According to STR Global, in year-over-year measurements, the Asia/Pacific region’s occupancy rose 11.7 percent to 65.3 percent, average daily rate increased 13.1 percent to $130.06, and revenue per available room jumped 26.4 percent to $84.96. Hotels in the Asia/Pacific region experienced increases in all three key performance metrics for April 2010 when reported in U.S. dollars, according to data compiled by STR Global.
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced that the U.S. outbound non-stop air passenger market totaled 2.5 million in February 2010, flat compared to February 2009. The top outbound markets were Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and Asia.
St. Maarten air arrivals are up 7.9 percent in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the same period in 2009, according to the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau. Air arrivals totaled 160,908 versus 149,065 in 2009.
The arrival of new flights operated by Iberia (from Madrid starting on October) and Condor (from Frankfurt, on November) is one of the steps taken by the country to enhance its position as Central American tourist destination, General Advisor for the Tourism Authority (PTA) Ernesto Orillac told Caribbean News Digital. Orillac also spoke about new routes in Latin America of the flagship airline Copa.
Kevin Bowler, chief executive of Tourism New Zealand, announced that New Zealand’s government has increased the tourism marketing budget by an additional NZ$30 million. The added funds take Tourism New Zealand’s total marketing budget to NZ $100 million, which is the most money that New Zealand has ever had to market the country.
After a trade and investment agreement between Libya and the U.S. effectively ended all Libyan visa restrictions on U.S. citizens, tour operators are gearing up to resume tourism into the country. The Libyan government has also launched a marketing strategy to attract 1.5 million tourists annually by 2012.