Tourism

• Friday, May 18th 2012 - 09:15 UTC

  UN Tourism office forecasts record over a billion international tourist arrivals

  

  More than one billion tourists will take a trip this year crossing an international boundary, a threshold never before reached, UN officials told a meeting tourism ministers gathering in Mexico this week.

• Thursday, May 17th 2012 - 10:41 UTC

  “Highly positive” cruise 2011/12 season for Uruguay with 213 vessel calls

  

  As “highly positive” was described the 2011/12 cruise season by Uruguay’s Deputy Tourism minister Lilian Kechichian during the ceremony in the port of Montevideo to receive the last vessel of the season.

• Monday, May 14th 2012 - 18:43 UTC

  Falklands recognizes outstanding contributions to the Islands’ tourism development

  

  A gala ball was held on 12th May to highlight the achievements of the tourist industry in the Falkland Islands and to present awards for notable contributions to the development of tourism in the Islands.

• Saturday, May 12th 2012 - 09:14 UTC

  Sightings of blue whales in the south of Chile has grown significantly

  

  The number of blue whales sighted in the south of Chile increased significantly this austral summer as the cetacean approached the area to feed on the rich waters of the south Pacific according to a scientific report from the Austral University Blue Whale Centre released this week.

• Friday, May 11th 2012 - 13:06 UTC

  BRIC members, Indonesia, Philippines and Chile lead in air travel growth

  

  Asia leads the world’s growth in air travel and holds seven out of the ten busiest inter-city routes. In addition to the BRIC markets, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Chile showed an impressive growth, according to analysis by the market intelligence solution Amadeus Total Demand.

• Friday, May 11th 2012 - 05:31 UTC

  Chilean city of Punta Arenas will host IAATO annual meeting next year

  

  Punta Arenas in the extreme south of Chile and one of hubs for Antarctic cruises, will be hosting the next annual meeting of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, IAATO, in the first half of 2013.

• Friday, May 11th 2012 - 04:11 UTC

  UK and Argentina, main tourist generating markets for the Falklands in 2011

  

  Falkland Islands visitor arrivals in 2012 by inbound overnight tourists, cruise passengers and domestic tourists are expected to total 57.000 spending around £7 million. Cruise ship passengers are forecast to make up 35.000 of the 57,000 in the 2012/13 season.

• Tuesday, May 8th 2012 - 22:35 UTC

  Costa Concordia French survivors reach settlement with the cruise company

  

  The owner of the Costa Concordia cruise liner that ran aground off northwest Italy in January has paid more than two million Euros to French survivors in a settlement, their lawyer said Tuesday.

• Tuesday, May 8th 2012 - 22:29 UTC

  Costa cruise announces 7 new safety measures including mandatory safety drills

  

  Costa Cruises announced the introduction of seven new safety measures over the weekend during a ceremony celebrating the delivery of the company's new 665 million dollars flagship.

• Tuesday, May 8th 2012 - 06:18 UTC

  US launches aggressive campaign to recover lost tourist trade following 9/11 attacks

  

  Residents of Japan, Canada and the United Kingdom are getting a taste of the United States' first-ever marketing campaign aimed at boosting tourism. The print, web and video ads released last week were created by Brand USA, a partnership of government agencies and private companies.