The Caribbean Tourism Organization is delighted that Excelencias Magazine has chosen in this issue to focus on multi-destination tourism since no other region on earth can provide the multitude and variety of experiences available to the visitor within the Caribbean region — a cultural potpourri that can be sampled in a single trip but is likely to bring you back again and again. The CTO members range from tiny island jewels with populations of a couple of thousand inhabitants to Mexico with its spectacular Caribbean coastline. Spanish, English, French, Dutch, Danish, African, Asian and Amerindian have all contributed to a cultural melange that is uniquely Caribbean. Island-hoppers can visit Old San Juan and colonial Santo Domingo where historic cathedrals, forts and streets paved with blue ballast tiles from 16th century galleons conjure up images of Mother Spain, see classic Georgian facades and pastelled Victorian houses in a tropical setting in the former British West Indies, and marvel at the gabled waterfront in Curacao — an Amsterdam painted with a Caribbean palette. Music, dance, painting, poetry and cuisine reflect a rich tapestry whose threads were woven by many peoples in many lands with an end result to reward the body and soul. The Caribbean looks forward to receiving the readers of Excelencias with a very special welcome.

Michael Youngman

In these Spring days we feel closer to the Caribbean and, although this is a reality for many people, we want it to be a reality for everybody.

For that reason, we continue bringing near each immense, unknown, curious, fascinating country and corner of this region. We will get you acquainted with exciting people that have a lot to offer and teach to those inhabiting a far region; those that are immersed in another lifestyle and another philosophy so different from that of Caribbean people; a life we want to escape so many times, especially when we see the first sunbeams.

Passing through that cultural wealth, we will give you ideas to organize the dreamed journey. We will take you to Colombia, the country of the Sacred Heart, where we will see all the wealth of its contrasts and legends. We will rest and enjoy the landscape of a natural paradise called Cayo Coco. We will vibrate with cockfights an amazing show, and, finally, we delight ourselves with recipes from the Venezuelan cuisine or a fine cigar at the world premiere of Trinidad’s in Havana.

We pretend to make shorted and more pleasant that pace of time elapsing before fulfilling the dream called Caribbean, learning to know it and love it first in our pages.

Welcome to the Caribbean, through the pages of Tourism Excellences.

The Caribbean is a complete multi-destination of opportunities for your ideal vacation: endless miles of beaches, nature and adventure travel, more than five hundred years of history and an extraordinarily rich culture, great shopping, casinos, water sports.. and much more!

The combination of cultures that have moulded our warm and hospitable people Spanish, African, French, Dutch and British es evident in every corner of the Caribbean islands. It is imprinted in our diverse and rich architecture, music, culture, arts, and of course, cuisine.

The Caribbbean has something for every taste and every budget, from small, quaint hotels, to megaresorts and all incluive properties. This is why we are the world's leading warm weather destination. A lifetime of vacation experiences await you here, in the Caribbean. Visit us soon, and many times after...

John Jefferies President of Hotel´s Asociation of the Caribbean