The number of foreign tourists that visited Bulgaria in 2005 went up by 5,09 percent. The share of the European Union (EU) in Bulgaria´s international tourism is 54,85 percent for the eleven months of 2005, data from the Culture Ministry revealed. A total of 4,585,875 foreign citizens visited Bulgaria from January to November 2005. They fit in the “tourist” definition of the World Tourism Organization and the European Commission for Tourism with the EU. The number of the tourists has gone up by 5,09 percent as compared to the same period in 2004.

The number of foreigners having plastic surgery in South Africa has shot up dramatically over the past year despite the strengthening of the rand, according to a report of Cape Times, a local newspaper. “In December 2004, we had six patients and last month we had 25," said Peter Ordway, managing director of Mediscapes, a company which sells cosmetic surgery packages, mostly to foreigners on holiday in Cape Town.

Two ice blocks are drifting along the Argentine coast 217 miles off shore pushed by the Falkland current, warned the Argentine Coast Guard last week. One of them is 820 feet long by 30 and 131 feet tall, and both are a potential hazard for shipping in the area. The first block was sited early afternoon by the “Atlantic Surf” fishing vessel, and a few minutes later, nearly ten miles to the northeast. The second with similar dimensions.

Barceló Hotels & Resorts has appointed of Anthony G. Stone as Director of Sales. He joins Fiona Taylor, Linda Finley and Rick McCauley as Barceló continues to enhance its North American sales and marketing team. In this position, Mr. Stone will be a key player of the Barceló sales and marketing team that serves the travel industry trade representing Barceló Hotels & Resorts, spread throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Hilton Cancun Golf & Spa Resort will reopen as a new 426-room luxury resort on May 1 this year. A master plan is underway to create a new look, with renovations to both the interior and exterior of the hotel. Interior renovations include the hotel´s restaurants, bars, lobby and atrium, both Miramar and Caesar Ballrooms, meeting rooms, fitness center and a brand-new sports bar. On the exterior, enhancements will be made to the seven swimming pools, the pool deck, as well as the golf course. Details about the phenomenal new look will be available next month, as well as information about the cost of the renovations.

Three tourists, including an American climber, have been killed in a Mount Kilimanjaro rock slide accident after strong winds swept the mountain top and rains poured on a loose rock that hit the climbers last week. Mount Kilimanjaro Park authorities confirmed the death of three tourists and said there were several injured climbers, mostly local porters and mountain climbing guides.