More than one hundred high officials and managers from the tourism sector participated in the Knowledge Management for Excellence in Tourism Destination Governance seminar on January 26 during the Madrid-based FITUR. The seminar was organized by the UNWTO Department of Education and Knowledge Management.
The seminar was presided over by UNWTO Secretary General Francesco Frangialli, Ecuadorian Tourism Minister M. Isabel Salvador, Andorran Minister of Tourism and the Environment Antoni Puigdellivol Riberaygua, Mexican Undersecretary for Tourism Planning Oralia Rice, and Argentine Tourism Secretary Carlos Enrique Meyer, among other boldface names.
Authorities in the Dominican Republic are wrapping up preparations to host the Dominican Annual Tourism Exchange (DATE), where international wholesalers, tour operators, incentive group planners, airlines and charter operators will meet with the nation´s leading tourism suppliers in the premier travel trade marketplace in the country.
Starting on April 5 thru 7, the cream of the travel industry crop will be able to set up one-on-one meetings with suppliers of Dominican tourism products and services for the seventh year in a row. Last year, over 79 buyers representing 50 countries met with over 70 suppliers representing nearly 100 properties-this year´s event promises to surpass those numbers.
The Riviera Maya has been selected to host the first ever official PGA TOUR event to be held in Mexico, the Mayakoba Classic, from February 19 to 25, 2007.
The tournament will be contested on the 7,067-yard El Camaleon course at the Mayakoba Resort, the first Greg Norman-designed golf course in Mexico. Managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, the course is a par-72 layout spread across a fascinating mix of scenery that includes jungle, dense mangrove and oceanfront holes bisected by limestone canals. The tournament will offer a purse of $3.5 million.
The leaders of six Caribbean nations have created a free-trade zone styled after the European Union, which they hope will boost commerce and improve the region´s ability to compete with the world.
Business leaders expect the main effect of the Caribbean Single Market to be the free movement of workers and investment, and not necessarily of goods.
The island of Cozumel will be home to the 2006 "México Underwater Dive Show." Sponsored by the Cozumel Tourism Promotion Board and the Government of the State of Quintana Roo, the second annual dive show will take place in Cozumel from June 1 to 3 this year.
Held at the Cozumel Convention Center, the show will display the wide array of dive facilities and privileges that Mexico offers to scuba diving and water sports enthusiasts, all in one place.
Dario Flota, director of the Riviera Maya Tourism Promotion Board, announced that Questex Media Travel Group has selected the Riviera Maya as host destination for the Mexico Luxury Travel Expo, to be held at the Aventura Spa Palace in the Riviera Maya from June 22 to 24, 2006.
“Mexico has always been steeped in luxury; however over the last few years, the growth of the upscale segment has warranted a show dedicated specifically to the Mexican luxury market,” remarked John McMahon, show director and group publisher, Luxury Travel Portfolio, Questex Media Group.