AIR CANADA VACATIONS HURRICANE WILMA UPDATE Air Canada Vacations has cancelled all departures scheduled for this weekend and Monday to Cancun, Mexico, as it cannot guarantee full delivery of all hotel features and facilities. Flight cancellations are as follows: [Full text]

CTC-28 CONFERENCE OPENS IN U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS Pamela C. Richards The 28th Annual Caribbean Tourism Conference (CTC-28) opened yesterday with a ceremony held at Frenchman's Reef and Morningstar Marriot Beach Resort in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands with more than 700 CTC-28 delegates attending. "The theme of this year's conference, Tourism: Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, CTO Secretary General; Honorable Pamela C. Richards, Commissioner of Tourism, USVI and Chairman of CTO; Governor Charles W. Turnbull, USVI The Business of the Caribbean, speaks to the branding of the Caribbean as a means of leveraging this region's distinct advantages for the benefit and profit of its citizens and travel industry partners," said Commissioner Pamela C. Richards, U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism and Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization. The annual industry event offers travel professionals access to informative seminars and master classes exploring technology, trends, marketing and communications. [Full text]

GOWAY TRAVEL TICKET AGENT FOR MELBOURNE COMMONWEALTH GAMES Goway Travel has been appointed as the Official Ticket Agent for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games March 15 to 26, 2006. "As experts on selling travel to Australia, we are pleased to promote the Games to Canadians as well as highlight the tremendous variety of vacation experiences Melbourne has to offer," said Bruce Hodge, President, Goway Travel. "Australia's most cosmopolitan city not only features world class events such as the games, but some of Australia's greatest experiences." Melbourne hosts many of Australia's leading annual attractions. It is the site of the annual Australian Open, one of only four Grand Slam tournaments on the professional tennis tour. [Full text]

RICK MCCAULEY TAKES UP BARCELO SALES & MARKETING POST Rick McCauley Barcelo Hotels & Resorts has announced the appointment of Rick McCauley as Director of Sales & Marketing for Canada. McCauley is a veteran travel industry expert with more than 25 years of experience specializing in the tour operator market.  He will oversee all of the group and tour business originating in Canada for Barcelo Hotels & Resorts.  Mr. McCauley is headquartered in Toronto and can be reached at:  r.mccauley@barcelo.com. McCauley joins Barcelo as the company prepares for the December opening of its two new all-inclusive five-star hotels on the Mayan Riviera: The Barcelo Tropical Beach hotel and the Barcelo Colonial Beach hotel, as well as the Company 's recent acquisition of the Barcelo La Jolla de Mismaloya, all suites hotel in Puerto Vallarta. [Full text]

NOLITOURS ADDS MARGARITA INTERNATIONAL RESORT & VILLAGE - BONUS Margarita International Resort & Village Nolitours has added the Margarita International Resort & Village to their Margarita Island program this winter. The 2+star all-inclusive resort is located across the road from the beach and five minutes from downtown, with the famous Cocoa Beach only 10 minutes away. As a special bonus, two children (2 to 6) stay and eat free when sharing a room with two adults. Clients can also save $40 per couple when they book by December 15, 2005 for travel January 4, 2006 onwards.  A one-week all-inclusive holiday at the Margarita International Resort & Village starts as low as $959 per person excluding taxes and fees. [Full text]

CTO-CHA JOINT AGREEMENT PLEDGES COOPERATION ON CARIBBEAN TOURISM Berthia Parle - CHA Vincent Vanderpool Wallace - CTO An agreement has been signed by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) in which the two organizations pledged "full cooperation and collaboration between the public and private sectors of the Caribbean tourism industry in order for tourism development to proceed in a coherent, effective and efficient manner." Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, secretary general of the Caribbean Tourism Organization, said, "We have put together this Memorandum of Understanding so that we move forward as one Caribbean because it makes us stronger together." [Full text]

CUBANO JAZZ Tucan Travel has created a two-week journey travelling almost the entire length of Cuba, where the distinct sounds of Cuban jazz will be the audio theme throughout. Cuban jazz, which is an intrinsic part of the island's culture, is a sound all its own, with European brass, African percussion and American jazz influences. Improvisation, 6/8-rhythm and the Afro-Caribbean soul come together to create this unique, joyful and hypnotic music. [Full text]

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