Under the spell of Cuba’s aromatic top-notch stogies, the Fifth International Cigar Festival rolled up the curtains in the wee hours of Tuesday morning with an opening dinner at the glamorous 60-plus-year-old Tropicana Cabaret and the attendance of more than 900 people from 48 nations, chiefly scores of Europeans who can’t wait to puff at hand-rolled Premium cigars.

The Berlin International Tourism Marketplace (ITB) –one of the major commercial events of the sector worldwide- will open next March 7 amid one of the worst crises the leisure industry has undergone in the last decades and blotched this time around by the threat of war in Iraq and the economic recession endured by industrialized nations.

Stretching out for just four days –two for the public and the other two for professionals- the BIT Milan tradeshow was held from February 15 to 18 with a record turnout of 72,000 visitors and 28,600 professionals, compared to 65,350 and 18,500, respectively, back in 2002.

However, the Caribbean was dented by the absence of such regional heavyweights as Colombia, St. Kitts, Jamaica, Aruba, Curacao and Puerto Rico, only to name but a few.

The current crisis has swept over into many countries that had been bound to slash their budgets by not attending the fair.

The Caribbean island of Aruba had an independent stand for the first time in the history the FITUR fair in Madrid, Spain, an event that also marked the grand opening of that country’s representation office in the Spanish capital.

Spotted in the Caribbean and the Americas area, the stand was a smash hit among the public, the press and experts that attended the five-day event.

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) is planning a series of festive and exhilarating events to spice up Caribbean Week 2003 in New York City, slated to take place June 1-7, 2003, ranging in scope from an inter-faith ceremony to a “Taste of the Caribbean” market fair in the heart of New York City.

The 2003 International Tourism Marketplace –one of the world’s premiere tourist events- will take place during the Milan Tradeshow from Feb. 15 to 18 with delegations from 128 countries whose stands will gaudily spruce up the five pavilions dedicated to Asia, America, Europe, the Middle East, the Mediterranean Shoreline and the Pacific Basin.