Tourism

• Tuesday, January 27th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Tourism industry expected to contract up to 2% this year

  

  International tourist arrivals in 2008 increased 2% over the previous year but with the advance of the global crisis the rate of growth in the second half came to a stand still and turned negative, a tendency which is expected to continue in 2009, --possibly between 0 and minus 2%--, according to the latest report form the World Tourism Organizations.

• Tuesday, January 20th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Number of tourists to Argentina drops 8% in November

  

  The number of foreign tourists arriving in Argentina during November fell 8% over the same month last year, according to government report from the statistics office INDEC.

• Tuesday, January 20th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Lan system passenger traffic for December was up 10.7%

  

  Chile's Lan airlines and associates announced that its system passenger traffic for December 2008 grew 10.7%, and capacity rose 12.6%. This means that load factor declined 1.3 points over last year to 74.7%. The company noted that international passenger traffic accounted for about 68% of total passenger traffic.

• Monday, January 19th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Two of the largest cruises vessels call in Montevideo

  

  Two of the world's most impressive cruise vessels will be calling in Montevideo this week with over 7.000 visitors and 2.400 crew members. They are “Mariner of the Seas”, which is scheduled to spend next Thursday in Uruguay's capital, and on Sunday, “Queen Mary 2” on a 114 day global tour.

• Sunday, January 18th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Bird strike confirmed in US Airways crash

  

  It has been confirmed that a collision with a flock of birds caused a US airliner to lose power and ditch in a New York river just after take-off.

• Friday, January 16th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  New York plane crash: 'Miracle on the Hudson'

  

  A US Airways aircraft has crashed into the Hudson River in New York after a flock of birds apparently disabled both its engines. More than 150 passengers and crew members were rescued before the plane sank into freezing waters.

• Friday, January 16th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Third year running LAN, best airline in C. and South America

  

  For the third year in a row the prestigious magazine Global Traveller awarded LAN Chile as the 'Best Airline in Central and South America.' The magazine surveyed more than 31,000 readers of the publication to select the best in class for luxury and business travel throughout 2008. This distinction is the direct result of the feedback received in the survey.

• Tuesday, January 13th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Wildlife in Falklands Scotland School linking program

  

  Education officers from Edinburgh Zoo have headed to the Falkland Islands to teach local children about Scottish wildlife, according to a report from the News Scotsman.

• Friday, January 9th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Qatari leading Dakar Rally in Argentina disqualified

  Dakar Rally leader Nasser Al Attiyah has been kicked out of the gruelling event for missing too many mandatory way points. The BMW driver from Qatar, who won the first and third stages of the 2009 rally in Argentina, led the overall standings by more than seven minutes.

• Friday, January 9th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Plan to encircle Rio's favelas triggers controversy

  Plans to surround a Rio de Janeiro favela (slum) with a 650-metre-long concrete barrier have come under fire from environmentalists, human rights activists and residents who describe it as “discriminatory” and in the best “Gaza wall” style.