Jamaica´s Tourism Minister Aloun Ndombet-Assamba has confirmed plans to develop the island´s south coast with assistance from overseas investors will result in a significant increase in tourism activities along that section of the island.

"Based on the performance of other nature-based destinations in the Caribbean that have doubled their tourist numbers in five years, we see a south coast target of doubling its share of Jamaican tourism over the next 10 years from 3.5 per cent to 7 per cent as achievable," she said.

Job creation in Costa Rica accrued 2.2 percent in 2003 thanks in part to rekindled exports and growing tourism, while take-home pays were up 3 percent, official sources informed.

Ronulfo Jimenez, economic coordinator for the Costa Rican administration, said the government created 12,056 new jobs in 2003 for a 2.2 percent hike in the private sector compared to the year before.

The Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CRSCF), though, placed job creation slightly lower at 1.5 percent for a grand total of 9,563 new posts.

As many as 342 active joint ventures operating in Cuba -a considerable chunk of them clustered in the travel industry- churned out $147.6 million in gross earnings for the island nations coffer´s in 2003, weekly periodical "Business in Cuba" reported.

According to the latest issue of the publication that cites yearend spreadsheet figures reckoned by the Ministry of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation (MINVEC is the acronym in Spanish), estimates for the ongoing year are hovering around $200 million and counting.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Dominican Republic slid 0.4 percent in 2003 as a result of the sum of several factors that included higher oil prices, the devaluation of the local currency and a deep banking crisis.

According to the 2003 report on the national economy issued by the Central Bank (CB), "this is the first time that the Dominican economy has endured a decline in terms of annual figures since the economic crisis that hit the nation in the early 1990s."

Alejandro Moreno Medina, travel advisor for Baja California state authorities, underscored Mexico’s possibilities for foreign investors during an official visit he paid to several Spanish autonomous communities.

Mr. Medina, who’s looking for investors willing to pour money into that huge destination, huddled in Majorca with representatives of hotel chains RIU, Piñero, Sol Meliá and Iberostar.

The Mexican state official noted that Baja California has chances galore for tourism investment since 80 percent of its territory is unexplored from a travel standpoint.

Spanish chain RIU Hotels & Resorts forked over €30 million for the purchase of a five-star hotel in the Bahamas. Hubbed on Paradise Island –one of the islets belonging to the Bahamas Archipelago- this lodging was formerly owned by a local U.S. company. The establishment is currently undergoing a refurbishment process and will remain closed until its reopening scheduled for late December this year.

The new all-inclusive RIU Paradise Island has 350 beachfront rooms and provides all services any fancy hotel has to offer.