Skyrocketing airfares in Paraguay is chasing travelers off and becoming one of the main hurdles the country´s tourist industry has to cope with right now. A 16-hour roundtrip flight from Buenos Aires to Miami set passengers back some $549. However, a much shorter hop between Asuncion and Buenos Aires that takes approximately three hours to and fro is in the neighborhood of $310.

Cash-strapped regional carrier BWIA will keep its flight operations to Suriname, CARICOM´s most southerly member state and it is even exploring the possibility of increasing the number of flights. Currently BWIA operates three flights per week to Suriname´s international Johan Adolf Pengel Airport.

Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo stressed his administration´s intention to paint a brighter picture of the South American nation as a top travel destination. To that aim, government officials will team up with members of the private sector. In a meeting with international tour operators that attended the 11th edition of the 2005 Peru Travel Mart, President Toledo explained that tourism has become a state policy during his four-year term.

A group of journalists from the Andean Community are putting their professional interests together in an effort to further promote the region´s culture. This adventure is far from a reality show, but rather a close encounter with living cultures and civilizations of the Bolivarian countries.

The Tryp Peninsula Varadero Hotel, a lovely resort perched on Cuba´s premier sun-and-sand destination, has just grabbed the 2004 National Quality Award for its superb service and compliance with international quality guidelines for lodging facilities. The Tryp belongs to the Gaviota S.A. Group and Sol Meliá Cuba, the Spanish megabuck company´s affiliate on the Caribbean island nation.

Scores of Caribbean and North American jazz fans have been unable to obtain flights into St. Lucia for the ten-day annual St Lucia Jazz Festival, which St. Lucia Tourism Director Hilary Modeste has blamed on a lack of adequate air service within and outside of the Caribbean. With a number of other competing events taking place across the Caribbean such as cricket Test matches, One Day Internationals and concerts, Caribbean nationals were having a tough time moving around with limited services being provided by island-hoppers, LIAT and Caribbean Star, Modeste was quoted as saying by the Caribbean Media Corporation.