The Council of Tourism of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States will gather May 6 and 7 in St. Kitts-Nevis, with the formation of an OECS Tourism Policy Framework as the key topic of the agenda.

Among other items of the agenda are to define an OECS Tourism Brand, joint approach to tourism marketing, the Secretariat´s Tourism Work programme, and an OECS approach to development of the yachting sector.

The meeting will be preceded by a one-day gathering of OECS Directors of Tourism on May 5th, which will feed into the deliberations by the Ministers.

The 24th Cuban Tourism Convention wound up successfully Wednesday evening with an award ceremony and a panoramic perspective of the Cuban tourist industry by Minister Manuel Marrero. The event gathered more than 2,000 delegates from nearly 60 countries.

The Havana Club Rum Museum of the Cuban capital, home to the world’s fourth bestselling spirit distilled by Pernod Ricard, hailed its fourth anniversary this weekend with a big bash full of liquor and good Cuban music.

Cuba´s 2004 International Tourism Convention will take place from May 3 to 6 at the Plaza America Conference Center in Varadero. This time around, though, technology and novelty will come together for the Cuban Fashion & Art Show, a major piece in this year’s convention.

At 10:00pm on May 2, participants gathered at the Bahia Principe Varadero Hotel will be seduced by a barrage of techniques, poetry, painting and fashion.

Four-time Grammy winner Chucho Valdes has taken his jazz to the keys of Jardines del Rey (King’s Gardens), off central Cuba’s waters, that have turned out to be one of the island nation’s most sought-after destinations among travelers from around the world.

Mr. Valdes is performing at the Sixth Jazz Event, scheduled from April 26 through May 14, with a turnout of some of the globe’s best-known swing musicians.

Jean Holder, president of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and Ruben Silie, secretary-general of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) are chairing the Sixth Annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism that’s taking place this week in Havana with a view to assess ways leading to the development of that travel variant.