Increasingly higher operational costs and heavy taxation have combined to make a meal at a Santo Domingo restaurant pricier than in any fancy eatery in Miami or New York City, a situation that´s causing the country heavy casualties in the tourism rank and file, the National Hotels & Restaurants Association (ASONAHORES) reported this week. According to ASONAHORES Chief Enrique de Marchena Kaluche, it´s becoming increasingly harder for any foreign tourist to dine out in the Dominican capital unless he´s willing to fork over 35 bucks.

Tobago, a tiny Caribbean island, looks bigger as it hosts a meeting on sustainable tourism, a goal recognized as an imperative for the socio-political stability of a regional grouping of developing economies. Suffice it to say that the Caribbean is the most tourism-dependant area in the world for its subsistence. Statistics show what this industry represents for the region.

At the speed of light and with no turbulence, Latin American airlines are doing better than ever. Bankruptcy announcements, cost cuttings, layoffs and less routes are long gone. The glory days are back, at least for some of Latin America´s major carriers that are seemingly back on track and putting up a formidable competitive stance in the region and elsewhere.

For years United States citizens have traveled into and out of the Caribbean with no more identification documents than a driver´s license. This will change between now and January 1, 2008, and will have an adverse impact on the region´s tourism industry, according to a news analysis by the Caribbean Media Corporation. It is the US government that is making the change, requiring all US citizens to have valid passports to enter the US. Consequently, they must have passports to travel out of the US.

For years United States citizens have traveled into and out of the Caribbean with no more identification documents than a driver´s license. This will change between now and January 1, 2008, and will have an adverse impact on the region´s tourism industry, according to a news analysis by the Caribbean Media Corporation. It is the US government that is making the change, requiring all US citizens to have valid passports to enter the US. Consequently, they must have passports to travel out of the US.

Stelios Haji-Ioannou, owner and founder of EasyGroup, a group that gathers fifteen low-cost agencies like EasyJet, said last week the travel market is not out in the streets as many people think, but on the world wide web. As an instance, Mr. Haji-Ioannou explained that 97 percent of his sales are made on the Internet.