The penitentiary of Alcatraz, where such notorious criminals as Al Capone and Robert Stroud did time, is getting tourists hooked on it as much as Hollywood does. However, The Rock is increasingly needing a facelift that´s going to be paid for by selling cherished keepsakes to visitors: chunks of the prison´s old walls, just like some people did with the Berlin Wall.

The pieces of stone are supposed to allow organizers to rake in as many as $20,000 to $40,000. Shipping and handling fees, coupled with an authenticity warranty, set purchasers back $4.95.

Tourism, population increases, pollution caused by plague killers and poaching are jeopardizing the Tortuguero National Park in Costa Rica, the main spawning ground for the Caribbean green turtle.

Tight protection measures have failed to preserve this marine species that often reaches up to 1.40 meters long and whose spawning season kicked off this week in Tortuguero Beach, some 200 kilometers northeast of San Jose, authorities informed.

Pope John Paul II warned tourists about the “exploitation of people” and the temptation to deny the social realities by “burying their heads in the happy islands” during their stays in the world’s poorest countries.

In a message read to Catholics, the Pontiff remembered that mainly in developing nations, “tourists can hardly keep their eyes off the painful reality of poverty and starvation.”

Organizational problems have forced Colombian authorities to cancel the tourist caravans that were scheduled to hit the road to Venezuela last weekend. Col. Jaime Adolfo Leal, chief of the Colombian Highway Patrol, explained the motorcades were put off until next December due to insufficient time to plan them thoroughly.

The Brisas Trinidad del Mar Hotel, located in the Cuban province of Sancti Spiritus, is gunning for a reward to its environmental policy. According to experts, the green certification has only been bestowed on the island nation to the Meliá Varadero Hotel.

To this aim, the Trinidad del Mar is implementing an environmental protection program linked to the facility’s services. From the word go and long before its building, the resort was granted an environmental license.

Transmeridian Airlines has started flying to Puerto Rico with a flight that took off from Orlando (Fla.) and landed at the Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport. According to the airline’s new CEO Jose Suarez, the carrier will provide daily flights to the island, save on Tuesdays, with 168-seat aircraft.

“This new service beefs up Puerto Rico’s stance as the industry leader in the Caribbean, while it also enhances its tourist offer by adding low-fare flights beginning at $99 per trip without taxes,” Mr. Suarez said.