The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will evaluate a group of both natural and cultural sites around the world to be declared Heritage of Mankind. The organization will look into some 33 cultural places and 8 historic sites proposed by a total of 36 countries. Mexico and Panama are the only Latin American nations that have presented their candidacies to UNESCO this year.

Ecological organization Greenpeace charged a group of Spanish hoteliers with undoing a mesh of national parks in the Dominican Republic for building new hotels in protected areas. In a press release issued over the weekend, Greenpeace environmentalists state the Dominican Republic could see the total surface of protected areas slashed by half if new environmental regulations finally win passage in the national Parliament.

Bent on giving a much better service and becoming the leading hotel chains in the Central American market, Princess Hotels has just inked a new franchise agreement with American peer Hilton. The new transaction will allow both companies to share facilities and combine quality and experience in Central American resorts. Princess, with lodgings in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador, will melt its expertise into Hilton´s world-class style to forge a new kind of superior service.

The Cozumel Tourism Promotion Trusteeship, teamed up with Mexicana de Aviacion and Aerocaribe, offered a breakfast at a well-known restaurant of the Mexican capital that was attended by approximately fifty journalists from the turf and overseas. The main reason for the treat was the announcement of a new commercial alliance entitled “Cozumel: the Island of Children.” The promotional initiative –the third of its kind held on the island in as any years to target local tourists- will expire on December 17.

The most genuine flavors of the Colombian cuisine will soon be wafting out of the country in the hands of skillful chefs and cooks from elsewhere. Located in Cartagena de Indias, the new school will offer courses and workshops for talented cooks, chefs, executives, housewives, college students and tourists.

Spain-based airline Iberia is expected to add twice as many plane seats on its flights from Madrid to Havana beginning on June 28 by replacing 249-passenger Airbus A340/300 with 430-seat Boeing 747/400 aircraft, Spanish travel publication Hosteltur reported this week. The air company´s decision comes on the heels of the good numbers this route has been putting on the board lately, with occupancy way over 90 percent and great expectations to see the amount of passengers accrue in the ongoing summertime season.