This year's conference theme: Keeping the Right Balance: Land and Sea Encounters, highlights the impact of land and sea-based activities on the sustainability of coastal areas and the resources necessary for sustainable tourism development.

This is the second consecutive year that the ACS and CTO have collaborated for this conference - the first was held in St Kitts & Nevis in September 2003. "This conference promotes for both organisations the continuation and elevation of the levels of cooperation in the implementation of integrated policies for sustainable tourism" said ACS Secretary General, Dr Rubén Silié during the Opening Ceremony at the Habana Libre Hotel.

The 4-day conference brings together over 100 participants representing regional and international tourism experts, government Ministers and officials, development experts and local community sectors to share their experiences and offer solutions to problems in the development of sustainable tourism.

The Secretary General pointed out that tourism is one of the main economic engines for the Greater Caribbean, given its impact on foreign exchange and employment, as well as on the regional integration process as a whole. In 2003, international tourism suffered the ravages of September 11, SARS, the war in Iraq and the overall slowdown of the global economy, to the tune of a 1.2% decrease. In the insular Caribbean and Central America, however, there was actually an increase of 7 and 3.4% respectively, due principally to the Dollar's weakness and the quick response of governments and industry. According to Silié, the Greater Caribbean benefits from its natural endowments as well as from the initial advantage of being at the geographical crossroads of the world's principal tourism markets.

The conference, he explained, will "analyse both the successes and difficulties experienced in the region, so that past experiences can be used in correcting the present and projecting a future which is more in tune with the realities and identified challenges".