BDC International S.A. and Peugeot Automobiles knocked together a test drive for the wives of foreign diplomats stationed in Cuba that was organized over the weekend in the surroundings of the Meliá Cohiba Hotel in Havana. The objective was to bring these distinguished ladies closer to Peugeot products and give them a chance to take a firsthand look at the new features and availability of these cars in the Cuban market.

Mexico’s leisure sector scooped up nearly $8 billion worth of revenue in the first three quarters of the ongoing year, up a blistering 13.4 percent from the first nine months of 2003, the country’s Tourism Department informed this week. The cash surplus of Mexico’s travel industry scored a big increase in the first nine months of the ongoing year, up a whopping 20.8 percent from the same span of time in 2003.

TUI, the giant Germany-based tour operator, will implement a surcharge on travel packages as a result of spiking oil prices in the world market, the company’s front office informed this week in Hanover. All travel packages booked from December 1 onward will have a 5-euro-per-passenger surcharge tacked on. In the case of long-haul destinations, the additional charge will ratchet up to 6 euros, with the sole exception of Dubai that will carry a 7-euro money addendum.

The Nicaragua Tourism Institute (INTUR) is hoping to close 2004 with $170 million in gains, a figure that will keep the local leisure industry high on the list of the country’s top moneymakers, alongside such commodities as seafood, coffee and meat. According to stats provided by INTUR this week, as many as 447,500 tourists visited the Central American nation in the first three quarters of the year, up 16.4 percent from the first nine months of 2003.

Asian tourists are by far the biggest spenders in Chile, averaging $1,174 apiece during a regular stay of 13.3 days in the South American nation. According to a research study conducted by the National Tourism Service (SERNATUR), visitors from other world regions shell out an average of $569 during a relatively longer stay of 15.8 days.

In an effort to show off all attractions that Panama has to offer as a travel destination, authorities in that Central American nation have earmarked $19 million to be exclusively spent on the promotion of its own tourist sector. The National Economic Council recently passed the initiative of launching out a promotional and marketing campaign overseas, the country’s Ministry of Finance and Economy informed this week.