In response to a dramatic increase in Russian tourism to Israel, the Moscow Municipality-owned company Sun Dream announced plans to open a $100 million luxury resort at Ein Bokek on the southern shores of the Dead Sea in mid-2009.

The U.S.V.I. Department of Tourism has extended its Winter Escape promotion once again. The booking window will now span the entire month of December, ending Dec. 31, for travel between Dec. 15 and March 31.

Jamaica is undertaking an aggressive marketing campaign to lure tourists to the island, with placement of advertisements at major media outlets in the United States including television network CNN. Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett said that the campaign is being launched despite the global economic meltdown, there is “still some juice in the market for us to get”.

The Department of State recommends that travelers apply now for travel documents that will be required at all land or sea border entry points as of June 1, 2009. On that date, under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) U.S. citizens will be required to present a government-approved document that denotes both citizenship and identity when entering the United States.

Vietnam’s first privately-owned airline began flights Tuesday, aiming to tap rising demand for air travel in the fast-growing Southeast Asian nation.

Egypt Tourism office, in association with Cox & Kings, will promote Egypt as a “MICE and Conference destination” in the Indian market. This announcement was made last week at the ‘Dining with the Pharaohs’ event held in Mumbai.