The IATA 62nd Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit will be held in Paris from June 4 to 6. The tremendous surge in aircraft orders is encouraging for the future of the air transport industry. As in previous years, the first day will include the State of the Industry presentation and a CEO roundtable moderated by Nik Gowing of BBC World. The following day will have four detailed sessions, all of which are open to the media, covering such subjects as aviation fuel, e-ticketing, cost-cutting efforts and safety.

Eight Caribbean nations are racing the clock to meet a March 2007 deadline, convinced that success could swell their visitor figures by thousands over a two-month span. For the first time ever, the West Indies will play host to the Cricket World Cup. The event, 51 matches played by 16 teams over 47 days in nine venues, will kick off with an opening ceremony in Greenfield Stadium in Jamaica on March 11, 2007, and wrap up in Kensington Oval in Barbados on April 29.

Grammy-winning recording artist Beenie Man, Anguilla´s celebrated reggae star Bankie Banks, and the Australian soft rock group Air Supply will perform at the 10th annual St. Kitts Music Festival from June 29 to July 2. Beenie Man has dominated the dancehall scene since his first number one hits “Who Am I" and “Girls Dem Sugar”. Today, the musician from the heartland of Jamaica continues to be one of reggae´s most successful DJ´s and crossover artists with numerous international hits.

Current sales figures for EIBTM 2006 show a marked growth in re-bookings and requests for increased stand space, with over 85 percent already rebooked within only three months of the end of the last event. Research conducted during EIBTM 2005 indicated that 93 percent of exhibitors were likely to return to EIBTM in 2006 and sales trends strongly suggest that even this high figure will be exceeded. Greece has more than doubled its stand size while Holland´s stand will be 25 percent larger and Slovakia and Russia are also expanding.

Last year´s one day MICE workshop & conference, the first MICE event on the Russian market, was such a success that from September 19 to 22, its organizer MSI Fairs & Exhibitions launches “MIBEX”, Russia´s first international meeting industry & business travel exhibition and conference. MIBEX Russia is held in combination with “Otdykh-Leisure”, Russia´s largest international autumn tourism show, and “Luxury Leisure”, the first international trade fair for luxury travel in Russia. All three shows will take place in the newest and biggest exhibition venue of Russia, “Crocus Expo”, on 30,000 square meters.

Travel Technology Initiative´s Sprjng conference is scheduled for Tuesday 25 April in London. TTI has assembled a top rate group of speaker who will address the topic of going Beyond Search. Speakers confirmed for the event are Stuart Jackson, Commercial Director, Cosmos Holidays; Graham Donoghue, Head of New Media, TUI UK; Tanya Lidstone, Head of Web Development, Opodo; Daniela Wagner, Managing Director EMEA, Consumer Travel Services, International Markets, Cendant Travel Distribution Services, and Stefanie Lofgren, Global Business Development Manager, Travel and Hospitality, Sun Microsystems.