December 2001

"Peace through Tourism" the message from the WTM


From November 12 to the 15, Earl's Court in London was house to the World Travel Market, held annually as a congregation of tourism industry. The WTM is the second largest travel trade show, after Berlin's ITB. The delegates' presence alone shows a sign of solidarity and common goals between all countries. This year's event key factors emerged consequential to the recent world crisis on terrorism.
At this year's WTM, the delegates from different areas of the world came together to show their support for the tourism industry in hopes of reaffirming the industry's role in the promotion of peace throughout the world. The committee, Peace through Tourism, held presentations.
Greece made an impressive presentation with the new stand along with the official delegation from Greece. Although it is too early to make an substantial conclusions about Greece's upcoming tourist season, the feeling was that the end result will be positive. Easier said than done, but what Greece has to do is to focus on its unique competitive advantages and use all the marketing tools available.
The U.S. section seemed quieter than past events, their presence was a clear manifestation of their commitment to promote peace through tourism. Israel and Palestine's were at consensus as they appeared near each other's stands. Countries such as Libya, Iran, and United Arab Emirates were all in full force as well. Countries from Eastern Europe were all very excited about this year's event; fares to Moscow and Prague were introduced.
The overall atmosphere at this year's WTM was one that was relaxed. There were no definite signs of fear among the delegates. Noticeable, however, were the hotels offering last minute bargains. It is known that hotel rooms' scarcity during the WTM is normalcy, this time it is understood why many of last year's participants opted to stay home this time around. The turn out wasn't the same as last year's or the years that proceeded it, but given this year's terrorism attack one cannot complain.
The net result is, opportunities are out there. Its up to the travel trade professionals to identify them and take action, using all available resources to attract business and maintain it.


Hellenic Travelling

PUBLIC PRIVATE SECTOR COOPERATION

The WTO Business Council and the Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises (AGTE) devoted a seminar to an issue that has acquired a universal dimension. Public-private sector cooperation has become the cornerstone of solid and consistent tourism development, isolated actions having given way to a complex structure made up of a growing number of stakeholders.
The degree of public-private sector cooperation defines a country's competitive edge insofar as competition is no longer limited to the business arena but has become global. This is the result of economic policies, infrastructures and public services at all levels of the Administration and naturally, of entrepreneurial efficiency.
During the course of the seminar, we tried to establish an up-to date framework of public sector relations; it introduced the modern concept of partnership operations that offers so many possibilities for small and medium-sized enterprises; it tackled a number of burning issues such as health, safety and security; it also revised key aspects of supply such as product development and quality. It also presented a practical case that is particularly relevant to Greece: cruise tourism management.
This seminar is a follow up to the study on "Public-Private Sector Cooperation: Enhancing Tourism Competitiveness", produces by the WTO Business Council and of which a Greek version has just been published by the Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises (AGTE) for this occasion.

TOURISM AND THE TRAVEL CRISIS

The Board of Directors of the Universal Federation of Travel Agents Associations, meeting in Tunis (Tunisia) representing 97 National
Associations of Travel Agents worldwide, acknowledged that:
a) the September events severely impacted on the travel and tourism industry worldwide,
b) passengers and airlines were not the terrorists targets but rather an instrument in a political act,
c) there is a concern about air travel among consumers,
d) despite negative consequences, business and leisure travel will continue to grow,
e) governments have a responsibility to ensure the safety and security of the traveller,
f) travel and tourism professionals remain the best channel to offer unbiased advice and information.
The UFTAA Board, recognising the need to restore consumers? Confidence in travel and tourism, recommends the public to utilise the services of professional travel and tourism agents.

U.S. AIRLINE COMPANIES NOT STEPPING UP SECURITY ON DOMESTIC FLIGHTS

Virgin Atlantic Airways chairman Richard Branson has criticized U.S. airlines for not stepping up security on domestic flights in the wake of the September 11 attacks, British newspapers reported on Saturday. "On domestic flights in America they are still not X-raying bags," Saturday's Daily Mirror quoted him as saying. "I find it incredible that airlines are refusing because of the cost. It's madness." The Times newspaper said the billionaire entrepreneur's criticism was part of a new marketing campaign suggesting his airline's flights are safer than those of rivals.

