President Nicolas Maduro's government has set a goal of tripling the tourism sector's contribution to Venezuelan gross domestic product, Tourism Minister Andres Izarra said Monday.

Jamaica's tourism sector could benefit from the massive winter storm gripping sections of North America. Dr. Wykeham McNeil, Tourism Minister says the freezing temperatures will likely result in more persons travelling to Jamaica in coming weeks to escape the Arctic air.

A newly developed floating pier, pioneered in Norway, has been put forward as a potential solution to the economic and environmental challenges of building cruise berthing facilities in Grand Cayman. The SeaWalk, which brings the pier to the ships, has been hailed as a development that will revolutionize “ship to shore” travel for the cruise industry.

Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe said tourism numbers in the Bahamas are “still good” despite a spike in crime in the last few months of 2013. Mr. Wilchcombe said while there has been no new advisories from other governments or cruise lines warning tourists about crime in the Bahamas, every Bahamian needs to ensure that 2014 is a good year for the Bahamas.

Although the arrival growth wasn’t as expected in 2013, it was a record year. As a result of the actions conducted to increase the quality of the product and marketing, the winter season, which kicked off on November 1st, has grown over 8 percent to date.