Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett says the sector has not only been holding its own in the face of a global economic downturn, but it has the potential to come out of the crisis in a better position than its Caribbean neighbors.

As extra incentive for groups to plan meetings in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2009, the Department of Tourism is introducing a Group Rewards Program for meeting planners that will launch on Dec. 15.

New developments in Singapore, including the unveiling of the country’s first ever mediplex and a new alliance with a U.S. company to send employees to Singapore for medical treatments, have positioned Singapore as an industry innovator and a top destination for medical travel.

Leading Bangkok hotelier Andrew Wood is calling for a recovery roadmap to aid the travel and tourism industry in Thailand. Wood, general manager of the Chaophya Park Hotel and president of Skal International in Bangkok, says that a coordinated plan of action is require to offset the colossal damage caused to the industry by the closure of Bangkok’s two major airports.

Tourism minister Francisco Javier Garcia asked the Environment Ministry (Semarena) and the Senate to expedite the proceedings necessary to materialize the hot springs tourism complex at Canoa, Barahona (south), a project expected to have a significant socioeconomic impact in that impoverished region.

Roger Dow, president and CEO of the Travel Industry Association, who will serve in the same capacity for the U.S. Travel Association which will come into being next year, is outlining the new group’s strategy for supporting the U.S. travel industry through difficult economic times and making sure that the incoming administration understands its importance.