WTT ON SAS BROCHURES

Scandinavian Airlines says it will not withdraw copies of a brochure that advertises the view from the World Trade Center in glowing terms. The brochure tells readers that from the top of the twin towers, you have the world at your feet, and that the experience is "overwhelming". SAS spokeswoman Siv Meisingeth told BBC News Online that the company's cash problems prevented it from withdrawing the brochure, which also advertises 18 other travel destinations. "SAS is in a very bad economic position. Now it is firing 3,500 people," she said. "The catalogue costs us a lot of money and we have made a decision not to withdraw it. We are going to make a new one in February."

SINGAPORE GEARS UP FOR 2002

The aftermath of the Sep 11 attacks have brought even more challenges to the world economy. While on one hand business prospects look discouraging, on the other hand, there is also a resolute and determined effort to quickly revive the ailing economies.
The Singapore government has instituted measures to assist local companies manage costs and develop new business, and also accelerated some key infrastructure projects to aid the recovery process.
Key tradeshows on Singapore's calendar provide the opportunities for both local and overseas companies to secure new businesses, an important part of the whole process to kick-start recovery.
The international reputation of Singapore's tradeshows is the result of years of proven quality of the events. The composition of exhibitors and visitors to these events are predominantly from overseas which makes them truly international market places.
Add on this Singapore's easy accessibility, superb infrastructure, good facilities and services, all these make doing business here extremely convenient. And for those who have some extra time, Singapore is also a fun place with lots of attractions, exciting nightspots and a myriad of leisure activities that can keep the visitor happily occupied all day and all night.

SALT LAKE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE CANCELS 600 OF 800

Reserved in Evanston, Wyoming for the Winter Games.
The businesses of Evanston, Wyo., a town of 12,000 that's a stone's throw from the Utah border, are fighting back.
After the Salt Lake Organizing Committee abruptly cancelled hundreds of rooms it had reserved a year earlier, Evanston's tourism leaders are scrambling to fill the town's hotels during the Winter Games in February.
"We just figured it was a done deal," said Rick Lunsford, Olympic coordinator for Evanston, which was told by SLOC in July that almost 600 of the 800 Evanston hotel rooms the committee had reserved a year earlier would not be needed.
"It was going to be a big influx of dollars into this community," said Lunsford, describing how local hoteliers had spent the better part of a year turning away potential guests. "It's put us in a bad spot."
Calls to SLOC's media relations department were not returned.
So Evanston's business community is now boasting of its proximity to Utah's Olympic venues like Park City and Snow Basin and planning festive events to lure last-minute travellers who missed out on lodging in Salt Lake City, where an extra room at this late stage goes for a premium, and anything close to downtown has been filled.
The town has a jumbo television ready to relay Olympic events into the town square, ice-carving contests are planned, and Olympic gold-medal wrestler champion Rulon Gardner will help host some festivities.
Evanston is a 45-minute drive northeast of Park City, and a little more than an hour from Snow Basin. The city has lined up buses to ferry guests to these Olympic venues, eliminating the need for rental cars, a rare -- and pricey -- commodity in Salt Lake next February.
"What people need to realize is that they are talking about two- to three-hour delays to get from Salt Lake ... to Park City," said Mark Madia, director of the Evanston Chamber of Commerce. "Whereas from Evanston, you're a hop, skip and jump from Park City, where most of the events are going to happen."
While Utah tourism leaders and SLOC are pushing lodging in towns around Salt Lake, Evanston is raising the volume on its local promotion efforts.
"The market we are focusing on is Wyoming and Colorado," said Peggy Rounds, a travel agent with Wild West Travel in Evanston. "For people who are coming to the Olympics on (Interstate) 80, it's going to be way easier to get to the venues from Evanston than it is from Salt Lake City."
Evanston has aligned itself with Utah's planned celebrations, hosting the Jamaican bobsled team and offering fireworks and nightly festivities during the Games.
"And you can get a drink here without having to sign up for some club membership," said Lunsford, referring to Utah's much-maligned alcohol rules.
In July, when the check became due, SLOC told Evanston it would need less than 250 rooms, leaving several hotels with empty reservation books during the Olympics. Hoteliers had reallocated marketing dollars for the year, thinking they had sold a majority of their rooms, Lunsford said.
"It didn't give us a very good head start," he said. "Most of the travellers who are coming to the Games had already booked their rooms by that time."
The latest push has booked about half of Evanston's rooms. Utah officials estimate there are probably another 5,000 visitors who have yet to arrange lodging during the Games.
"When you think of the Olympics, you don't always think about Wyoming," Madia said. "Really, we are a viable alternative."

