Jaz Hotels, Resorts & Cruises, Egypt’s most successful hotel company, is set to undergo the largest expansion to its portfolio to date with more than 15 properties in the pipeline, 9 of which will open during 2009 and 2010. The expansion includes the addition of three new hotel properties in the Nabq area of Sharm El Sheikh and the launch of two five-star deluxe Nile Cruise Ships.

Hainan Airline Group (“HNA Group”) announced the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation with a commercial delegation from the State of Hawaii. Under the agreement, HNA Group will launch a service between Beijing and Hawaii, the first such service between a city on the Chinese mainland and Hawaii to be offered by a Chinese airline. Hainan Governor Luo Baoming, Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle and HNA Group Chairman Chen Feng attended the signing ceremony.

The Aruba tourism industry is promoting itself as a holiday destination, with its hotels offering the special travel packages. Bucuti Beach Resort is offering travelers a special White Christmas Romance Package this holiday season, which includes a Gardenview room for five nights, full American breakfast daily and a special “White Christmas” candlelight dinner for two with a champagne toast on the white sands of Eagle Beach. The package is valid for travel Dec. 15 to 26, and rates start from $250 per night, per couple with a five-night minimum.

According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, travel and tourism is increasingly important to the Caribbean country of Trinidad & Tobago, generating an estimated 10.6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009 –TTD14,116.9 million ($2.26 billion)- and 14.7 percent of total employment (nearly 88,000 jobs) across the wider travel and tourism economy.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is reporting that confidence in the sector is gradually picking up. It says while international arrivals worldwide are estimated to have declined by seven percent between January and August 2009, the downward trend that started in September last year may have begun to bottom out.

On its first visit to a European travel fair in more than a decade, Iraq will be attending World Travel Market in London with its partner Dunira Strategy to investigate market development opportunities. Led by the Tourism Board of Iraq, the delegation will also participate in the World Tourism Organization’s Ministers’ Summit and meet leading British experts.