India

Immigration scams could give bad name to travel industry: agents

New Delhi - The immigration racket involving 39 fake Indian pilgrims busted in New Zealand and the BBC sting exposing a massive scam in Britain involving Indians will give the travel industry a bad na

just because you are single, doesn't mean you are a sucker

4 ways the travel industry discriminates against singles

Flying solo? Prepare to pay up.

Australia

Accreditation scheme planned for tourism

The federal government is aiming to rid the tourism industry of "shonky operators" with a new accreditation scheme.

Ghana

Ghana’s hospitality and tourism industry Squatters threaten progress at major hotel site

As the country strives for economic growth, Ghana’s governments have made strenuous efforts to get the hospitality industry – tourism – to contribute more to the national kitty over the years.

Price-fixing case

Airline price-fixing case sheds light on industry: analysts

SINGAPORE — Last month's agreement by Cathay Pacific and three other airlines to plead guilty and pay more than half a billion dollars in criminal fines has shed light on industry price-fixing, anal

Crucial Tools And Information Necessary To Prepare And Implement Crisis Preparedness Plans

ALTA'S 2008 Aviation Crisis Preparedness Conference scheduled for September 10 - 11, 2008 in Miami

ALTA's (Latin America and Caribbean Air Transport Association) Aviation Crisis Preparedness Conference, designed to educate and arm executives with the crucial tools and information necessary to prepa

Hainan Airlines

Soros-backed Chinese airline hangs tough

Upstart Hainan Airlines is pushing ahead with expansion plans despite a daunting 8% fuel hike for Chinese carriers.

Australia

Desperately seeking a tourist trap

Bloody hell. Australian tourism is in the doldrums with the number of first-time visitors going backwards over the past seven years.

Caribbean tourism

Caribbean tourism - unplanned and in crisis

Last week in Washington, DC, Dr Alan Greenspan, the chairman of the United States Federal Reserve up to 2006, addressed the Caribbean Tourism Organisation's (CTO) first annual Caribbean Tourism Summit

San Francisco

Tourists live it up while poor San Franciscans take stay-cations

Based on recent figures from the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau, tourists shelled out a record $8.2 billion in the City by the Bay last year, 6.2 percent more than in 2006.

Recent airline troubles don't signal the end of the industry, just a return to its past

Déjà Vu Skies

Thirty years of plopping myself down in seat 2B has made me older, balder, and fatter, but I have gained a lot of perspective too.

Cruises: Can The Bubble Keep Afloat?

With oil prices rising and Britons seeking to tighten their belts is the cruise industry set to suffer?

A couple of weeks ago, the Passenger Shipping Association celebrated its 50th anniversary at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, using the occasion to announce just how buoyant (if you’ll forgive the pun) cruising had been in 2007.

Better Prepared To Manage Through Today's Uncertainty

American Airlines tackles current challenges head on

Gerard Arpey, chairman and chief executive officer of AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines, Inc., said today that the world's largest airline continues to tackle "head on" the challenges of record fuel prices and economic concerns and is much better positioned than it was several years ago to manage through the current ... read more

Argentina

Farmers' revolt hits tourist industry in Argentina

On March 11 Argentina's President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner announced a series of taxes on farm exports such as soya and wheat. Aimed at curbing inflation and improving Argentina's ever worsening fiscal balance, it was the second major agricultural tax hike in just four months.

Primarily Due To People Factors Rather Than High Prices

Overall satisfaction in airline industry declines to three-year low

Deteriorating levels of customer service provided by airline staff, rather than high fares and additional charges for amenities, have led to a significant decline in customer satisfaction with airline carriers, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 North America Airline Satisfaction Study(SM) released today.

"Australia" To Rescue Australian Tourism

The movie Australia sets scene for tourism coup

Australia hopes to cash in on Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman's love affair in Baz Luhrmann's latest film.

Australia is expected to do more for tourism than any other film since Crocodile Dundee in 1986.

Set in northern Australia in the 1930s, the film stars Kidman as Lady Sarah Ashley.

Nigeria

Ministry to reposition tourism

The Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Adetokunbo Kayode, says tourism in Nigeria will soon be repositioned in line with international best practices following a national retreat to be organised by the ministry soon.

