Tourism

• Thursday, May 12th 2011 - 00:58 UTC

  China tourist group buys 20% stake in Spain’s NH Hotels chain

  

  China's fourth-biggest airline group, HNA Group, has bought a 20% stake in leading Spanish hotel chain NH Hoteles for 431.6 million Euros, NH Hoteles said on Tuesday.

• Wednesday, May 11th 2011 - 07:52 UTC

  Torres del Paine Park must double protected area to meet UNESCO latest criteria

  

  Torres Del Paine National Park, in southern Chile’s Patagonia, is easily among the country’s most iconic natural attractions, hosting 170,000 tourists a year. Yet to maintain the park’s UNESCO classification as a biosphere reserve, Chile must greatly expand the protected areas to more than double the current boundaries.

• Monday, May 9th 2011 - 18:52 UTC

  Cuban government plans to allow residents to travel abroad as tourists

  

  The Cuban government said Monday that it plans to study ways to allow residents of the island to travel abroad as tourists, suggesting it will ease the bureaucratic hurdles and outright restrictions that prevent many residents from leaving.

• Friday, May 6th 2011 - 06:20 UTC

  Chile launches campaign to promote domestic tourism

  

  Sernatur, Chile’s National Tourism Office, has officially launched the second part of its “Chile es Tuyo” (Chile is Yours) campaign to encourage domestic tourism. The project, which is overseen by Secretary of Tourism Jacqueline Plass, and Sernatur’s National Director Alvaro Castilla, is especially hoped to encourage tourism during the country’s off-season, which runs from March until November.

• Friday, May 6th 2011 - 02:42 UTC

  First body recovered from Air France wreckage in seabed four kilometres deep

  

  An undersea recovery team has retrieved a first body from the wreck of an Air France jet that crashed into the Atlantic in 2009 with the loss of all 228 on board, French police said on Thursday.

• Friday, May 6th 2011 - 00:14 UTC

  Uruguay and United Arab Emirates sign an open skies agreement

  

  A visiting delegation from the United Arab Emirates, UAE, signed this week an ‘open skies’ air services agreement with Uruguay.

• Wednesday, May 4th 2011 - 22:37 UTC

  Royal Caribbean awarded the “Investment in People” prized

  

  Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. received recognition for its shipboard “Building On Talent” leadership development program during this year's Seatrade Awards Ceremonial Dinner.

• Wednesday, May 4th 2011 - 20:47 UTC

  First South America Seatrade cruise convention in Sao Paulo May 30/31

  

  For the first time ever South America will be hosting the cruise industry major event, the Seatrade Cruise Convention organized by the Seatrade Group and Abremar, the Brazilian Association of maritime cruises. The event is scheduled for May 30 and 31 in Sao Paulo and CEO from some of the leading cruise companies have already confirmed their attendance.

• Tuesday, May 3rd 2011 - 17:55 UTC

  Boeing forecasts Latam air-carriers will require 2.180 airplanes in next 20 years

  

  Boeing forecasts that air carriers in Latin America will require 2,180 new airplanes worth approximately 210 billion US dollars over the next 20 years as air travel in the region out paces the world average.

• Sunday, May 1st 2011 - 23:38 UTC

  Air France flight 447 memory unit recovered from bottom of the Atlantic

  

  The memory unit that may tell why an Air France jet plunged into the Atlantic nearly two years ago was recovered from the bottom of the ocean Sunday, France's Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (BEA) said.