A pair of top cultural festivals is taking place simultaneously in the north and south of Mexico: the Mayan World and the 2004 Zacatecas. With huge turnouts from the Mexican states of Yucatan, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, Campeche and Chiapas, the tenth edition of the Mayan World Cultural Festival will come to a close next April 11.

Summoned by the Chiapas Tourism Department and planned by the Palenque Mayor´s Office, the event is targeting the promotion of different travel destinations.

Preparations for the Fourth International Meeting on Cuban Nature Tourism (TURNAT 2004) - scheduled from September 23 through 29- are working on all six, said Eduardo Rodriguez de la Vega, the island nation´s tourism vice minister.

TURNAT 2004 will take place in Topes de Collantes in the central province of Sancti Spiritus. Planners expect a turnout of approximately 90 tour operators, travel agents, airline representatives and industry experts.

From April 24 to 27, the Caribbean island of St. Maarten will hold the 2004 edition of SMART, a regional workshop gathering all major hotels, tour operators, service providers and tourism bureaus from Anguila, Barbuda, Dominique, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Eustatius, St. Barthelemy, St. Kitts and St. Maarten/St. Martin.

The St. Maarten/St. Martin Regional Trade Show (SMART) is sponsored by the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association and la Association des Hoteliers de St. Martin.

The Paradisus All-inclusive Resort in Puerto Rico´s San Juan is ready for the opening of the American Airlines Caribbean TrAAvel Exchange from May 12 through 14 this year. The event will include seminars and business meetings.

This is no doubt a magnificent opportunity for travel agents from North America, Latin America and Europe to discuss specific business relations with their services providers for trips to Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, the Bahamas and Bermudas.

The second edition of EXPOBUCEO, the international dive event, will take place from June 29 to July 2 at the Plaza America Conference Center in Cuba´s Varadero. The gathering will provide a perfect setting for tour operators, travel agents, professional divers -both retired and active- marine biologists, scientists, underwater photographers, environmentalists and scuba diving students from around the world to huddle and talk about a variety of issues.

The well-known destination of Acapulco, in the Mexican state of Guerrero, will be home of the 29th Mexico Travel Marketplace, the Aztec nation’s major tourism event and one of the most important ones held in Latin America.