United Airlines and Delta Airlines have just announced the beginning of direct flights between the United States and Costa Rica in an effort to offer better connections for the latter’s travel industry. United Airlines will open a nonstop weekly flight on December 18 between the cities of Chicago and San Jose, the Costa Rican capital.

Moroccan King Mohammed VI chose the Dominican Republic to take a few days off in the eastern beaches of that Caribbean country. The monarch arrived in his private jet with an entourage of 300 people. The delegation checked in at a fancy resort perched on the premises of Casa de Campo, 124 miles east of Santo Domingo, the country’s Tourism Department informed in a press release.

French agriculture engineer Philippe Coutin, 39, took over this week as new director of Havana Club International S.A., a joint venture forged between CubaRon and France’s Pernod Ricard. The partnership saw the light of day in 1993 with a mission to spread Cuban rum all around the world as much as possible.

The four-star Westfalen-Haus Hotel, an establishment whose Piroschka Restaurant is marked by exquisite cuisine and strict sanitary controls, became Paraguay’s first lodging to nab the ISO 9001 International Quality Certification. Following a thorough auditing process, officials agreed to give the ISO Certification to this facility in virtue of its high quality standards.

Penciled in as one of the world’s most sought-after travel destinations for honeymooners, Cancun has rapidly panned out to be a burning hell for many young Mexican couples that work in this Caribbean paradise. Overtime working hours –experts point out- is causing many pairs to split up. This Mexican Caribbean destination of 3 million inhabitants logged a new record high this year with 625 divorces. Federal labor authorities announced their intention to cut down on the increasing number of breakups by advocating for less working hours.

A new Cuban spirit –Cuban Barrel Proof- that went gold at a beverage and liquor fair in the U.S. city of Chicago promises to make the most demanding drinker’s day. In addition to the gold medal at the prestigious International Review of Spirits 2004 in Chicago, Illinois, the new Cuban rum walked off with a Certificate of Exceptionality in a contest that gathered 56 of the world’s best spirits, a spokesperson for the distillers told Caribbean News Digital.