Aruba is sticking to its fourth-quarter forecast of 70 percent hotel occupancy or higher, said Myrna Jansen, managing director of the Aruba Tourism Authority.

The Aruba Tourism Authority (ATA) announced a nearly $500 million investment in recent tourism upgrades, which will continue through 2011. In addition to upgrades on existing hotels and resorts, Aruba continues to develop of new tourism products in response to high demand.

Did you know that visitors to Helsinki consider it to be the most modern and laid-back city-break destination in Northern Europe? In particular, those interested in new experience, nightlife and trends recommend Helsinki. Families traveling with children tend to visit Helsinki less than other Northern European cities.

One tour operator lost no time capitalizing on the African origins of president-elect Barack Obama. Less than 24 hours after Obama’s victory speech, New York City-based 2Afrika announced its 11-day Presidential Heritage Safari to Kenya, which traces Obama’s ancestral roots during a portion of the tour.

Jamaican officials plan to open a tourism training school as part of a campaign to reverse a downturn in visitors to the Caribbean island, including from the key U.S. market. “The (tourism) industry has been on a dangerous, downwards spiral over the last six months,” newly appointed Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett said in a recent statement.

Jamaica’s economy could suffer if the next United States president decides to lift the trade embargo on communist Cuba.