GEORGETOWN, Exuma -- On January 14, 1958, Lawrence Lewis, heir to the Henry Flagler railroad fortune opened the charming colonial style 24-room Club Peace & Plenty on the un-discovered Bahamian island of Great Exuma. The main building was originally a sponge warehouse and the bar, a cookhouse dating back several hundred years to the Loyalist cotton plantation days. Following success in offering a safe, relaxed Bahamian Out Island atmosphere, pristine waters on sheltered Elizabeth Harbor, white powder beaches, and world-class fishing, another wing of 12 rooms was added to the Club for a total of 32 rooms and suites.

The members of the International Panel of Experts that help the World Tourism Organization to publish its Barometer of trends share the opinion that the recent stock market crisis, caused by the difficulties of the most risky segment of the U.S. housing market, has not at this stage had an appreciable effect on world tourism demand.

The Caribbean has shown to have tremendous investment potential for Spanish hotel interests, which have steadily expanded their presence beyond their successful ventures in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.

There’s a great deal of protectionism in the public and private sectors in the tourism industry. But it is no longer valid to run tourism in this manner. There are a lot of developers with a lot of money, according to Miller.

Official reports posted by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) reflect travel and tourism in the Caribbean in 2006 raked in as much as $51.3 billion of economic activity in total demand, with direct and indirect impact of 16.4 percent on gross domestic product (GDP) and 2.6 million jobs kept or created.

With jet fuel being one of the most expensive operational costs that is constantly increasing, two of the region’s airlines are in negotiations to purchase oil futures as a way to stabilize the price and offer lower fares.