Tequila may have blurred the memory of many a drinker, but the Agave fields that produce it won´t soon be forgotten after UNESCO put them on its list of World Heritage sites. Residents of Mexico´s mountainous Jalisco state on Wednesday toasted the addition of their blue-tinged, Tequila-producing Agave landscape to the list of places “considered to be of outstanding value to humanity,” in the words of the UN cultural agency´s Web site.

With the December 31 deadline for the implementation of the first phase of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative looming –it will require U.S. travelers to the Caribbean to be in possession of a passport to reenter the U.S.- one Caribbean hotel has jumped in with a plan to get first-timers to apply for their passports. Arawak Beach Inn in Anguilla launched its Passport to Paradise package to encourage prospective Caribbean travelers to get their first passport and have Anguilla be the premier stamp in it.

The lack of snowfalls and the high temperatures registered this winter have affected the grounds of the Valle Nevado, La Parva and El Colorado. Regardless of the fact that these tracks have remained open, the number of visitors during the day has been dwindling in a dramatic way.

Spain-based Marsans Group announced it´s ready to put the Pullmantur –one of its primary tourist divisions- on sale. At a value of more than €300 million, Pullmantur is made up of a tour operator, a charter airline and a fleet of cruise liners. The group, owned by Gonzalo Pascual and Gerardo Diaz, has empowered the BANESTO company to look for a financial partner willing to buy between 30 and 40 percent of the total capital, even the 100 percent of it if a good proposal were put on the table.

Jamaica has joined the Cayman Islands in offering an attraction called Stingray City on James Bond Beach, 25 minutes east of Ocho Rios on the island´s north coast. The attraction, which is opened to visitors in May, is located in Oracabessa, which means “Golden Head” and is the name given to the coastal town by the Spanish explorers in the 1500s.

Punta Mita Properties, the exclusive rental agent for the innovative 1,500-acre, master-planned resort and residential community just north of Puerto Vallarta, announced a new incentive for the travel agent community. Agents booking villa or condo rentals directly through Punta Mita Properties (www.punta-mitaproperties.com) will receive a 15 percent commission –up 5 percent from Punta Mita´s standard 10 percent. To be eligible, all stays must be booked and completed by October 31, 2006.