Spanish hotel chain Sol Meliá pointed out this week that the evolution of its lodgings in the Caribbean Basin made a significant contribution to the company´s good outcomes in the first quarter of the ongoing year. In terms of operations worldwide, the Spain-based megabuck firm raked in €10 million worth of revenues by the end of the year´s first quarter, up 0.1 percent from the first three months of 2003.

”Tourism could be a key factor in the battle for stepped-up development, education, job creation and dignity among the world´s poorest countries,” said Geoffrey Lipman, special advisor to the UN secretary-general, at the recently concluded general assembly of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Gains in hard-currency revenues, the advance of corporate initiatives, infrastructure improvements and the creation of millions of jobs in the travel sector could chip in considerably to the so-called Millennium Development Goals.

Mexico and the seven Central American countries will seek ways for a stronger air integration in an effort to cash in on the more competitive advantages that the region´s travel industry has to offer today. The agreement wrapped up a two-day meeting of Central American Tourism Ministers and officials from Mexico´s Tourism Department held over the weekend in Cancun.

Jamaica´s Foreign Affairs Minister Keith Desmond Knight stressed in Havana his country´s tough stance against extraterritorial laws in a clear-cut reference to the U.S. embargo on Cuba. Quite recently, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush threatened to impose sanctions against execs from Jamaica-based hotel company SuperClubs for their operations in Cuba. Eventually, the company decided to pull up stakes from three of its resorts on the island nation.

The Nicaraguan travel industry put on a whopping 19 percent growth in the first quarter of 2004 compared to the same span of time the year before, according to a report provided by the National Tourism Institute (INTUR). The report indicates that as many as 196,843 tourists visited the country between January and April this year, with $54.9 million worth of revenues.

On behalf of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), companies Classic Custom Vacations, Expedia, and Interactive Corporation have granted $40,000 to Water Missions International (WMI) for the installation of half a dozen systems to help 18,000 flooding victims in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Dominican hotelier Simon B. Suarez, who´s just wrapped up his tenure as CHA president, thanked donors for "such a significant gesture of cohesion."