IMEX 2008 produced particularly strong results for its sixth exhibition at Messe Frankfurt this year, as evidenced by final figures released by organizers. The total buyer increase was 5.3 percent against the previous year with hosted buyer and trade visitor numbers up to 8,751.

Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation Harold Lovell will be addressing 120 delegates at the Caribbean Shipping Association’s seventh annual Caribbean Shipping Executives Conference to be held in St. Maarten later this month, from May 19 thru 21.

At first glance, Woody Allen, Aretha Franklin and Leonard Cohen would not seem to have all that much in common, but at least one shared thread easily pulled is that all three are among the performers scheduled to appear at this summer’s annual Montreal Jazz Festival, June 26 to July 6.

The Dominican Ministry of Tourism announced the Santo Domingo Merengue Festival is scheduled for July 24 to July 27.

President and CEO of Tralliance Corporation, Edward A. Cespedes, will address EXPOTUR 2008 in San Jose, Costa Rica early next week. EXPOTUR is an annual event hosted by ACOPROT, the Costa Rican Association of Professionals in Tourism, and has been taking place since 1985.

In preparation for the Caribbean Tourism Congress scheduled for October 2008, the Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education in Nevis, launched the local Tourism Youth Congress at a Cocktail Reception held at the Oualie Beach Hotel on Saturday, April 19.