The 15th edition, second in Cuba, of MITM Americas, Meetings and Incentive Travel Market, is receiving a surprising amount of registration requests from meetings and incentives organizers from Europe and also the United States, to participate as hosted buyers, as well as from exhibitors from all the Americas.

MITM, which will take place next November 18th and 19th, accepts a maximum of 100 exhibitors and the same number of buyers, and has already received more than 300 participation requests from buyers of 16 countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden and UK, as well as the US, Canada, Mexico and Brazil.

PATA has taken another significant step towards important and necessary changes in its structure and governance. Members of the Association have been notified of an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) scheduled for Saturday 26 September 2009 in Hangzhou, China (PRC) in conjunction with the PATA Board of Directors’ meeting being held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Hangzhou from 25-27 September 2009.

With climate change and the global recession driving the current international political agenda, both politicians and businesses are increasingly drawn towards the idea of a global green economy.

The tourism sector is at the frontline of these key issues, yet is unlikely to receive the attention it deserves in the current high-level discussions concerning the replacement of the Kyoto protocol to be finalised in Copenhagen this December.

Exhibitor registrations for ITB Asia are up 20% compared to same period last year. With three months to the show, new exhibiting organisations include the Japan National Tourism Organization, THAI Airways International, Qatar Airways and Sharjah Tourism. The city tourism bodies of Shanghai, Osaka and Busan have united to promote their own unique “Golden Triangle” at ITB Asia for the first time.

Companies that participated in AIME 2009 have until Friday 4 September to select their preferred space at AIME 2010 (18th Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo) at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, 2 & 3 March. From Monday 7 September space on the floor plan will be open to new exhibitors.

All the information required in order to book space at AIME 2010 is available on the AIME website (www.aime.com.au), including a downloadable floor plan, prices, stand options, furniture packs and information on the hosted buyer program and pre-scheduled appointments.

This year’s Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards saw no less than two Thai cities voted among the top 10. Travel + Leisure readers voted Bangkok on third and Chiang Mai on fifth place of the world’s top cities. Also, the top 100 hotels worldwide feature eight hotels in Thailand, with top spots achieved by the Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle in Chiang Rai (7th place) and the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok (20th place).