Tourism

• Tuesday, October 12th 2010 - 06:51 UTC

  “Queen Elizabeth” maiden voyage fully booked less in less than 30 minutes

  

  The Queen has officially named Cunard's new Queen Elizabeth cruise ship in the port of Southampton. The ship will leave on her maiden voyage to the Canary Islands on Tuesday - a trip that was fully booked less than 30 minutes after going on sale.

• Tuesday, October 12th 2010 - 00:49 UTC

  Netherlands Antilles disappear, become autonomous within the Kingdom

  

  Dutch Caribbean dependency the Netherlands Antilles has ceased to exist with a change of the five islands' constitutional status. Curacao and St Maarten have become autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, joining Aruba, which gained the status in 1986.

• Saturday, October 9th 2010 - 05:13 UTC

  Americas loosing to Asia in the recovery of the European tourist market

  

  With a 14th growth in tourist arrivals in the first half of the year Asia doubled the Americas (7.3%) in the industry’s rhythm of recovery and became the region’s main competitor for the European market, according to the latest data from the World Tourism Organization.

• Tuesday, October 5th 2010 - 02:59 UTC

  Indigenous group protests blamed for dip in tourism on Chile’s Easter Islands

  

  Due to the on-going land disputes by indigenous Rapa Nui groups, tourism activity has decreased on Chile’s Easter Island, said Edgar Hereveri, vice president of the island’s chamber of tourism.

• Tuesday, October 5th 2010 - 00:11 UTC

  Buenos Aires brand new exclusive terminal expects 140 cruise calls this season

  

  An estimated 140 cruise vessels will be calling in Buenos Aires this coming 2010/2011 season and on arrival visitors will be greeted at a refurbished terminal which should be ready for inauguration in December.

• Wednesday, September 29th 2010 - 02:27 UTC

  Latin America Looks for More Tourists at FITA 2010

  

  *Exclusive Report for MercoPress by Peter Lowy.
  International tourism is rebounding across Latin America this year, and to help ensure that the upward trend continues, 10 nations across the region participated in the inauguration last week of FITA, the International Tourism Fair of the Americas, in Mexico City.

• Tuesday, September 28th 2010 - 21:22 UTC

  World Cup top star Forlan will promote Uruguay’s tourism attractions campaign

  

  Uruguay’s world soccer star Diego Forlan will become next November the visible face of the official campaign to promote the country’s tourism attractions.

• Friday, September 24th 2010 - 01:18 UTC

  Airlines recovery surprises and boosts profits but 2011 is forecasted as ‘austere’

  

  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) revised its 2010 industry outlook and is now projecting a profit of 8.9 billion US dollars (up from the 2.5 billion forecast in June), with Asia and Latinamerica leading. However, in its first look into 2011, IATA estimates that profitability will drop to 5.3 billion.

• Wednesday, September 22nd 2010 - 15:57 UTC

  Argentina promotes tourism in UK; BA direct flights London/Buenos Aires in March

  

  British Airways will start non-stop flights between London and Buenos Aires in March 2011 announced Minister of Tourism Enrique Meyer in Britain’s capital during the official launch to promote investment in Argentina’s tourism industry.

• Wednesday, September 22nd 2010 - 03:12 UTC

  Stowaway owl in the world’s largest cruise vessel returned to its habitat

  

  Florida State wildlife officials were called to the world's largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas, to deal with a little stowaway – a burrowing owl.