Halal Fraud

Muslims clamp down on halal fraud

When most people go shopping for meat, they don’t put much thought into the task beyond the quality and the price.

Former AMR And AA Chief On The State Of The Industry

Crandall looks at the airline industry, doesn't like what he sees

Former AMR and American Airlines chief Robert L. Crandall spoke Tuesday night to the Wings Club in New York, and had some interesting ideas.

Company Sees Growth Opportunity

GuestLogix provides Q2 outlook and comments on current airline industry trends

Toronto-based GuestLogix Inc. (TSX-V:GXI) a leading provider of on-board retail systems to the passenger travel industry, today provided its outlook for Q2 fiscal 2008 and commented on the impact of escalating fuel costs on its business.

2008 Business Travel Survey

Buyers' prospects rise after hotels' strong '07

Travel buyers are beginning to see better negotiating opportunities as the seemingly insurmountable momentum propelling the hotel industry for the past few years begins to show signs of slowing, even though 2007 proved another banner year for hoteliers in terms of rate and revenue growth and profit.

No More Magic Wands Or Tricks For The Airline Industry

Airline expert says it's time for a new low-cost era in US air travel

For US airlines, these are desperate times, and legacy carriers are behaving like desperate creatures, slashing capacity and closing hubs. "It's all in vain," said airline expert and CEO of Airsavings, Raphael Bejar, "It's years too late and millions of dollars too short."

Supplier Site Gains Fueled By Economy Brands

Online hotel bookings continue shift from online travel agencies to supplier sites

In a study released today by comScore, Inc. of the online travel industry, statistics showed that supplier websites account for 72 percent of online hotel spending as of the first quarter of 2008, a 3-percentage point increase in dollar share from the previous year. Hotel market share through online travel agency sites (e.g.

U.S. Airline Industry Drama Is The Corporate Equivalent To Reality TV

To save the airlines, let the world buy them

Listening to the drama in the U.S. airline industry is the corporate equivalent to reality TV these days: Who's forming alliances, who thinks it's a good idea (airline execs), who's skeptical (unions) and who gets completely left out of the discussion (consumers).

Canada

Canada's tourism industry on verge of crisis

A report due out Monday says the Canadian tourism industry is on the verge of a crisis.

Many things have been blamed for recent downturn of the Canadian tourism industry including gas prices, the high Canadian dollar, the downturn in the U.S. economy, 9-11 and the SARS crisis.

Snowless Alps?

Alps hit by two-decade decline in snowfall

PARIS — A forthcoming study has added to worries that the Alpine ski industry will be badly affected by global warming, the British weekly New Scientist reports.

A "dramatic step-like drop" in the amount of snow falling in the western European mountain chain occurred in the late 1980s and since then snowfall has never recovered, it ... read more

Industry News

Word of mouth 'important part of travel industry'

A new piece of research has illustrated the importance of word of mouth in the travel industry.

Consumer research group Mintel polled 1,400 people who had taken a holiday in the past five years and found that 34% chose their destination on the basis of a face-to-face recommendation, Travel Weekly reports.

Sir Richard Branson: More Airlines Become Casualties Of Rising Fuel Prices

Virgin Atlantic boss Branson warns of more consolidation in airline industry

According to Sir Richard Branson casualties of rising fuel prices could increase in the airline industry.

The Virgin Atlantic boss warned that rising costs could offset earnings, forcing small companies to merge or be forced out of business. Branson also said that oil, which is currently close to $150 a barrel could go as high as $200 a ... read more

BITE

BITE 'brings the world to Bahrain'

Bahrain's tourism industry's contribution to the country's GDP will substantially grow in the coming years, a minister declared yesterday. Information Minister Jihad Bukamal also praised the high standard and the quality of products displayed at the Bahrain International Travel Expo (BITE 2008), which opened at the Bahrain International ... read more

Australian Tourism In Need Of Help

Australia fast-tracks visas to draw tourism skills

The Australian tourism industry will be a primary beneficiary of an effort to clear a backlog of applications for temporary skilled migration visas by next month.