The Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) and the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism have announced that the 29th Annual Caribbean Tourism Conference (CTC-29), will take place in the Islands of the Bahamas in October 2006.

A series of business meetings, involving ministers and commissioners of tourism, the board of directors and various CTO committees will immediately precede the conference.

The conference is the Caribbean region's premier caucus of tourism decision-makers, and an important event on the calendar of tourism practitioners and individuals doing business with the Caribbean.

This year, CTO and the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism expect to host over 600 tourism industry officials representing Caribbean governments, hotels, airlines, cruise lines, travel agents, tour operators, strategic partners and media representatives from around the world.

"We look forward to returning to the Islands of the Bahamas for our annual Caribbean Tourism Conference and anticipate that together with the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism we will create a programme that our delegates will find to be innovative and inspiring," said Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, CTO's secretary general.

"One very popular addition to CTC in recent times is the awarding of continuing education credits for master classes taken at the conference. That programme in conjunction with George Washington University will again be instituted at CTC-29," Vanderpool-Wallace added.

Couples Resorts receive top honours from TripAdvisor

MONTEGO BAY (Jamaica):

The numbers are tallied and the people have spoken ­ according to TripAdvisor's Travellers' Choice Awards, Couples Negril and Couples Sans Souci rank among the best on consumers' lists for a luxury vacation.

"It puts things in perspective, of all the hotels and resorts in the entire world that are included in TripAdvisor's three million reviews, Couples Resorts are ranked among the best of the best. That's no small feat," commented chief romance officer and senior vice president of sales & marketing, Randy Russell.

"Consumers are saying that if they could pick any resort in Jamaica, or in the world for that matter, Couples would be among the top on their wish list."

Only three Jamaican hotels made the Top 100 Luxury-World list. Couples Negril and Couples Sans Souci also rank #5 and #8 respectively on the Top 10 Luxury ­ Caribbean list.

Recipients are chosen based on the opinions of real travellers ­ millions of reviews and opinions posted online are used to determine the winners and their ranking.

Additionally, Couples Negril was also found among the top 10 best bargains in the Caribbean.

According to TripAdvisor's website, "The TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice award winners for 2005 were determined by a combination of TripAdvisor's popularity index and traveller ratings of specific attributes.

Tourism officials say Canada seen as Dullsville

TORONTO (Canadian Press):

Canada is boring to U.S. travellers who would rather visit Mexico and the Caribbean than the Great White North, tourism officials complained last week.

So they're urging all levels of government to make an effort to rebrand the country as an exciting place to visit.

Statistics from the Canadian Tourism Commission indicate Canada as a whole saw 4.6 per cent fewer U.S. travellers last year compared with 2004. Automobile traffic was down 6.7 per cent.

The decline was acutely felt in Ontario, a province visited by roughly 33 per cent fewer U.S. citizens over the last five years.

Chinese tourist arrivals hit 120 million

BEIJING, China (eTN) :

China's tourism sector which received 120 million visitors in 2005 has started its annual celebration ceremony in Xibaipo in Hebei province with this year's slogan "new countryside, new tourism, new experience and new fashion."

For statistical purposes, visitors from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are considered overseas visitors. The industry, which earned US$96 billion in 2005, expects a growth of eight per cent untill the end of the decade as the country continues to be a top travel destination for international travellers.

Income from domestic tourism reached US$66 billion, while international visitors contributed US$29.3 billion according to figures released by the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).

"This year's slogan is aimed at giving full play to the role played by the countryside in tourism development," said Shao Qiwei, director of CNTA.

China is setting a target of 64 million foreign visitors, in the process creating 10 million jobs and contributing revenue of US$53 billion income from its tourism industry during its 11th Five-Year Programme (2006 ­ 2010).

The tourism industry provided direct or indirect employment for 44.5 million people or 5.2 percent of the country's workforce in 2005.

"We aim to nurture tourism as a big contributor to the national economy in the next five years," added Shao.

For 2006, the industry has set a target of 130 million inbound tourists, up 8 per cent compared to 2005 and in the process creating 500,000 new jobs.

China is aiming to become the world's biggest destination for inbound travellers.