Santiago de Cuba, considered the island nation’s second capital, will celebrate the 490th anniversary of its foundation with a world-class party, the Cuba Convention Bureau informed this week.

Authorities from more than a dozen American and European cities brotherly bonded with similar burgs in other parts of the globe, are expected to send representatives to Santiago de Cuba for the celebration of the village’s birthday on July 25, 2005. Four hundred and ninety years ago on that date in 1515, the city was named after its holy patron, Santiago Apostle.

Jamaica will play host to the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC) scheduled from May 10 to 12 in an effort to spur up a nonstop cash flow into the region. The event -held on an annual basis- will take place at the Ritz Carlton Rose Hall in Montego Bay on a tight agenda that includes presentations by experts on finance and tourist development.

Jeremy Collymore, coordinator of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) suggested that Caribbean tourism leaders must recognize that the sustainable development of the region is influenced by how the tourism sector manages its assets and resources.

During the unveiling of the new look of Cancun’s Conference Center –now renamed Conference and Exposition Center, or simply the Cancun Center- director Guillermo Martinez Flores explained the building is now entering a new stage in which it will be able to play host to 123 events and accommodate 85,600 people in just a couple of years. The center’s panoramic watchtower was razed in this new refurbishment process.

Now equipped with cutting-edge technology in the bottom floor, the Cancun Center has what it takes to double in brass as a conference and exhibition venue.

Fully devoted to specialized tourism –mainly to historic and cultural tours around Old Havana, a UNESCO’s Heritage of Mankind zone- the San Cristobal Travel Agency celebrated its eighth birthday last April 4 with a magnificent record of top-flight service and assorted travel packages.

Founded by travel company Habaguanex S.A. and attached to the Office of the City’s Historian –two enterprises heavily keen to the rescue of beautiful Havana- the San Cristobal Travel Agency operates with a mission to showcase this great and splendorous project to the whole wide world.

The 13th edition of the EXPOCARIBE Tradeshow has been scheduled from June 13 to 18 in Santiago de Cuba, the island nation’s second-largest city.

According to the Organizing Committee, the usual venue –the Heredia Conference Center- will provide Cuban companies and their counterparts stationed in the country with a perfect setting for showcasing their products and services, for jointly advertising their businesses and enhancing their trade ties.