Aruba announced the final lineup for the Eighth Annual Soul Beach Music Festival, with Erykah Badu, Sinbad, Wyclef Jean and Sean Kingston (among others) performing. The festivities kick off this Memorial Day weekend, May 21-26.

The Caribbean region must adopt aggressive local and regional environmental policies in order to protect itself from the potential impact of climate change on coastal tourism, an international expert on sustainable development and climate change has warned. However, decision makers must first get a grasp of the region’s vulnerabilities and ability to adapt in order to develop appropriate policies, Dr. Murray Simpson, senior research associate for Oxford University Center for the Environment, has suggested.

Nearly 100 Canadian and Caribbean government, healthcare and business leaders met last week to discuss how Caribbean medical tourism can be developed to serve North Americans’ healthcare and vacation needs. Held in Bridgetown, Barbados, the “Caribbean Health & Wellness Tourism” meeting was sponsored by Caribbean Export and Trade Facilitation Office Canada.

The 17th Annual St. Lucia Jazz Festival, one of the Caribbean’s premier musical attractions, set for May 2 to 11, has already started its countdown on top cable networks BET and BET J.

The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, IAATA, will be holding its19th Annual General Meeting in Punta del Este, Uruguay from April 28 to May 1. The changing industry and challenges, particularly environmental and safety will figure top of the agenda.

Mexico’s Tourism Secretary Rodolfo Elizondo Torres opened the “Challenges and Opportunities in the Cruise Industry in Mexico and Central America” seminar, at which government officials and industry representatives attended with the goal of strengthening their joint efforts to consolidate the region as a main international cruise destination.