AeroMexico, Air Canada, Air France, Alaska Air, American, America West, ATA, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Continental, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, Horizon Air, Japan Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Mexicana, Northwest, United and US Airways have all been sued by 49 U.S. travel agencies in association with ATTAC (Anti Trust Travel Agent Compensation) on counts of conspiracy to try to do away with commission fees over the past five years. The plaintiff group reckons the lump sum at stake hovers around $200 million.

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) appointed Julia Hendry as marketing director for Europe to represent the 32 member states grouped in this regional organization based in London, the U.K. From his new post, Mrs. Hendry will try to further the CTO’s marketing policies in Europe by paying close heed to the design, implementation and management of both marketing and PR strategies of tourist programs.

Iberia has just been labeled as the Best Airline Flying European Routes and the Best Airline Flying South American, Mexican and Caribbean Routes, according to Agent Travel magazine during the Ninth Edition of the Travel Ranking Awards.

Several South American air carriers are weighing a possible interconnection of their flights in an effort to give tourism a mighty leg up among the countries of the region.

Alvaro Benavides, chairman of the Tourism Committee attached to the Lima Chamber of Commerce, explained the initiative turned up on the heels of a recent meeting held in the Peruvian capital by industry authorities from ten regional countries.

Venezuela and Colombia put two motorcades of their own on the road to foster tourism in the northern borderline regions. These caravans with routes spanning the Venezuelan northwest and the Colombian northeast ground to a halt last Sunday and managed to build a fire under family travel.

The so-called Vive Colombia Tourist Motorcades covered their routes through the Colombian cities of Bucaramanga (northwest) and Pamplona (northeast) to come to a close in the Venezuelan city of San Cristobal del Tachira (northwest).

Corporate group Homeport Canada Inc. has just unveiled CubanTravell.com in Havana, an online travel agency embracing all tourist modalities developed on the island nation.

The goal behind this effort is the promotion of Cuba’s cultural, historic and natural values, as well as to provide surfers of the world wide web with access to the island’s health care system and a chance to take a firsthand look at the Cuban reality.