The Nicaraguan department of Matagalpa –some 80 miles northwest of Managua- is now offering tourist the Coffee Trail together with a piping-hot cup of the beverage and grand tours around nearby plantations, plus liquors and custards made of ground coffee.

The coming of the First National Coffee Fair on Nov. 29 and 30 –officials are hoping to welcome as many as 60,000 local attendants- brings up additional allure to Matagalpa, a region where travelers can choose from an array of top-notch hotels.

Latin America will take a closer glimpse at Costa Rica’s success in environmental management within the framework of a fair next Dec. 3 to 5, sponsored by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Local authorities are expecting a turnout of some 200 experts from 20 countries.

“This will help us show some of our top projects, such as the national parks, fees levied on environmental services and the certification of tourist sustainability,” Costa Rican Minister of the Environment Carlos Manuel Rodriguez pointed out.

Over 1,400 exhibitors from 27 countries attended the Eighth International Tourism Fair of Latin America (FIT) that got underway Saturday in Buenos Aires at the traditional La Rural Fairgrounds in the neighborhood of Palermo.

Such destinations as Curaçao, St. Maarten, Tahiti, Cuba, Egypt, Greece and Spain are some of the premiere international attractions open to attendants at the ongoing 2003 Travel Fair in Chile.

The International Tourism Hall is organized by Chile’s Association of Wholesalers and Tourism Representatives in a joint effort with the Tourist Enterprises Association of Chile and it’s intended to boost up the oncoming vacation season.

Ministers of Foreign Affairs from the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) will gather in Panama from Nov. 28 to 29 prior to the Fourth Summit of ACS Heads of State and Government scheduled for Feb. 13 to 14 next year in Panama City, an official source revealed.

Panama’s Foreign Affairs Minister Harmodio Arias told the press that his peers of the Caribbean Basin, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico and Colombia will forward the details of the projected ACS Summit.

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), representing 32 member nations in the Dutch, English, French and Spanish-speaking Caribbean, will host its second annual Worldwide Travel Writer/Photographer Awards programme to recognize and reward excellence in features and photos published or broadcast about the Caribbean region.