TWO NEW JOINT VENTURES FOR ATTICA ENTERPRISES AND COSTA CROCIERE, MEMBER OF THE CARNIVAL CORPORATION GROUP

The companies will join know-how and marketing strengths to launch two new enterprises in the cruise sector and the ferry market.
Costa Crociere, the leading Italian and European cruise company, and Attica Enterprises Holdings, one of the larger and leading European ro-pax fast ferry operators, signed a letter of intent to create two joint ventures in cruise and ferry operations.
These two joint ventures, which are still subject to finalisation, will be structured as follows:
* Costa Attica Cruises will be the new shipping company, a partnership between the two Companies, which will engage in the cruise market, with itineraries mainly in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Expectations are that Costa Attica Cruises will offer superior service and cruise experience that will set a new standard for cruises with homeport in Greece.
* Costa Superfast, again a partnership between Attica and Costa, will be the new company operating high quality ferry services mainly in the Western Mediterranean Sea. Two Superfast type new generation ro-pax ferries, which will offer an innovative service also thanks to their 28 knots average speed, will initially be employed.
"We believe that combining Costa Crociere know-how in the cruise business and Attica Enterprises experience and successful operation in the ferry market will significantly strengthen both companies and will provide enhanced results to shareholders - stated Mr. Pier Luigi Foschi, Chairman and CEO of Costa Crociere Spa. These new initiatives are very timely and are especially positioned to take advantage of the expected full recovery of the cruise business while increasing highly qualified presence in the fast growing ferry sector".
In announcing this deal, Mr. Pericles S. Panagopulos, Chairman of Attica Enterprises Holdings S.A. declared:
"We are very happy to combine forces with Costa Crociere, a member of the Carnival Corporation Group, the largest Cruise Company in the world. We believe that the combined efforts will produce excellent results for our Companies and for our shareholders both in the fast ferry and cruise industries".
Costa Crociere S.P.A., a member of the Carnival Corporation Group (NYSE:CCL), is the number one cruise company in Italy and Europe, with turnover in 2000 of 1,108.4 billion lire (572.44 million Euros), operating the most modern fleet of the continent (8 ships totalling 414,000 gross tonnage with a capacity of over 10,800 berths including Costa Europa which will begin operating in May 2002). Orders have been placed for four new vessels, which will bring the fleet capacity to 19,000 berths by 2004.
Costa Crociere ships operate in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Caribbean and in South America.
Attica Enterprises Holdings S.A. is a Company listed on the Athens Stock Exchange (Reuters EPA.AT), parent company of Superfast Ferries and Blue Star Ferries, owners of a fleet of 21 ships and 8 more under construction in various shipyards in Greece, Germany and South Korea. In the course of 2000 Attica's ships carried over 3 million passengers and in excess of 750,000 vehicles. Attica's ships operate on routes between Italy and Greece, in the Greek islands, Germany and Finland and soon, in the first half of 2002, between Germany and Sweden and between Scotland and Belgium.

