The 15-nation Caribbean Community will offer a regional visa to ease travel for cricket fans island-hopping for the 2007 World Cup Cricket, an official said Monday. Martin Joseph, the chairman of the national security and law enforcement council of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) trade group, said that visitors will only need one visa for the Caricom member states beginning January 15, and will only have to clear customs once while in the region.

Tropical storm Ernesto pounded Cuba last week leaving much of the archipelago unscathed and tourism sites doing business as usual. Cuba has remained strong in the media and the travel industry front. The Travel Industry Committee on Cuba (TICC) will have a booth and reception at the forthcoming ASTA Trade Show in Orlando, Florida on September 10 to 12.

A special session on disaster management and crisis preparedness will be the centerpiece on the agenda of the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s 29th annual Caribbean Tourism Conference (CTC-29), set for October 22 to 25 at the Westin and Sheraton Grand Bahama Island Our Lucaya Resort in the Bahamas. Presenters will discuss how to identify and manage short and long-term risks, reduce the impact of natural and manmade hazards and devise strategies to mitigate the damage.

Delegates attending the Caribbean´s the 29th annual Caribbean Tourism Conference to be held in the Bahamas from October 22 to 25, will examine tourism risk management models as practical planning and management tools for disasters, the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) said last week. The planned special session on risk management is “one of several master classes planned to afford delegates the opportunity to gain valuable knowledge on areas that are critical to the sustainability and development of the tourism sector,” according to the CTO.

Canada´s Toronto will be able to experience the sights, sounds, colors, culture and unique vacation attributes of the Caribbean with the celebration of Caribbean Week from October 12 through 15, 2006. Arranged by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), Caribbean Week 2006 features a series of events highlighting the Caribbean vacation experience, food and entertainment.

Peruvian tourism officials are stepping up preparations for the sixth edition of the Latin American Travel Trade Mart, slated to take place in Lima, the South American nation´s capital. The main objective of this event is to promote Peru and Latin America among tourism professionals from both the turf and the entire world.