Oranjestad._ Aruba’s Eagle and Palm beaches were pigeonholed as the world’s finest by Porthole Cruise magazine -a publication bent on highlighting the ins and outs of the tourist cruise industry- following a poll conducted among its readers in February to pick the globe’s top-10 foreshores. Both beaches –known as the Turquoise Coast- were chosen on the basis of their 7-mile-long strips of white sands sprawling just a 10-minute drive from the port city of Oranjestad.

Kingston._ The North Coast Highway linking the renowned Montego Bay and Negril resorts is scheduled to be completed by April 30, 2002, as set by the Minister of Transport and Works, Robert Pickersgill. The Minister gives his assurance that motorist will be able to drive from Montego Bay to Negril with little or no delays. This assurance is linked to the Minister’s following quote “this is an election year so take our promises.”

Havana._ The Viñales Valley in Pinar del Rio, Cuba’s westernmost province, has everything it takes to develop nature tourism. Declared by UNESCO as Cultural Landscape of Mankind, the location is blessed with the largest cave systems on the island and in the Antilles.

Havana._ Canadian airline Air Transat started off in March the operation of one weekly flight from Canada to Sol Club Hotel, the Cuban destination in Cayo Largo del Sur, now sporting a piecemeal recovery of its traditional occupancy rates and its major market. There are now three flights –one from Italy and two from Canada- operating in that tourist circuit of the Canarreos Archipelago in southern Cuba.

Port of Spain._ Hilton Tobago is proud to announce the opening of the new PGA championship-designed Plantations Golf and Country Club, located adjacent to Hilton’s newest Caribbean property. Set against the windward side of the island’s southwestern coast, the 7,000-yard Par-72 course offers golfers 18 breathtaking holes in a tropical setting boasting palm trees, mangroves, and a sugar mill.

Havana._ The corporate group Cubanacán S.A., linked to the leisure industry in Cuba, is betting on expanding operations this year for an expected increase of 10.8 percent in revenues and up to 13.4 percent in tourists-days. Moreover, utilities must grow by more than 30 percent, while the lineal occupancy rate is expected to reach 61 percent, six percentage points more than in 2001.