Tag Archives: Jamaica

This Week in Travel & Tourism — 10/22/2012

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INTERNATIONAL

MGM gets approval for Macau casino-hotel

MGM Resorts International received approval from the Macau government to open its second hotel-casino on the China-controlled group of islands. MGM China Holdings, a joint venture between MGM Resorts and Hong Kong billionaire Pansy Ho, will build a $2.5 billion, 1,600-room hotel-casino on Macau’s Cotai Strip. Plans call for 2,500 slot machines and 500 gaming tables.

Airlift priority for Jamaica

The island of Jamaica is in good shape for the upcoming winter season, with advance bookings at many resorts pacing ahead of a year ago at this time.

DOMESTIC

PreCheck will check in at Honolulu airport

Honolulu Airport was expected to launch the Transportation Security Administration’s PreCheck program this week. Not all airlines participate in the program, and passengers must be eligible to go through an initial screening in order to participate.

Orlando, Fla., hotel activity in September was lower than a year ago

The hotel market in Orlando, Fla., declined in September, as 55.2% of rooms were filled compared with 56.2% the previous year, according to Smith Travel Research. The average daily rate decreased 1.4%, to $80.35, as children went back to school and fewer large-scale events took place.

AIRLINE

US Airways Group reports record Q3 profit

US Airways Group posted a record third-quarter net profit of $245 million, up from $76 million a year earlier. Excluding special items totaling $192 million, the result was the second-best third quarter in the company’s history.

Delta posts $1B third-quarter profit

Delta Air Lines reported a third-quarter net profit of just more than $1 billion, aided by $279 million in one-time items. The result compared to a $549 million profit a year earlier.

Southwest will take over AirTran flights in 4 cities next year

Southwest Airlines has announced that starting in April, AirTran service at airports in Flint, Mich.; Portland, Maine; Rochester, N.Y.; and Charlotte, N.C. will be converted into flights under the Southwest brand. Southwest also unveiled new services that will launch also in April, including daily service between Boston and Kansas City, Mo., and between Houston and Pittsburgh.

Spirit: We don’t want you to pay our $100 carry-on fee

Spirit Airlines will be charging a $100 carry-on fee to passengers who do not pre-pay for bags. Some industry experts say it could hurt business, but Spirit says the fee will dissuade passengers from slowing the check-in process with last-minute bags.

This week in Travel and Tourism — 4/30/2012

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INTERNATIONAL

Jamaica draws more visitors in 2011 despite drop in U.S. arrivals

Jamaica reported 1.95 million stopover visitors in 2011, an increase of 1.6% from 2010, according to the Jamaica Tourist Board. U.S. arrivals totaled 1.26 million, a 1.4% decrease. Cruise arrivals numbered 1.13 million, a 23.7% increase. Latin America led the visitor surge in 2011, recording a 23.4% increase in stopover arrivals. The main markets were Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Panama.

AIRLINE

Low-cost carriers see double-digit growth in 2011

Leading low-cost carriers enjoyed double-digit revenue growth in 2011 and collective passenger numbers rose nearly 12%. The latest Airline Business low-cost carrier survey showed revenues grew strong at virtually all of the more than 30 carriers 2011 financial results were available for. Southwest Airlines remains the largest budget operator by revenue and passenger numbers. Its revenues jumped nearly 30% to $15.7 billion when accounting for its 2011 acquisition of fellow low-cost carrier AirTran. Excluding the merger, its revenues were up 6%. Passenger numbers reached 135 million.

Delta to buy oil refinery

Delta Air Lines through a subsidiary company agreed to acquire from Phillips 66 a Philadelphia-area oil refinery.

Delta subsidiary Monroe Energy, which plans to close the transaction by the end of June, will invest $250 million in the acquisition, refinery improvements and related sourcing and marketing agreements with Phillips 66 and BP.

CRUISE

15% of wealthy travelers plan to cruise this year

The spring 2012 survey by the American Affluence Research Center found that a lower percentage of people in wealthy households plan to cruise this year. “Plans to cruise during the next 12 months declined from 18% of the wealthiest U.S. households in the fall 2011 survey to 15% in the new survey. This decline is consistent with the softness in first-quarter bookings reported by the industry, but it still shows good potential for cruise sales,” a statement from the center said.

Norwegian Cruise Line reports improved first-quarter earnings

Norwegian Cruise Line reported stronger year-over-year earnings for the first quarter Monday morning. The Miami-based cruise operator, the world’s third-largest, made a $3.3 million profit in the quarter that ended March 31, compared to a loss of $7.9 million during the first quarter of 2011. Revenue increased from $495.5 million in the first three months of 2011 to $515.4 million this year.

OTA

TripAdvisor shares surge after Q1 report

TripAdvisor’s first-quarter profit increased 1.8% from a year earlier, as a jump in revenue from click-based and display-based advertising offset the effect of higher selling, technology and administrative costs during the company’s first full quarter as a public company.

ETC.

Billionaire promises to build Titanic II by 2016

An Australian billionaire said Monday he’ll build a high-tech replica of the Titanic at a Chinese shipyard and its maiden voyage in late 2016 will be from England to New York, just like its namesake planned. Weeks after the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the original Titanic, Clive Palmer announced Monday he has signed a memorandum of understanding with state-owned Chinese company CSC Jinling Shipyard to build the Titanic II.