A revolving fund of approximately 2.8 million euros will be at the beck and call of African, Caribbean and Pacific nations for the implementation of tourism development projects within the framework of PROINVEST, an initiative wielded by the European Union through the European Investment Bank. Members of the European Commission gave details about the new plan during the Meeting of Tourism Investment Associations and Opportunities that took place at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Montego Bay, Jamaica. An initial grant of 110 million euros was already allotted for this EU-sponsored program that has prompted partners from elsewhere to jump on the bandwagon.

The cash surplus of Mexico’s travel industry scored a big increase in the first eight months of the ongoing year, up a whopping 20.8 percent from the same span of time in 2003. During that period, the country reaped over $2.8 billion worth of revenues, thanks in part to a 13.3 percent climb in tourist benefits that totaled more than $7.3 billion.

Alec Sanguinetti, director-general and CEO of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), said this week that the region’s private sector is playing an increasingly bigger role in the development of the local travel industry. Mr. Sanguinetti uttered these remarks during a recent consulting meeting on merger and business opportunities for the tourist sector that gathered representatives from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific Rim. Mr. Sanguinetti’s remarks served to highlight the vast array of investment possibilities that the Caribbean Basin has to offer, not only for building new hotels and remodeling others, but also for spending money in such areas as agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure and attractions.

Spain´s Iberia Airways has officially closed down its regional hub in Miami to start flying nonstop from Madrid to Panama, Guatemala and Costa Rica using its own fleet, as well as to Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua through a bilateral agreement with TACA, the local air service provider. Drawbacks derived from heightened security controls in the United States have forced Iberia to lock down its international hub in Miami, a spokesperson from the Spanish air company told Caribbean News Digital.

Central American nations have turned to donors and financial institutions to get the cash they need for the execution of tourism development plans that could eventually help the region reap gains and create more jobs. “We want to implement tourism projects at a regional level, so we believe it’s important to keep individual donors that contribute money for Central American countries posted on the regional integration process and its projects,” Salvadoran Tourism Minister Luis Cardenal said.

Foreign investment money could start slipping away from Costa Rica in coming months as a result of corruption cases that have unfolded recently, the local League of Private Enterprise Chambers and Associations (UCCAEP is the Spanish acronym) warned this week. One of the sectors that could take a direct hit from rampant corruption in the country is tourism. As we speak, Costa Rican hotels are badly needing a figure in the neighborhood of $2 to $2.5 billion to get a new lease on life.