The huge success of the recently concluded Caribbean Marketplace predicts a very strong winter season for Caribbean tourism, according to Alec Sanguinetti, Director General and CEO of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), organizer of the event.

The peak winter tourist season is under way in the Caribbean, and prospects for business are sunny this year. A strong euro and pound sterling are encouraging visits by Europeans, while a better economy in the U.S has Americans traveling more, according to an assessment by the Sun Sentinel of Orlando. Air service to the islands is up too, surpassing levels before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, executives said. Furthermore, few hotels remain out of service after the harsh 2004 hurricane season, with tens of thousands of rooms still welcoming winter guests across the island chain.

Brazil is about to wage an all-out war against sexual exploitation of children, a crime that has hit unprecedented highs with both the development of sexual tourism and the impunity that some well-connected customers have, official sources told Caribbean News Digital. The official campaign will crank up during the World Tourism Forum to be held in Salvador de Bahia on December 2.

In Thailand, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Indonesia and other areas affected by the tsunami, the rebuilding of tourist hotels and infrastructure is already beginning. If tourism is to be sustainable for local communities they must be part of the decision making process. They must be fully consulted so that their needs are taken into account, the group Tourism Concern believes. For the past fifteen years Tourism Concern has been representing the interests of people in tourism destinations and working to ensure that local people benefit when we travel. Tourism has, for the past fifty years, been something of a gold rush. It is said to be the world´s biggest industry but its development has generally failed to take responsibility for its impact on local people and their environment.

Technology will drive tourism in Barbados and the Caribbean. This was the basic message coming from the World Travel Internet Conference recently held at the Sherbourne Conference Centre in Barbados. With representatives from numerous international institutions focused upon tourism and the tourist product, it is quite evident that the region needs to stay up to date in maintaining the excellence of our brand and increasing our knowledge of internet site construction, the participants agreed.

World Tourism Organization’s Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli said this week it’s way too soon to gauge the real impact the recent Asian tsunamis will have on world tourism. “Though we at the WTO will likely have to revise all predictions for 2005,” he warned. Nonetheless, Mr. Frangielli believes the industry is in a position to make it up to potential travelers. “Beachgoers, for instance, could now go to the Red Sea or the Caribbean. That could offset growth estimates for 2005,” he commented.