Tourism

• Sunday, April 5th 2009 - 06:17 UTC

  Argentina-Chile to jointly promote Patagonia tourism

  

  El Calafate in Argentina’s Santa Cruz province will be hosting the second Argentina-Chile Patagonia Tourism operators meeting scheduled for mid April and which is expected to convene over 200 experts. The first event was held in Chile’s Magallanes region.

• Tuesday, March 31st 2009 - 10:00 UTC

  Bolivian government airline takes off in stormy atmosphere

  

  Bolivian government owned air carrier Boliviana de Aviación (BoA) took off last weekend with a first flight La Paz-Cochabamaba and 40 passengers, including President Evo Morales. However private operators are claiming the airline begins with a significant deficit and doubt it will be able to break even.

• Sunday, March 29th 2009 - 16:50 UTC

  Ushuaia expects 60 to 80 less cruise calls next season

  

  Ushuaia in the extreme south of Argentina, a cruise hub and gateway for trips to Antarctica estimates 60 to 80 less cruise vessel calls next season according to private tourism agents.

• Sunday, March 29th 2009 - 16:32 UTC

  First time Chilean pavilion at the Miami Sea Trade Cruise convention

  

  Chile participated this year in the last edition of the annual Miami Sea Trade Cruise Shipping convention for the first time with a full stand shared by government, municipal and private interests.

• Thursday, March 26th 2009 - 07:18 UTC

  Discover Uruguay, the right mix for US tourists

  

  Tourists from the United States are discovering Uruguay and with good reason: it’s an oasis of tranquillity with a near-perfect climate that eagerly welcomes foreign guests, providing a rich mix of historical, beachside, urban, rural, and ecological offerings.

• Wednesday, March 25th 2009 - 09:34 UTC

  Air transport industry under intensive care during 2009

  

  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced a revised outlook for the global air transport industry with losses of 4.7 billion USD dollars in 2009. This is significantly worse than IATA’s December forecast for a 2.5 billion loss in 2009, reflecting the rapid deterioration of the global economic conditions.

• Wednesday, March 25th 2009 - 03:24 UTC

  Gibraltar wins Seatrade Cruise Shipping award

  

  The Gibraltar Cruise Terminal has won an award at the Seatrade Cruise Shipping convention held in the US city of Miami last week. Gibraltar received the 2008 award for the “Most Efficiently Managed and Operated Cruise Terminal in the Mediterranean”.

• Wednesday, March 25th 2009 - 03:21 UTC

  Chile invests in ports to boost cruise ship tourism

  

  Chile's Ministry of Public Works (MOP) recently launched a 15.5 million US dollars plan to build infrastructure in five of the country’s ports to allow cruise ships (some over 300 meters long) to dock in Easter Island and the Patagonia.

• Monday, March 23rd 2009 - 13:29 UTC

  Airlines mishandled 42 million bags in 2007, says consumer watchdog

  

  Airlines mishandled 42 million bags worldwide in 2007 compared to 30 million in 2005 according to the Air Transport Users Council. The consumer watchdog for the airline industry recalled that airlines primary duty to passengers is to put into place systems that will mean they mishandle as few bags as possible.

• Wednesday, March 18th 2009 - 15:39 UTC

  Cruise industry expects 2009 to be weakest in five years

  

  Growth in the cruise travel industry in 2009 is forecast to be the weakest in five years as the recession holds down household spending and widespread job loss hurts operations of the major cruise lines. However the industry’s leaders remain upbeat.