Travel News You Can Use
By Judy Newell
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Mexico Travel News
Domestic tourism promoted
President Felipe Calderón, joined by his cabinet, business leaders and local celebrities, personally launched a billion-peso campaign to revive tourism—Vive México! (Mexico Lives!), not Viva México! (Long Live Mexico!). It will focus on the often-overlooked domestic market—Mexican travelers account for about 85 percent of all vacation travel in Mexico.
Battered first by a world economic crisis and then by the short-lived but much-publicized flu epidemic, authorities doubt that the Mexican hospitality industry can count on much in the way of international tourism this year. Funds available for foreign promotion come from a tax on arriving tourists, and this income is said to be down by 25 percent.
The domestic market supposedly holds greater hope, both because the current exchange rate makes foreign travel more expensive for Mexicans—travel abroad has declined by 13 percent thus far in 2009—and because of general economic conditions. The new campaign aims at encouraging Mexicans to get out and enjoy the country, rather than staying home this season.
Worries over Cuba
Rumors that the US may soon permit its citizens to visit Cuba set off another alarm in the Mexican hospitality industry. Officially, Mexico always has opposed the American embargo, but if the US were to allow its citizens unrestricted travel to Cuba, many might go there instead of Cancún or the Riviera Maya. This year Mexico has been losing vacation travelers from the US to Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and other islands.
Hotels resist rate cuts
Occupancy rates have tumbled in recent weeks, but hotel managers are being urged not to trim their rates, though some establishments will tack on “added value,” such as breakfast included or the third night free. The Mexican Hotel Association is cautioning its members against launching a price war, stating that once tariffs fall, it will be difficult to get them back where they were.
Tour operators, for their part, are arguing that in the light of current economic conditions and without incentives, vacationers very likely will stay home this season. Another reason for staying home may be the higher cost of air tickets.
Domestic fares have gone up anywhere from 10 to 145 percent in recent months. In the wake of the flu epidemic, airlines reduced capacity, grounding 60 jets and reducing capacity by more than 40 percent. With fewer seats available, carriers have been able to charge more, especially on routes favored by business travelers.
International News
Summer with the Royal Shakespeare Company
The summer season in Stratford-upon-Avon is now open with the new 2009-2011 Ensemble performing in The Courtyard Theatre. Julius Caesar, The Winter’s Tale and As You Like It play in repertoire until October; the latter two have opened to fantastic reviews. Two new plays, The Drunks and The Grain Store, join the repertoire in August.
These two productions signal the beginning of a strand of work entitled Revolutions, a major exploration of the culture of Russia and the former Soviet Union countries, with an eclectic program of talks, exhibitions and play readings.
Amtrak cuts some fares by 25 percent for summer
Amtrak is cutting fares by 25 percent on some Eastern trains this summer to boost demand during the recession. The discount runs June 2–September 3, and applies on regional trains on the Northeast Corridor from Washington to Boston. The discount also is available from Washington to Newport News, Virginia.
Amtrak also is extending a February price cut on its higher-speed Acela service from Washington to Boston, for passengers who make reservations two weeks in advance.
Amtrak carried a record 28.7 million passengers last fiscal year, but rider-ship is down this year as businesses cut back on travel and because of lower gas prices.
Statue of Liberty’s crown to reopen to visitors
The American public once again will be able to visit the crown of the Statue of Liberty, which was closed after the 9/11 attacks. In addition, the Department of the Interior will invest US$25 million under the president’s economic recovery plan to stabilize the Baggage and Dormitory Building at Ellis Island, built in 1908 to house immigrants waiting for further processing, and to repair 2,000 feet of the island’s crumbling seawall.
Access to the crown will be limited to 10 people at a time, guided by a National Park Service ranger. The crown is accessible only by a narrow 168-step double-helix spiral staircase.
State Department upgrades Nepal warning
The US State Department is warning American citizens of the risks of traveling to Nepal and urges caution when traveling within the country. It remains concerned about the security situation in Nepal and urges American citizens to obtain updated security information before they travel and to be prepared to change their plans on short notice.
Airline News
Air France-KLM, Delta tie-up to reap billions
Delta Air Lines, Air France and KLM signed a deal on May 20 to create a trans-Atlantic powerhouse that’s expected to generate US$12 billion in annual revenue, provide better travel options for customers and more closely align the carriers’ operations without a formal merger.
Passengers get more nonstop flights between major cities in the US and Europe, while competition and the weak global economy will likely mean fares won’t be affected too much.
