Spain is now the second-largest investing nation in Latin America, amassing nearly half of all the money poured into the region by the European Union. Furthermore, the country is beefing up its long-term investment projects and is girding for more, Spanish Tourism and Commerce Secretary Pedro Mejia said this week. Spanish hotels comprise 44 percent of all foreign accommodations in Latin America with more than 200 lodgings. According to Mr. Mejia, tourism will be one of Spain’s strategic and top-priority lines between 2005 and 2008.

France-based hotel company Accor closed 2004 with sales for €7.12 billion, up 4.3 percent from 2003. However, that growth could rise to 4.6 percent if the impact on hard currency exchange rates is downplayed, the company’s headquarters informed this week. The French giant’s hotel division scooped up little more than €5 billion, up 3.8 percent from the previous year, while the service division garnered €507 million for a solid 9.4 increase.

The Mexican government is laying the grounds to make local tourism knock down the oil industry a decade from now from the number-one spot among the nation´s hard currency earners, Tourism Secretary Rodolfo Elizondo owned up this week. In recent days, Mr. Elizondo trumpeted new development plans for the area of Mar de Cortes and similar investment possibilities for Loreto, Los Cabos, Huatulco and other circuits along the Pacific Coast.

VASP, the formerly hot Brazilian air carrier, announced this week its intention to keep several aircraft out of the skies as employees turned up the heat on the front office to get their back salaries before the situation gets worse off. Last weekend, the South American nation´s fourth-largest air company ordered all domestic flights with half of their seats empty be called off.

Chipping in more money to the nation´s GNP is the top priority for the recently created Tourism Ministry of Venezuela. Tourism Minister Wilmar Castro revealed in a meeting with representatives from the public and private sectors that the local travel industry´s contribution to country´s coffers peaked 4 percent in 2004. Mfr. Castro explained his Ministry is setting out to work on three different fronts, including the sketching of a National Staff Training Plan and the improvement of signaling in major tourist areas and zones.

Citigroup Venture Capital Equity Partners, the U.S.-based buyout firm that leveraged up some monies to buy Worldspan, has submitted a bid for Amadeus that was higher than the one selected by Amadeus´ owners, Air France, Lufthansa and Iberia. However, they decided to negotiate instead with two firms, Cinven and BC Partners, whose $5.7 billion bid was lower than Citygroup Venture Capital´s, according to Travel Weekly magazine.