Greater Fort Lauderdale’s tourism industry, fueled by nearly 11 million visitors from around the world, has continued to grow consistently over the last 20 months. This July had the highest hotel occupancy since 2006, up 7.8 percent from 2010. Overall, year-to-date hotel occupancy is 74.4 percent, up 6.1 percent year-over-year. July 2011 saw the highest Average Daily Rate since 2008, and the region has been “in the black” for the past five months.

The number of Russian tourists visiting Cuban resorts has significantly increased with figures close to 46,000 travelers, the representative of the island's Tourism Ministry in Russia reported.
 

A caravan from the Colombian Ministry of Tourism will tour Colombia from Saturday, August 27 to Saturday, September 3 to promote travel to the Colombian island of San Andres. The caravan plans to stop in Bogota, Medellin and Cali, RCN Radio reported Wednesday.

The Tourist Office of Spain launched a campaign to get Americans to experience its newest wave of hotel offerings, a selection ranging from rustic chic to boutique to grandiose in Madrid, Barcelona, Ibiza and Segovia.

St. Kitts cruise visitor arrivals are expected to increase by more than 20 percent in the upcoming October 2011-September 2012 cruise ship season, according to Ricky Skerritt, minister of tourism and international transport, at an event to unveil the island’s 2011-2012 cruise ship schedule.

Curacao is celebrating the start of its “Travel Agent Appreciation Season” with fall airfare and hotel packages. During the period, travel agents can book a roundtrip flight with American Airlines starting from $189 from anywhere in the continental U.S. or Canada, or roundtrip flights with Insel Air offering $180 on fares from Charlotte, N.C.