Martinique was represented at the Cruise Shipping Miami conference, March 14 to 17, by a strong 10-person delegation led by Karine Roy-Camile, commissioner of the Martinique Tourism Authority.

After signing the National Tourism Accord, President Felipe Calderon urged all Mexicans to unite to strengthen the tourist sector, which is a national and public policy priority for this government.

Caribbean officials gathered in Brussels for the region’s annual tourism summit, the first to be held in Europe, are urging their biggest development partner to draft policies supporting the lifeblood sector and ease restrictions such as Britain’s Air Passenger Duty (APD), which they say are holding back its growth.

For a second year, the Turks and Caicos Islands were a favored Caribbean destination, showing a 12-percent increase in tourist arrivals compared to 2009. Most of the growth came in the first quarter of 2010, which showed a significant increase over the same period in 2009.

Bermuda has been ranked sixth in the top 20 honeymoon destinations by Brides magazine. According to the survey, Bermuda beat out all Caribbean destinations and came behind Hawaii, French Polynesia, Fiji, Italy and Bali.

The Government of Anguilla anticipates the opening of the new Ascend Collection hotel from Choice Hotels International, Inc. will draw business from the lucrative meetings and incentives market in the United States.