Spanish giant hotel chain Sol Meliá unveiled recently the conveniences its hotels have to offer in the Cuban capital for staging conventions and meetings in a number of formats. The presentation was made by Cuba´s Convention Bureau with the sponsorship of Meeting Sol Meliá, the company´s event and incentive division. According to the online version of Cuba Convention Bureau´s newsletter, hotels run by Sol Meliá in Havana are outfitted with all necessary conveniences and facilities, including over 43,000 square feet of meeting halls equipped with cutting-edge technology.

Mexico, Thailand and Great Britain won the prize in the Best Stand Category during the Madrid International Tourism Fair (FITUR 2005) that came to a close Sunday in the Spanish capital. Mexico´s senior PR official in Madrid, Pelayo Alonso, said the jury paid close heed to communicational and promotional actions carried out by exhibitors during the Madrid tradeshow, especially in terms of business contacts and the job conducted by news organizations.

The 73 stands and booths used by North American, Caribbean and Latin American nations that attended FITUR 2005 in Madrid, showed off the finest travel destinations of the New World in which a varied scenery of jungles, tropical forests, beaches and gaudiness can take visitors thousands of miles away. For Solange Garces, Ecuador´s Tourism Minister, human warmth is one of Latin America´s major assets, together with those cultural values that truly tell the region apart.

More buyers and more exhibitors will be the defining characteristics of the forthcoming Worldwide Exhibition for Incentive Travel, Meetings and Events, IMEX 2005, next April. Strong demand from both existing and new exhibitors has led to a forecast 15 percent increase in size. Organizers of the event, to be held at Messe Frankfurt´s largest single floor hall, are expecting over 2,500 exhibitors representing 130 countries. The third IMEX is gearing up to be the biggest and busiest yet; with positive industry forecasts underpinning a show that delivers business, said Ray Bloom, IMEX Chairman.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) will hold its 54 annual conference in Macau on April 17 through 21 to address the holistic approach of interconnectivity and its impact on the travel and tourism industry in a fickle global scene. PATA believes that a stronger and more united global travel and tourism industry needs interconnectivity to thrive and survive the constantly changing economic, political and social conditions of the world.

The Eight Iberian American Conference of Tourism Ministers and Impresarios (CIMET 2005), at the Madrid Convention Center & Fairground, was the perfect threshold for the International Tourism Fair (FITUR 2005), whose 25th edition is coming to a succesful end Sunday in Spain. The CIMET conclave, organized by the NEXO Group in collaboration with the CEOE Tourism Council and FITUR, was attended by representatives from twenty countries in what panned out to be one of the best turnouts in the history of the event.