More than 900 cruise industry leaders, tour operators and industry related personnel took part in the 27th annual four-day Cruise Shipping Convention in Miami Beach. A major highlight of the convention was the ‘Jamaican village’, hosted by the Port Authority of Jamaica to promote the newly constructed Falmouth cruise ship pier in Trelawny.

Cuba participated in Le Monde à Paris International Tourism Fair in France (MAP 2011) with its summer promotion and products linked to its cultural and historic riches and heritage. The event, that opened on Thursday at the exhibition park of Porte de Versalles in the French capital, ran thru Sunday and turned out an opportunity to promote the most genuine values of the Caribbean island.

Tourism’s sustained growth and its capacity to tackle global challenges – from economic crises and persistent unemployment to environmental pressures and the poverty imperative – can only be achieved through collective action. This was the central message coming out of the Global Tourism Forum Andorra 2011 (GTF) (Andorra la Vella, Andorra, 6-7 March).

On 8 March Berlin’s Governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit, Federal Minister of Economics Rainer Brüderle, and Adam Giersz, Minister of Sport and Tourism of the Republic of Poland, will open ITB Berlin –Lech Walesa will be the Polish guest of honor- an avant-garde program of show events and a gala reception at the opening of the world’s largest travel trade show

The Caribbean Tourism Organization announces the addition of Canadian travel expert Jacqueline Kuehnel to its roster of speakers at the 12th Annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development (STC-12), taking place in Bermuda from April 3-6, 2011. Kuehnel, known for her work in responsible travel and tourism, will address issues related to climate change, corporate social responsibility and sustainable strategy.

Each year, during the last week of March and the beginning of April, there is an annual migration of sailors to the British Virgin Islands and this year, being the fortieth anniversary of the event, even more are expected. Although many of the visitors fly into the BVI, the Caribbean based sailors are most likely to sail, with the trials and tribulations of the delivery being a true test of how much they want to take part in the event.  These Caribbean sailors are the backbone of the event, with many of them competing since the early days of the regatta.