Bookings to the Caribbean are down 20 percent, according to The Co-operative Travel. The agency chain studied 30,000 bookings made since November 1 when the increased Air Passenger Duty came into force.

The Jamaica Observer is reporting that Sandals Chairman Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart has agreed to drop all suits filed by his company Gorstew Limited against the three state agencies in 2005 for compensation for losses suffered over the Sandals Whitehouse hotel in Westmoreland, Jamaica.

India has assured the Dominican Republic that it will encourage Indian businessmen to invest in the Caribbean nation’s hospitality, tourism, renewable energy sources, film industry and IT sectors.

Chile's top antitrust authorities have suspended a merger between Chilean airline LAN and Brazilian airline TAM, a consumer-advocate organization and local news media are report. The daily newspaper La Tercera is reporting that the five members of the Court for the Defense of Free Competition agreed to suspend the merger while they determine whether it complies with antitrust regulations.

Caribbean country Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) is eyeing second generation of Indian moteliers in USA to set up mid level hotels and motels. The Caribbean island country is also expecting synergy with Gujarat in the tourism as well as plastic manufacturing sectors.

The Americas region recorded positive results in the three key performance metrics when reported in U.S. dollars for year-end 2010 and December 2010, according to data compiled by STR and STR Global. The Americas region ended the year with a 5.6 percent increase in occupancy to 57.8 percent, average daily rate finished virtually flat with a 0.6 percent increase to $100.32, and revenue per available room was up 6.2 percent for the year to $57.99.