Mexico’s charms will be showcased at the FITUR 2003 Fair with a view to strengthen its ties with the Spanish tourist industry. As the world’s eighth most visited country with as many as 20 million travelers every year, the 32 Mexican states combine leisure and culture with over 15,000 archeological sites. The top tourist companies operating in this European nation show off their services at the country’s 839-square-meter stand decked out in Pavilion 6.

The Confederation of Latin America Tourist Organizations (COTAL) announced this year’s congress and tourism tradeshow will both be held in Panama City from May 6 to 10 and under a motto reading COTAL: A Canal For The Peoples’ Peace and Progress. Those who file their application papers before the January 31 deadline will be entitled to some major discounts.

Within the framework of the Caribbean Marketplace now underway in Puerto Rico, hotel owners from the Mexican state of Quintana Roo –the country’s major tourist circuit- are turning to the Caribbean Hotel Association to put up a fight against the tourist cruise industry, said Abelardo Vara Rivera, leader of the local hotelkeepers.

“Time has come to halt the voraciousness of cruise companies that haven’t so far been faced off by so united a group like Quintana Roo’s hotel owners,” Mr. Rivera was quoted to say.

The tourist sector is working on the development of cutting-edge technology applied to tourism and FITUR’s upcoming edition, scheduled for January 29 to February 2, will showcase the latest trends and gadgets in this particular field.

At the Technology and Tourist Knowledge halls, FITUR Know-How will introduce some of these novelties. As in previous editions, the Technology Guidebook compiling the newest products in technology, consulting and training will be presented.

Transtur S.A., Cuba’s tourist transportation enterprise, recently summoned for the 2nd Meeting of Tourist Transportation Entities and Experts scheduled to be held from May 2 to 3 this year in Havana.

During the organizing committee’s first meeting, Transtur director Evidio Rodriguez Lopez assessed the outcomes of the previous event that took place two years ago within the framework of the Tourism Convention.

Tax exemption and promotional campaigns to lure incentive groups and congresses will bring an inflow of convention tourism to Cancun. However, the new regulations aimed at lifting taxes levied on international congresses and conventions won’t be fully in force until 2004.