AUGUST 25, 2008. It was announced today that the Central America Tourism & Hotel Investment Exchange (CATHIE) will be held March 24-26, 2009, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel & Convention Center in Managua, Nicaragua.

Hosted by BHN, CATHIE focuses on the hotel and tourism investment opportunities in the rapidly growing Central America region. The Foreign Investment Advisory Service (FIAS) of The World Bank Group is supporting the event, and all seven Central American countries (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama) have been invited to become patrons of CATHIE. Last year’s inaugural event in Guatemala City, Guatemala, welcomed nearly 250 hotel and tourism industry leaders eager to network and learn about hotel investment opportunities in Central America.

A full program of timely, topical sessions will run along side an active networking/exhibit hall. The program will be developed with the assistance of the 2009 CATHIE Program Planning Committee comprised of leadership of Central America's investment promotion agencies, as well as industry leading hotel companies and advisors in the region. Program planning is about to begin, and information about the CATHIE program is available at www.CATHIEconference.com.

About CATHIE, Jim Burba, president of BHN, said "After a successful inaugural CATHIE in Guatemala this past April, we are looking forward to working with the Crowne Plaza Hotel & Convention Center, ProNicaragua and the government of Nicaragua as the hosts of this important and exciting investment forum for Central America and indeed for the global hotel and tourism industry. We were very impressed by the professionalism and the level of support at the highest levels in Nicaragua from both the public and private sector in hosting CATHIE. We believe this will translate into a stellar, showcase event for the entire region”. Burba added, “An important feature of CATHIE is the active involvement of the national investment promotion agencies in the region, and the showcasing of new and exciting investment opportunities from each of the participating countries. A significant level of deal making was reported at the first CATHIE which will contribute to the health and vitality of the tourism industry in the region. We expect even more deals and more deal activity in 2009, as the region continues to grow and attract attention of the global investment community.”

Javier Chamorro, Executive Director of PRONicaragua, the country´s Official Investment Promotion Agency said, “We are extremely excited to host such a prestigious event, we truly believe that this new edition will be a success, demonstrating that Central America as a whole has truly arrived as the next great destination for investment. For us specifically it will be a great opportunity to demonstrate our country´s enthusiasm towards attracting foreign investment and for participants an opportunity to confirm why many publications have called Nicaragua the next tourism hot spot.”