The International Meeting Industry Standardization Institute (ISMI) with the auspices and support of the Costa Rican Association of Professional Congress Organizers, the Costa Rican Tourism Institute, the International Congress and Convention Association and the Fairs Association of the Americas, will hold the 1st. International Symposium -- Workshop on the "Creation of International Regulations and Standards for the Events Industry," that will take place in San Jose, Costa Rica, March 30 - April 2, 2004.

Organizers of the first Cuban-US Travel Conference called it an historic event that began an intensification of the process to lift the Washington-imposed travel prohibitions.

The two-day conference in Cancun, Mexico, was organized by ATRIP (Association of Tourist Related Industry Professionals) and other US organizations in favor of ending these limitations. Participants included travel agents, tour operators, airlines, cruise companies, and legal firms, among others.

With its record number of attendees, the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals´ (HFTP) Annual Convention & Tradeshow was a great success. The final count came to 753 attendees, making this the largest attendance for the 51-year-old event that took place October 15*18 at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Fla.

The Gran Meliá Cancun Hotel is host of the First US-Cuba Travel Conference taking place October 16 through 19, under the auspices of the Association of Travel-Related Industry Professionals (ATRIP). The gathering is aimed at finding ways to promote American tourism to the neighboring island.

Atlantis, Paradise Island resort and event specialist, Harith Productions Ltd. have received a trio of meetings & incentive industry awards for last year´s "Mystic Powers of Atlantis" event. The program doubled as an incentive program for VIASYS Healthcare Inc. as well as the central entertainment event for the 2002 Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational golf tournament.

The Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves will be the feature speaker at this year’s 26th Annual Caribbean Tourism Conference (CTC-26) on Saturday, October 18th, the final day of the gathering. He will speak on the theme “Recovery and Growth in a Fiercely Competitive Environment”.

“We are excited that Prime Minister Gonsalves has agreed to address us. His presence is a demonstration of his commitment to participate in the region’s efforts to strengthen the tourism industry,” said Jean Holder, secretary general of CTO.