The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Scholarship Foundation is accepting applications for 2005 scholarships and study grants from Caribbean nationals in CTO member countries. The aim of the CTO Foundation is to provide opportunities for Caribbean nationals to pursue studies in the areas of tourism, hospitality and language training. The Foundation selects individuals who demonstrate high levels of achievement and leadership both within and outside the classroom and who express a strong interest in making a positive contribution to Caribbean tourism.

Venezuelan authorities revealed plans this week to hang out the shingle of a customer service office in Spain in an effort to lure far more tourists. The initiative comes on the heels of Venezuela´s attendance to the ITB Fair in Berlin. Tourism Minister Wilmas Castro informed the opening of the country´s first customer service office overseas –in Germany´s Frankfurt- will be followed by similar outposts in Bogota, Buenos Aires, Madrid and Beijing. It´ll all depend on how fast the Venezuelan travel industry shapes up and organizes itself, Mr. Castro pointed out.

Ecuadorian Tourism Minister Gladys Eljuri explained in Berlin her administration is currently zeroing in on sustainable development as a way of soothing increasing poverty levels in the country. For the first time ever, the Ecuadorian Tourism Ministry will set going an all-embracing promotional campaign with an initial fund of $9 million.

Some five thousand law enforcement officers from Nicaragua´s Police Department will be deployed across the country´s premier beaches in an effort to protect tourists during the Holy Week festivities. Scores of Nicaraguan citizens flock to beaches during the holidays that this year will end on March 27. Police officers will patrol most foreshores along the Pacific coast as part of the so-called 2005 Beach Plan that will stretch out into the summer.

TUI AG´s French travel agent Nouvelles Frontieres said this week it has acquired the Havas Voyages brand from Vivendi Universal and that it intends to re-launch in the near future. The company said it will not reveal the price of the transaction. The 60-year-old Havas Voyages brand was dropped when Thomas Cook AG acquired the chain in 2003 and got rid of the name.

Buenos Aires is in the midst of a tourism boom. The Argentine peso lost two-thirds of its value shortly after the country´s 2001 economic collapse. Though bad for Argentines, that drop has been good for tourists, who are now flooding what was once the most expensive city in South America. In November, the most recent month for which figures are available, tourists spent more than $220 million in the city. No figures exist on how many of those tourists are gay, but several signs point to a significant growth in their numbers.