Santo Domingo - As the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that the cholera epidemic in Haiti -with more than 350 deaths and 5,000 infected- still hasn’t reached its peak, Dominican authorities extend its “sanitary loop” to the country’s east and north tourism regions, where most of the tourism industry is based.

Although inclement weather prevented two cruise ships from docking last month, October 2010 has turned out to be the best-ever October for the cruise ship industry in St. Kitts compared to the same month over the past 16 years.

Searches for major Caribbean destinations such as Jamaica and Barbados have slumped following last year’s rise in Air Passenger Duty, according to Cheapflights. With the tax due to increase again on November 1, Cheapflights has revealed that searches on its website for the eight most popular Caribbean destinations have fallen by 11.6 percent for the 12 months to the end of September 2010 compared to the previous year.

A Cuban airliner flying from the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba to the capital crashed in a mountainous area after declaring an emergency Thursday evening with 68 people aboard, including 28 foreigners, state media reported. There was no immediate word on whether any survived.

The Bahamas’ ministry of tourism and aviation named David Johnson director general of tourism, succeeding Vernice Walkine, who joined the executive management team of the Nassau Airport Development Company and Lynden Pindling International Airport.

Sunny Land Tours is offering packages for travel to Colombia that include visits to Bogota, Santa Marta, Cartagena(a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and the Coffee Triangle. The packages start at $399 per person double occupancy land only.