Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, will receive more than 30,000 tourists during the 14th Pan American Games scheduled for August 1 to 17, said Jose Joaquin Puello, chairman of the Organizing Committee.

Caribbean countries will give tourism cooperation a big leg up during a two-day meeting scheduled for July 17 to 18 in Barbados.

Jean Holder, secretary-general of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), underscored the important role both private and public sectors should play in clinching the leisure industry´s development and providing leadership to the prosperity process within that sector.

The First Cuban Fair on Tourism and Health held in the city of Santa Cruz in eastern Bolivia came to a successful close as planners and attendants are now ready to take the tradeshow to other burgs.

Representatives of Cuban tourism and health entities there underscored the event’s goal of promoting the many choices Cuban health institutions have to offer, as well as the ties established between Bolivian medical institutions and their Cuban counterparts.

An international African-Caribbean festival will unravel from July 17 to 27 in the Mexican state of Veracruz where Puerto Rican singer Willie Colon will perform the opener-upper act.

Apart from Veracruz, the event will take place in the cities of Xalapa, Coatzacoalcos, Minatitlan, Poza Rica, Xalapa and Orizaba, with a projected turnout of thousands of tourists interested in taking a firsthand look at the Caribbean peoples’ traditions and culture.

Cuban cuisine was highly praised in Ecuador during an all-embracing session held at the Colombian-run Four Points Sheraton hotels in Guayaquil and Quito. The event is held every year in an effort to advertise the good food of one of the region’s countries.

But in the case of Cuba, acceptance was so huge that word is hoteliers are already planning a repeat version in 2004 and there are even plans in the making to take the initiative to Colombia.

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) through the Caribbean Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC) is developing common guidelines on quality standards for use by regional tertiary institutions that offer tourism/hospitality programmes at the associate degree level.

The Quality Assurance System and Articulation Guidelines are components of the Caribbean Tourism Learning System (CTLS) developed by CTO/CTHRC and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Education Reform Unit (OERU).