The Caribbean was prominently featured at one of the world’s leading travel exhibitions, the International Tourism Exchange ITB Berlin 2003 which took place in the German city of Berlin from March 7-11, 2003.

Twenty-eight (28) of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)’s 32 member countries are among the 181 countries and territories participating in the event. As it has done every year since 1980, CTO will coordinate a Caribbean Village at the Berlin Exhibition Ground, site of the tourism trade fair.

Spanish company RIU Hotels attended once again the Berlin Tourist Fair with a stand of its own at Pavilion 1.2 that really packed a wallop in the audience with pictures and images of its newest establishments and destinations.

RIU execs briefed on the company’s program of grand openings scheduled for 2003, as well as a variety of new destinations that will jump on the giant’s bandwagon in the next couple of years.

U.S. tourism is widely represented at the Berlin Tourism Fair in an effort to highlight its importance in the German market now that the chances of Washington declaring war against Iraq grow with each passing hour. Americans believe their long-run prospects in the German market look pretty good.

The Meliá Cayo Guillermo Hotel, perched on the bludgeoning and promising tourist circuit of Jardines del Rey, hosted the Sol Meliá’s First Seminar on Artistic Creation from March 12 to 13 with the attendance of art directors, choreographers, stagers and front office officials stationed in Cayo Guillermo.

The concept and planning of the seminar was in the able hands of Carlos Telot, the circuit’s art director, who teamed up with the talents of Juan Manuel Perez, the destination’s fun & entertainment director, and the Sol Meliá Recreation Division in Jardines del Rey.

The First Central American Congress of Protected Areas had its opening session Monday in Managua keen to discussing rational exploitation of those zones that take up 18 percent of Nicaragua’s total surface. The first reports to the conclave were presented by Panama, Belize and Mexico. Participants are expected to hammer out a final strategic plan for the region.

The Fifth Buenos Aires Tango Festival gathers over 100,000 visitors and churns out earnings for more than $10 million with a little help from international tourists that flock to Argentina lured by a devaluated local currency and the gloominess hanging over this popular dancing and singing.

Eduardo Hecker, secretary of economic development for the Argentine capital, pointed out that roughly 70 percent of foreigners traveling to that city only consume Tango-related products and items. That puts earning estimates in the neighborhood of $9.4 million.