Francisco J. Ortiz has just been appointed to lead the Tourist Promotion Council of Mexico, an institution in charge of advertising the country’s tourist attractions both inside and out of the country. Mr. Ortiz –an executive with a college degree in Management and Finance and a longstanding career in the fields of marketing and communications both in the private and public sectors- took over in his new post last Sept. 11 to replace Maria Elena Mancha, who had remained at the council’s helm since Feb. 2002.

The World Monument Fund (WMF) set off the alarm for as many as 31 historic sites in the Americas that are currently reaching a level of deterioration as a result of threats and damages caused by natural disasters, pollution, reckless disregard and indiscriminate tourism.

These 31 locations are part of a list of the Top-100 Most Endangered Sites in the World published on a yearly basis by the WMF, a non-profitable organization devoted to the preservation of mankind’s historic, cultural and architectural heritage.

The Old City of Montevideo, an architectural jewel of the early 20th century with its Art Nouveau and Art Deco buildings –most of them are rundown and abandoned right now- will undergo an all-out refurbishment process with a view to bring former residents back and recapture its glamour as a tourist attraction.

Last week, Uruguayan authorities gave the green light to an all-embracing restoration program of Montevideo’s old core on the eve of the observance of the Heritage Days over the weekend.

Tourism stakeholders in Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) member countries are being given an opportunity to better prepare themselves to effectively participate in the ongoing trade negotiation process.

CTO has organized a two-day training workshop on Tourism Services Negotiation Issues to cover the fundamentals of trade negotiations. The workshop, to be held on October 2 and 3, 2003 at CTO headquarters in Barbados, will address the various services-related trade negotiations in which the Caribbean region is currently engaged.

Considered the best website as far as efficient promotion of the country’s tourism, investment, services and products at a domestic and world scale is concerned, the portal of Honduras’ Tourism Institute and Ministry (www.letsgohonduras.com) was presented in El Salvador with the 2003 Golden @, a regional award.

The distinction comes as an initiative of www.elsalvador.com –owned by El Diario de Hoy newspaper and Microsoft- with the intention of praising the best websites that show an active participation in the development of e-industry all over Central America.

Bringing in Spanish-speaking U.S. residents is the goal behind a new program entitled Our Mexico implemented by the Mexican Council of Tourism Promotion with a view to achieve a 50 percent increase in the number of foreign travellers and jack up revenues that have peaked $8.3 billion so far this year.

The promotional scheme was crafted on the basis of 8.9 million Mexicans and 14.4 million Mexican-Americans living in the United States, a figure that accounts for 8 percent of the country’s total population.