Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), St. Kitts and Nevis’ Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Sen. the Hon. Richard “Rickey” Skerritt said there were six key conclusions reached at the first ever Caribbean Tourism Summit (CTS) which ended in Europe.

Barbados has been dealt a major blow to its cruise business with the loss of two major cruise lines for the upcoming summer and winter seasons. Executive vice-president of the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Sue Springer, said the Royal Caribbean line had announced the removal of all its ships from the southern Caribbean during summer 2012.

Barcelo Hotels & Resorts today announced the appointment of Monica Legrottaglie as Director of Meeting & Incentive Sales for the Northeast Region of the USA. Located in New Jersey, Ms. Legrottaglie will oversee meeting and incentive sales for New York, New Jersey, New England and Pennsylvania. Ms. Legrottaglie joins the North American team of sales and incentive specialists who support the meeting and incentive business for Barcelo's portfolio of worldwide hotels and resorts.

Tourist arrivals in Hawaii have slowed as problems from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami continue to unfurl and radiation concerns mount. Booking slowdowns from U.S. travelers, Hawaii’s main visitor market, are adding to damage brought about by thousands of cancellations from Japan.

WestJet has appointed Cheryl Smith executive vice president and chief information officer. Smith has more than 30 years experience in information technology implementation, infrastructure and operation in a number of industries, including energy, telecommunications, manufacturing, health care and consulting.

A new World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)/UN Women report launched at the ITB tourism fair in Berlin (March 11, 2011) says that women make up an important percentage of the tourism workforce, but more work must be done to close the wealth and skills gap between men and women employed in tourism.