A session by aviation attorney Bryan Winters on public-private partnerships in the tourism and transportation industries on Wednesday at the Caribbean Aviation Meetup in Nassau, Bahamas, led to an announcement yesterday that a Caribbean Airlift Alliance has been formed.

The Caribbean region’s largest aviation conference will take flight in Nassau, Bahamas this June, bringing together major players from the aviation and tourism industries, travel professionals, academics and investors.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called on the governments of Latin America and the Caribbean to focus on infrastructure, costs and the region’s regulatory framework.

Half of all tourists who travel to the Caribbean annually arrive by air, IATA found.

After 19 years without ties in aviation, Dominican Republic and Haiti announced an agreement for commercial flights between both nations.

Civil Aviation Board (JAC) president Luis Ernesto Camilo said there were more than 1.2 million passengers to the various tourist destinations in April on over 9,000 flights, or 12.4% higher compared to April 2016.