The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the specialized agency of the United Nations in the field of tourism, and the Adventure Travel Trade Association, a global organization dedicated to responsibly growing the adventure travel market, announced a new partnership agreement concerning global sustainable tourism development. “The reason why we need to work together, is that adventure tourism is what tourism should be today, and is definitely what tourism will be tomorrow,” said Mr.

The nation's tourism industry continued to thrive this summer, with international visitors spending $13.8 billion in August alone. The spending total marks a 3% increase over the same month last year, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The possibility of an air passenger duty (APD) review was shot down in flames yesterday, after a parliamentary debate on the controversial tax. Salid Javid, the Government's economic secretary, said no review would be forthcoming.

Led by the Sustainable Tourism Unit and with the support of Small Planet Consulting, The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism (Web: www.bahamas.com) recently launched their first-ever birding tourism development plan. The preparation of the plan was championed by Earlston McPhee, head of the Sustainable Tourism Unit. McPhee is well known for his work for over 25 years in promoting sustainable tourism development in the Caribbean and around the world. The Bahamas depends heavily on its natural environment and has taken many steps to protect it.

The Canadian market has been “the most consistent” of major source markets for Caribbean tourism. It is also the only source which has increased during the past five years, said Hugh Riley of the Caribbean Tourism Organization. Mr. Riley was speaking at Caribbean Week in Toronto and said that in the light of the economic turmoil, the market had “displayed the greatest buoyancy”. However, he also sounded a more guarded note. “While the numbers keep increasing, the research shows that visitors from this market are also spending with great caution.

Cuban authorities are striving to get tourist facilities damaged by Hurricane Sandy ready for the high winter season. With heavy damages in the power system, agriculture, communications, education, health, transport, commerce and food centers, the province of Santiago de Cuba was the worst hit by the hurricane.