Brazilian organizations that fight sex tourism upbraided the country´s Labor Ministry following a piece of information posted on a website that advocates for prostitutes as simple “tourists´ companions,” local newspaper O Globo reported this week. The reference, posted on the Brazilian Labor Ministry´s official site has rubbed anti-sex tourism activists the wrong way in and out of the South American nation.

Readers of Caribbean Travel and Life have recognized the St. Kitts Marriott Resort and The Royal Beach Casino as one of the top Mega-Resorts in the magazine’s 2005 Best of the Caribbean special issue of May 2005. The St. Kitts Marriott Resort and The Royal Beach Casino is one of four resorts recognized in the category for resorts with more than 300 rooms. Published annually, Caribbean Travel and Life’s Best of the Caribbean issue highlights the top picks in more than 30 categories including beaches, bars, beer, resorts, spas, adventures, sports and shopping. The awards are based on survey responses from thousands of the magazine’s readers and Caribbean enthusiasts.

The new Ecuadorian President Alfredo Palacio, who came to power earlier this week, has just appointed Maria Isabel Crespo as the South American country´s new tourism minister.

Regional tourism has benefited from another injection of funds from the European Commission (EC). Parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport Senator Rudy Grant made this announcement yesterday while addressing the official launch of the Caribbean Regional Sustainable Tourism Development Program at the Accra Beach Hotel and Resort, Christ Church.

Canada will no longer provide bilateral assistance to the sub-regional Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) at the end the current aid program, so said St. Lucia´s External Affairs and International Trade Minister, Petrus Compton, who recently held talks with Canadian government officials. The OECS groups the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Montserrat, St. Kitts-Nevis, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) reported that Canada will fork over $122,000 to help train marketing officials and experts for Caribbean governments. These funds are contained in the Doha Accords, a programs that pursues the strengthening of developing countries that belong to the WTO. These courses are also part of a training and assistance project sponsored by the WTO and that has been underway for several decades.