Allen Stanford, owner of Caribbean Star and Caribbean Sun airlines, called on local governments to knock down unnecessary barriers that put a spoke in the travel industry’s wheel. Mr. Stanford made those remarks during Caribbean Sun’s opening flight between San Juan and the British Virgin Islands’ location of Tortola.
Varadero is hoping to join the Blue Flag Campaign in 2004, a voluntary certification process for beaches and marinas that has been underway in Europe since the mid 1980s, members of the Cuban circuit’s integrated program coordination board told Travel Trade Caribbean Tourism News Bulletin.
Varadero is Cuba’s number two tourist destination, second only to Havana. The Blue Flag Campaign, embracing 2,500 beaches and marinas in Europe, has proved an efficient tool for environmental protection, especially in the implementation of regional legislations on water quality guidelines for swimmers.
Addressing a group of tourism experts, minister Astaphan suggested the creation of a Council of Ministers and Commissioners at the helm of the Caribbean Tourism Organization. The CTO’s current board of directors is made up of tourism directors and representatives from the private sector, according to a piece published by the Caribbean Media Corporation.
Minister Astaphan said he would call his counterparts for a meeting in March 2003 in St. Kitts to discuss a number of proposals related to this particular matter. Mr. Astaphan also explained that set of suggestions and proposals was necessary to both reenergize and keep up the CTO and the region’s tourism.
The TV factor within a promotional blitz to sell the Caribbean for $16 million is back on the screens in the United States since late January, following a successful coverage that stretched out from August to November last year.
For three weeks, the Caribbean Hotel Association Charitable Trust (CHACT) aired the publicity guidelines under a slogan reading Life Needs The Caribbean at a rate of over $2 million. Commercial jingles will gain airplay in several U.S. markets including New York City, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
The Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) unveiled its Mistletoe Madness Program with special offers for the holiday season in the organization’s partnered hotels.
These offers in CHA’s hotels and resorts are targeting People willing to ward off a stressed-out and humdrum life to have plenty of beach, sun and fun with a top-rated service.
Aruba, Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Curacao, the Cayman Islands, Grenada, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, San Bartolome, Santa Lucia, San Martin and other tourist destinations in the Caribbean make up the Mistletoe Madness Program.
For more information about the CHA and the Mistletoe Madness Program, click on
caribbeanhotels.org