The status is important for most of the tourism-concentrated economies in the region, yet it is only being extended to those countries that have diplomatic relations with the gigantic country of 1.3 billion residents.

In 2003, China sent an astounding 23 million tourists abroad who spent $16 billion. Recipient countries include Antigua-Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Suriname, and Trinidad-Tobago.

Absent from the list are Belize, St. Kitts-Nevis, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines, member states of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), as well as the Dominican Republic (D.R.) and Haiti.

Those countries still maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which China considers a breakaway province. Until recently, the only country in the Americas to have the coveted designation was Cuba.

The status should boost tourist arrivals in the Caribbean as booming China is forecast by the World Travel Organization to emerge as the No. 4 source of outbound travelers by 2020, when it will send 100 million people abroad.

By: Prensa-Latina