Mexico´s leisure sector swung for the fences in January and came out with a tape-measuring dinger as it raked in more than $1 billion worth of revenues, up a blistering 15.4 percent from January 2004, the country´s Tourism Department informed this week in a press release.
The Aztec nation welcomed 1.8 million tourists in January, up 10.1 percent from that same month a year ago. Out of that total, little more than one million visitors came from other parts of the country, while the remaining 728,000 sunbathers hailed from across the border.
Americans will take a record number of trips this spring, according to a new report by the Travel Industry Association (TIA), even though the overall increase in trips is expected to be only slightly higher than that of spring 2004.
TIA is estimating Americans will take 281 million person-trips of 50 miles or more one-way from home during the months of March, April and May. That represents a 1.2% increase from last spring when travelers took a record 277.5 million trips.
German tour operator Thomas Cook closed 2004 with $30 million worth of gross benefits, thus reversing the financial woes that pounded the Frankfurt-based company for more than a year.
The yearend spreadsheets of Europe´s second-largest travel company, though, had wrapped up 2003 with a $104 million shortfall.
The Dublin-based company Web Resrvations International, specialized in youth and budget travel, has acquired hotel distributor, WorldRes, adding to its platform 35,000 hotels and 2,000 online distributors, Travel Weekly reports.
Now operating on the WRI´s platform are Opodo, Lastminute.com, SAS.com and Hotels.de, among others. WRI´s existing brands, which operate under its hostels division, include Hostels.com, Hostelworld.com and Trav.com. WRI also provides reservations technology to Rail Europe, Ryanair.com, Lonelyplanet.com and Flybe.com.
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCCL) is planning to buy a third Ultra-Voyager ship, a 160,000-ton, 3,000-passenger super-ship that would be identical to the Freedom of the Seas.
The company signed a letter of intent with Aker Finnyards to build a third “Freedom class” vessel, which would enter service in early 2008. The agreement is subject to certain conditions, including board approval, RCCL said.
Spain-based NH Hotels is planing to pour some $400 million into the Dominican Republic´s travel industry over the next seven years to build a fancy resort, a golf course and several real estate projects, according to Victor Cabral, president of Cap Cana, a Dominican tourist group.
Mr. Cabral said the Spanish company will buy one of the most exclusive tourist offers in the Caribbean country -currently owned by the Cap Cana group- for $120 million. The one-million-square-meter vacant lot is located in Bavaro, in the easternmost province of Altagracia.