HOTEL BOOKINGS PLUNGE. Hotel bookings in the Caribbean are plunging as financial turbulence dashes vacation plans, and hoteliers and governments ramp up marketing efforts and slash prices, reports Reuters (Nov. 8, 2008). Cruise operators, whose ships ply the warm, azure waters of the Caribbean and upon which many islands depend, have also warned of a slowdown in bookings worldwide: The economic downturn following the global credit crunch, and once-surging oil prices that increased air fares and prompted airlines to cut flights, are having an effect, with Caribbean hoteliers reporting drops of 30% to 50% in bookings. The real pain will be felt during the high season (Dec. 15-April 15), when many flee the cold north for the Caribbean's sun-drenched beaches. "The forecast is for a bad winter," said Clarisa Jimenez, president of the Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Assn;

The US accounts for 50% of the Caribbean tourism market, which attracts 22 million visitors and injects US$21.6 billion into island economies each year. Europe accounts for another 40% of the region's tourists, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization, which said bookings are off from both major sources;

AMR Corp's American Airlines, which controls 60%t of the traffic out of San Juan, PR, cut half its 38 daily flights from the US. It also cut to 33 from 55 the number of daily regional flights from San Juan to smaller Caribbean islands. Resorts are slashing prices, and in some cases pitching in to bring down the cost of airfares. The tourism industry and island governments are kicking up their marketing efforts, focusing on places "less vulnerable" to the financial crisis, such as Canada.

US$350 MILLION FROM CHINA. China was officially inducted as a member of the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) and committed US$350 million for public and private sector projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, reports AFP (Oct. 24, 2008):

IDB's President Alberto Luis Moreno said "China is now this region's second biggest trading partner after the United States," adding that the loan would help to "bolster some of our program in the public and private sectors at a time when the world economy is under duress". The funding would be accessible to all member states of the Latin American and Caribbean region, Moreno said, adding that China would now be given a seat on the Bank's Board of Governors and would be a member of the Board of Directors.

Of that money, US$125 million will go to the IDB'S funds for special operations to provide soft loans to Bolivia, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua; US$75 million will go to multiple IDB grant funds to strengthen the capacity of member states including municipal governments and private sector institutions; US$75 million will be allocated to the Inter American Investment Corp. which lends to small and mid-sized business; and US$75 million will be placed in the bank's multilateral investment fund.

LEHMAN'S FALL STALLS RESORTS. The bankruptcy of US investment bank Lehman Brothers has forced developers to fire 500 workers and suspend construction at an unfinished resort, developers said, reports AP (Oct. 22, 2008):

The US$1 billion Cap Cana resort was relying on a US$250 million loan from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which went bankrupt Sept. 15. The first US$50 million never arrived to Sinercon, the company overseeing the project, and construction will be delayed until a new revenue source is found, said project spokesman Ellis Perez;

Earlier in October, the Lehman Brothers crisis paralyzed work on a 125-room hotel, marina and condo project in the Turks & Caicos Islands. Ashtrom Group Ltd. said 60 Chinese laborers owed back wages had prevented employees of the Israeli company from leaving a work site on tiny West Caicos. The dispute arose after Logwood Hotel Development Co., the developers of a Ritz-Carlton Molasses -Reef project financed by Lehman Bros., suspended construction. Ashtrom, hired by Logwood to build the resort, was about two months from finishing it when construction was halted. The dispute was resolved when the company agreed to pay the wages

CARIBBEAN FOOD & DRINK REPORT. Research & Markets on Nov. 3 announced the addition of the "Caribbean Food and Drink Report Q4 2008" report to its offering, providing independent forecasts and competitive intelligence. Details: Laura Wood. Email: press@ researchandmarkets. com. USA Fax: 646-607-1907 Rest of world fax: +353-1-481-1716. Web: http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/ 06cf27/Caribbean_food_and

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