Acapulco, Mexico´s world-class travel destination in the Pacific coast, has become the new attraction for U.S. students who flee snowed-under campuses and look for the sweltering sun of the Aztec nation. Interest in Acapulco has emerged as Cancun, one of the spring breakers´ favorite spots, is taking actions to restrain their ruckus behavior of these college students and to try to put the city´s bash-rocking image behind.

The Somoto Canyon, a geological formation discovered by a team of Czech and Nicaraguan scientists last December, is increasingly attracting more and more national and foreign visitors to the Central American country. For geology mavens and tourism authorities alike, this new discovery promises to become one of the most sought-after choices in the province of Madriz, in northern Nicaragua.

During the past Holy Week festivities, the Mexican hotel sector was bound to put up with the unfair competition staged by unregistered lodgings that keep popping up in each and every travel destination across the Aztec nation. Nearly one out of two establishments in Mexico fall in the category of informal hotels. These facilities are usually charged with tax evasion and are costing the federal government some $2 billion every year, the Mexican Hotel and Motel Association (AMHM) reported this week.

Dominican tourism authorities counted some 300,000 domestic travelers in Boca Chica Beach, the closest to Santo Domingo, during the Easter long weekend. Paino Perdomo, in charge of the Tourism Police (Politur) said that 300 AMET, 75 Politur, 150 Red Cross and 150 Civil Defense volunteers were deployed to assist sunbathers. Some 135 lifeguards were also on duty throughout the weekend, according to DR1 daily news.

Seducing European travelers is the nitty-gritty of an ambitious promotional campaign Argentina is about to launch in Europe at an initial price tag of $15 million. The publicity blitz will get cracking in Spain, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom in an effort to strengthen cultural and trade ties with those countries.

America Online (AOL), the world´s largest Internet provider, has just unveiled a trial version of its new and sophisticated travel-oriented browser that will seek to captivate end users that click on online travel agencies and booking outlets to reserve hotel rooms and plane tickets. Some buyers remain faithful to one agency´s trademark or brand, but we think a majority of surfers would be inclined to booking something through a dealer in order to save money on meddling agencies, said Jeffrey DeKorte, director general of Time Warner´s Online Travel Division.