Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, the American car rental dealer, said it intends to make available Garmin GPS portable navigation devices at 287 Dollar and Thrifty car rental locations in the U.S. and Canada this winter. The world-class car rental said the devices feature a touch-screen interface, with automatic route calculation to any destination and turn-by-turn voice-prompted directions along the way.

Mayor C. Ray Nagin hopes to attract tourists and their cash back to his ravaged city with an “out-of-the-box” plan to install Las Vegas-style gambling in the city´s biggest hotels. Mr. Nagin put forth the casino proposal last week as a way to jump-start New Orleans´ economy and help its people get back to work in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The plan calls for a large-scale gambling area in the city´s central business district, stretching from Interstate 10 on the west to the Mississippi River on the east. “Now is the time for us to think out of the box. Now is the time for some bold leadership, some decisive leadership,” Nagin said.

Restoration has begun on the Cuban hilltop villa where Ernest Hemingway hung his hat and hunting trophies for 21 years, from 1939 to 1960. The swashbuckling author produced some of his most brilliant works at the house where he lived after leaving Key West. But as repairs progress, U.S. conservationists say the project lacks funding and materials they are eager to supply –assistance banned under the terms of the 40-year-old U.S. embargo on travel and trade with the Caribbean island.

Cuba´s Deputy Education Minister Francisco Ferreira offered last week the participation of the country´s teachers to collaborate in UNESCO literacy programs. The Cuban official made the proposal at the roundtable on “Education for All (EFA)” that gathers ministers from around the world at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Headquarters in Paris, France. The meeting includes topics such as resource mobilization and aid effectiveness, strengthening partnerships in education on the national level and the role and strategy of UNESCO in the drive towards the effective implementation of the EFA, among other agendas.

Attendants at the Third Global Summit on Peace through Tourism that met in Pattaya, Thailand, strongly condemned those responsible for the latest string of terrorist bombings in Bali, Indonesia. “Our sympathies go to the families and loved ones of those killed or injured and to the people of Bali and Indonesia. Terrorism increases hate, fear and religious intolerance and damages local communities who depend on tourism for their economic livelihood”, the Institute said in a public statement.

The British Virgin Islands (BVI) Tourist Board has awarded The Zimmerman Agency its advertising, public relations and interactive marketing contract to strengthen its position among the finest sun destinations in the world. The highly contested Caribbean tourism account attracted interest from more than 22 invited firms with eight agency consortiums making final presentations. “The Zimmerman Agency was selected based on its integrated creative strategy to bring ‘Nature´s Little Secrets´ to life,” said the BVI Tourist Board Chairman, Russell Harrigan. “The agency has captured the essence of the destination and embraced our internal industry with a passionate approach which is providing us the confidence to know this is a perfect partnership.”