Over 41 percent of coral reefs off the Caribbean-bathed Bay Islands in Honduras, the world´s second-largest coral barrier, died over the past decade. Experts from the Bay Islands Environmental Management Project (PMAIB is the acronym in Spanish) noted the coral demise in the area stems from heavy deforestation of mangrove thickets and the destruction of marine vegetable life, by far the two biggest natural filters that keep pollution at bay.

Spanish television station TVE2 has picked the Caribbean island of Aruba for an entire program on its primetime Sunday slot Paraisos Cercanos (Nearby Paradises) anchored by Raul Alda and airing on July 18 at 9:45 pm (Spanish time). The choice of this major TV channel was made on the basis that Aruba is one of the nearby paradises for the Spanish travel market. The 55-minute film recounts the natural beauties the Happy Island (as it is also known) has to offer tourists, especially its gorgeous beaches and good security.

Three of the region’s top print, radio and television reporters were honored by Counterpart International at the recently concluded Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism (CMEx) in Castries, St. Lucia. Arelis Pena Brito, a reporter from El Caribe News in the Dominican Republic, was recognized for her intensive coverage of the struggles to maintain the balance between commerce and environment in her native island during closing ceremonies held at the Sandals Grande St. Lucian last month.

In an effort to bring in more tourists to Mexico, the Latin American nation is stepping up the creation of the so-called Flavor Circuits in all of its top travel destinations, the country’s Tourism Secretary Rodolfo Elizondo informed today. The millenary and traditional cuisine of the Aztec nation is a major piece of Mexico’s tourism offer, as well as the new dishes that have come out of the hands of today’s innovative chefs and cooks, Mr. Elizondo pointed out at the opening of the 2004 Exporestaurants, a tradeshow that concluded this week in Mexico.

Air Canada has just started three weekly nonstop flights from Toronto to Bogota and Caracas, in addition to the routes the companies opened to Santiago, Buenos Aires, San Jose and Havana in December last. As part of the promotional blitz, the carrier is offering lower round-trip airfares to Bogota and Caracas through August 30 and September 1, respectively, plus a 2,500-mile bonus for frequent flyers.

American sunbathers are becoming increasingly drawn by destinations in Brazil and Costa Rica, the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (CTI) revealed this week. According to a recent CTI report, the presence of U.S. visitors in Costa Rica was up a staggering 21 percent between 2003 and 2004, for a grand total of 510,760 tourists.