The airlines aren’t merging and no subsidiary will be created. The latest agreement means the airlines will share costs and revenues equally on certain flights regardless of which airline owns or flies the aircraft. Sales teams won’t choose which airline’s flight when booking customers.
The joint venture represents 25 percent of total trans-Atlantic capacity. The cooperation agreement between Europe’s largest airline and the world’s largest airline operator will mean the carriers will operate more than 200 daily flights and offer about 50,000 seats per day.
The joint venture covers all the airlines’ flights between North America and Europe, between Amsterdam and India, and between North America and Tahiti for an initial 10-year term.
A prediction: Airfare by the pound
If swimsuit season hasn’t gotten you exercising, maybe this will: Some airline-industry analysts predict that the cost of flying eventually could depend on your weight. It’s likely, they say, because of simple physics: the more weight you bring on the plane, the more fuel is needed to get you to your destination. When fuel prices rise again, it might be time to hit the gym.
How a plan to charge based on body and baggage weight, rather than by the seat, would be implemented is unclear. One scenario would have people estimating weight when buying a ticket on the internet, then weighing in with bags at the airport, presumably with a degree of privacy.
Weigh-ins may not happen for months, but over the next year or two, airlines will examine the question. Remember, two years ago, charging to check a bag seemed pretty far out.
AeroMéxico confirms commitment to New Orleans
Beginning on July 7, AeroMéxico plans to provide six weekly nonstop flights, Sunday to Friday, between New Orleans and Mexico City with connecting service to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. The airline believes that significant market demand exists for the route due to expanding business, cultural and tourism ties between these markets and New Orleans’ reemergence following Hurricane Katrina.
Market demand in the greater New Orleans area for these flights is also increasing because the Hispanic population in New Orleans, which now approaches 250,000, is the fastest growing of any major US city. The area also has one of the largest Honduran populations in the US, estimated at more than 80,000.
Cruise News
Cruise West to circumnavigate the world
If you have about a year and almost a quarter-million dollars, Cruise West is offering what might be the longest cruise since Ferdinand Magellan set off in 1519 to circle the globe.
That’s because this cruise actually attempts to follow in Magellan’s wake, as well as Marco Polo’s, Leif Erickson’s and Christopher Columbus’s.
Cruise West revealed a 335-day circumnavigation of the world, departing Singapore March 6, 2010, that will attempt to follow some of the routes taken by famous ocean explorers.
Called the “Voyage of the Great Explorers,” the cruise sets out on the 120-passenger Spirit of Oceanus, the largest vessel in the small-ship cruise line’s fleet.
The Spirit of Oceanus will sail westward and return to Singapore on February 3, 2011, after visiting 242 ports in 59 countries, crossing 14 seas and oceans, and transiting three canals. Passengers won’t need a year of vacation time, or US$233,995, to enjoy a taste of the trip. Twenty-four individual segments are for sale, ranging from 9–18 days each.
How does this cruise compare to the many world cruises on the market?
“This is indeed the only circumnavigation of the globe by any cruise line, large or small,” said Richard Genovese, Cruise West’s chief marketing officer. “Most world cruises are 120 days at best and take you only halfway around. Cruise West will be unique with this groundbreaking idea in the fact that we take you from Singapore to Singapore in 335 days and to ports that the big ships simply cannot reach.”
So what will passengers do while onboard the small ship for almost one year? Cruise West said that it would have guest lecturers and would bring on local experts to talk about and explain the routes of Marco Polo in the Far East, Leif Erickson in Northern Europe, Odysseus in Greece and James Cook in the South Pacific.
Deal of the Week
Tempting Tuscany
Take a break to Tuscany, one of the world’s most fascinating places, attracting lovers of art, nature, food and wine. At its southern-most point stands Monte Amiata, a hauntingly beautiful volcanic cone, and the little-known town of Castel del Piano. Just a few miles outside town, Hotel Le Macinaie sits as its crowning jewel and welcomes visitors with the warmth of family hospitality and panoramic views of olive groves and grapevines, forests of chestnuts and beeches, and little streams and waterways—6 days/5 nights at the Hotel Le Macinaie, breakfast daily, 5 days’ rental car, taxes and service charges from US$479 per person, double occupancy (June 1–November 30).
Sources: Mexico Travel News, Niche Britain, The Associated Press, Travel Pulse Daily, OSSN, Chicago Tribune, USA Today
Judy Newell heads the travel company Perfect Journeys that specializes in discounted rates for airfare, hotels, tours and cruises worldwide, as well as luxury and adventure travel. Contact her with comments or suggestions at
judynewell_03@msn.com or go to her website
www.perfectjourneys.net.
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