, the reader can have both. But, much as we want to encourage travels, we personally think domestic tourism would really help the local hospitality industry.

Caribbean travel interests are heading into the winter season with a lot less anxiety than they felt a year ago, when confusion over the U.S. government’s Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative loomed like a rain cloud, threatening to put a damper on the whole season.

With demand increasing in emerging markets -in the Middle East for instance- it will become increasingly harder for tourism destinations in this part of the world to hold on to the positions that they now hold, tourism based officials from all over the world were warned last week in London. They were attending the annual World Travel Market (WTM) event.

Costa Rica has just hosted the fourth edition of the Central America Travel Market, a fair that serves well the purpose of the many tourism products and services that the Central American nations have to offer to wholesalers from around the world. Even though this year’s tradeshow met its goals, some attendants believe the event could have been better planned and organized on the whole. Caribbean News Digital (CND) was the direct recipient of many of those views.