Travel Industry Articles

(Dive Travel Business News - May 29, 2009) -- The travel industry faces still another federal mandate with the June 1 deadline for implementation of the Western  Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). But luckily, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency assures us they will be flexible and practical in implementation, allowing U.S. and Canadian citizens, if otherwise admissible, to be able to re-enter the United States when the new WHTI rules are implemented.

“CBP’s mission is to protect our borders,” said CBP Acting Commissioner Jayson P. Ahern. “WHTI implements a key 9/11 Commission recommendation by requiring secure travel documents while facilitating entry. We will be practical and flexible in implementing WHTI using the same informed compliance approach that proved successful during other major changes at our borders over the last two years.” read more »

(Wednesday November 12, 2008 - CNN) -- A federal task force approved voluntary guidelines Wednesday for airlines and airports dealing with passengers stranded for hours on the tarmac but produced no fixed limit on how long they can be delayed before being allowed to leave planes.

Passengers who had hoped for stronger protections were left empty-handed by the guidelines.

"You have to admit that the game is still heavily weighted to business as usual," Kate Hanni, a passenger rights advocate, told her fellow task force members before voting against adoption of the report.

Passenger rights advocates said the report of the tarmac task force, as it is informally known, reflected demands by airline members that they have the flexibility to design their own response plans and not be pinned to a time limit for holding passengers on tarmacs.

Task force member Daniel Rutenberg of the International Airline Passengers Association also expressed disappointment at the lack of "time-specific triggers" for allowing passengers to return to gates and appealed to Transportation Secretary Mary Peters to address the issue. read more »

(May 6, 2008 - Modern Agent) -- This is an excerpt from an editorial by James Ruggia of Modern Agent:

The Cayman Islands famous dive market is going through unusual times as PADI is reporting a decrease in the number of people taking the course for scuba certification.

But dive operators here are seeing a possible return to the Caribbean by divers as more exotic dive locales are priced out of the market. “Such exotic destinations as Fiji, Tahiti and Palau were doing well until about six months ago,” says Yvonne Oyler, a dive travel specialist with Cape Coral, Fla.-based Aqua Dreams Travel. “As the fear of a slowing economy took roost we’ve seen those travelers come back to the Caribbean. The Cayman Islands has great beaches, solid infrastructure, shopping, easy air access and really great diving. So it appeals to divers and their non-diving spouses.”

The Cayman Islands dive market, which is naturally attracted to the superb reefs and the far ranging visibility under water, is also trending away from strictly diving towards soft adventure activities ranging from deep-sea fishing to sea-kayaking. read more »

(May 15, 2008 - Travel Daily News.com) -- In a first-ever summer forecast for foreign travel, AAA expects 25.1 million Americans will be travelling internationally this summer, an increase of 2.6 percent over the 24.5 million who were estimated to have traveled overseas last summer. The report includes all travel outside of the United States, including Canada and Mexico. According to the report, which was produced by Global Insight, American travelers will be spending $30.7 billion while traveling internationally during the months of June, July and August. American spending overseas will increase by 5.7 percent, primarily due to inflation and the weakness of the U.S. dollar compared to several major currencies.

“Americans are working harder and longer than ever, and they feel their vacation is a benefit that they have earned,” said Betsy Sell, Managing Director of Travel for AAA. “Foreign travel is still the ideal trip for many Americans, and summer is the prime season to go. So, Americans will rearrange their budgets and postpone some trips, but they are still interested in traveling abroad.” read more »

(May 15, 2008 - CNNMoney.com) -- As if high fuel prices aren’t enough, airlines and passengers are getting pinched by rising taxes as the U.S. government demands a bigger piece of the pie.

About 20% of the price of a $300 domestic round-trip ticket goes to taxes and fees, according to the Air Transport Association, compared with 13% in 1992 and 7% in 1972.

“When the government decides to throw another tax on passengers, that is greatly hurting an already financially hurting industry,” said ATA spokesman David Castelveter. “We’ve long said that we are one of the most overtaxed industries, and we now are dealing with record-level fuel increases. The airline industry is in a worse financial situation than it was on 9/11.”

Rick Seaney, chief executive of online ticket vendor Farecompare.com, dissected ticket prices and estimated that the U.S. government reaped $40 billion in airline ticket taxes in 2007.

Seaney broke down the price of a $300 domestic round-trip flight: read more »

(January 21, 2008 - DTN) -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reminding travelers that beginning Jan. 31 border crossers will be asked to present documents denoting citizenship and identity when entering the United States through land and sea ports of entry. This change primarily affects United States and Canadian citizens, who have previously been permitted entry by oral declaration alone, and marks the transition toward standard and consistent documents for all travelers entering the country. It is also the start of a more robust and concerted public education campaign, intended to inform travelers of document requirements which will be implemented next year.

Beginning Jan. 31, travelers will be asked to present documentation from a specified list of acceptable documents when entering the U.S. at land and sea ports of entry. Examples include birth certificates and driver’s licenses. read more »

(May 20, 2008 - Modern Agent) -- Last month PhoCusWright released the Travel Agency Distribution Landscape report, which describes agents today as a large, dynamic opportunity in the market. And that comes from an organization which has, until now, mostly focused on online travel.

PhoCusWright says that while the Internet has been a significant area of growth and central driver of change in travel distribution over the past decade, the traditional travel agency segment remains significant, compelling, and deserving of careful study and consideration. According to the report, U.S. travel agents sold $110 billion in 2006, representing 41 percent of the total $266 billion travel market. The report says agents sold $107 billion, or 38 percent of the market in 2007, and projects that agency sales will be 33 percent of the total market by 2009. Yes, that’s a drop, but the report notes specifically that the rate of share loss has slowed. read more »

(January 11, 2008 - PATA) -- PATA is warning that rising oil prices, the spread of the sub-prime credit issue in international markets and the slow down in the U.S. economy are all taking their toll on world consumer confidence.

According to the latest Global Consumer Confidence Study conducted by The Nielsen Company, more than a quarter of global consumers expect a global recession in 2008, resulting in a dip in confidence in 21 of the 48 markets surveyed. Globally, more than 50 percent of people are concerned that a recession will lead to unemployment and inflation.

Thai, Chinese Taipei and Italian consumers are most pessimistic about a global recession in the next 12 months. However, 40 percent of the world’s consumers do not believe there will be a global recession next year. For more information, visit www.pata.org.

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(March 27, 2008 - DTN) -- Answers Corporation has announced the launch of ANSWERS.travel, a site that vows to answer any type of travel-related question. The company has trained travel agents across the globe who are able to answer most questions within 72 hours. It also features a service whereby users can ask any travel related question such as “I am going to Argentina in March, do I need to bring warm clothing?” An ANSWERS.travel representative will research the question and promptly answer it within 24 hours

The Site also has a tool that enables users to search the top 20 travel websites such as Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Priceline, Kayak, HotWire, SideStep, and other major travel websites at the same time with one click without having to search each website individually.

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