NEARLY 3,000 TRAVEL LEADERS ATTEND 71st WORLD TRAVEL CONGRESS

At the opening press conference of the American Society of Travel Agents' (ASTA) 71st World Travel Congress--considered one of the premier annual events for the global travel industry--ASTA Congress Chair Ralph Ferrara announced the event is expected to draw nearly 3,000 travel industry delegates, with hundreds more expected to register on-site.
The 2001 ASTA World Travel Congress is being held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on Nov. 4-7. "We are doing our part to support New York and to support our country by holding our most important conference in New York. In its hour of need, the travel industry is coming together to support New York City. This is a time for rebuilding our country. It is an opportunity to stand in solidarity with the people of New York. Our Congress will bring tourism interests from all over the world to stand up for the freedom to travel and show their support for the United States," said ASTA President and CEO Richard M. Copland, CTC.
In year's past, cities hosting an ASTA World Travel Congress have seen considerable and immediate economic benefits. New York City's tourism industry can count on an increase in the number of visitors it will see in the coming months and years.
Since the focus of this year's Congress is clearly education, ASTA travel agent members will be taking advantage of a host of Congress seminars ranging from hands-on technology sessions to destination specialist courses. In light of recent events, ASTA has taken great pains to provide delegates with a program that addresses their current needs, including seminars on everything from tips on proven low-cost marketing strategies and maintaining company morale to strategic ideas for remaining profitable in today's marketplace.

"ROYAL OLYMPIC CRUISES" ANNOUNCES NEW CRUISES FOR SUMMER 2002

Royal Olympic Cruises has just got out of the press its 2002 brochure/
programs, which included four brand new cruises, out of a total of 80 itineraries and seven ships.
The 2002 program consists of a 60 page colour brochure and ROC has started its distributing to the travel industry.
The high-speed design of the cruise line's new-builds, the Olympia Explorer and the Olympia Voyager has permitted ROC to develop two ambitious new itineraries. In her maiden season, the Olympia Explorer will operate a weekly 'Grand Mediterranean' cruises, sailing round-trip from Piraeus to ports as for a field as Istanbul, Venice, and Dubrovnik. Her sister ship, the Olympia Voyager, will operate ROC's first ever summer season of Caribbean itineraries, weekly circuits from Houston to Belize, Honduras and Mexico. Also new, for summer 2002 are weekly western Mediterranean circuits and a second long-weekend cruise. The western Mediterranean itinerary will be operated by the Odysseus and offered roundtrip from Marseilles of Genoa to Palma, Mortil (Granada), Tangier, Gibraltar and Barcelona. The 'Aegean Romance' weekend cruise will operate every Friday through Monday from 3 May to 6 June and from August to 27 September. This itinerary comprises a round-trip cruise from Piraeus to Mykonos, Rhodes, Bodrum, Amorgos, and Santorini.
The new cruises are added to ROC's four most popular itineraries: a seven-day Golden Fleece cruise, a week-long Mediterranean Dream itinerary, a four day Aegean cruise and a long weekend itinerary, also in the Aegean.

LUFTHANSA INVESTIGATES WAYS TO AXE JOBS

Germany's Lufthansa could axe up to 4,000 jobs after talks with its unions failed to reach a cost-savings plan, according to Reuters.
A spokeswoman for the German national carrier told the news agency it planned new cost-cutting measures that could include job cuts.
However, a Lufthansa spokesman in the UK, Peter Middleton, denied these reports to CNN, saying the carrier was in good underlying shape.
Reuters quoted the spokeswoman, as saying job cuts would initially affect staff still in their probationary period but other measures such as putting staff on short time shifts would also be implemented.
"If that isn't enough, then compulsory redundancies will be necessary," she said.
Lufthansa has been in talks with unions since October about how to cut costs. Talks with one service industry union, Verdi, stalled over the weekend.
A spokesman for pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit said it was meeting management to continue similar discussions.

SECRETARY GENERAL OF WTO ADDRESSES SETE AT PHILOXENIA

During the travel trade exhibition Philoxenia 2001, SETE organized the traditional dinner with guest speaker the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization.

Following is the address of Francesco Frangialli Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization:
"It is my great pleasure to speak with you this evening on the occasion of the 17th edition of Greece's famous tourism fair-Philoxenia. This fair will certainly be noted as one of the most significant in the history of the Greek tourism industry and one of the most significant for the other tourism destinations that are exhibiting here, because of the profound tourism crisis that the industry is currently experiencing.

The terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on September 11th are unprecedented in the effect that they have had on our industry. Never before has anything like this happened and never before has the United States -the number one outbound tourism market in the world and the number two destination in the world- been directly involved in a terrorist attack. Even as we continued to mourn this tragedy and despite great uncertainty about what will happen on the world stage over the next few months, it is of vital importance to show the world that business must continue, that life must go on and that the tourism industry will not be paralysed by fear of terrorism.

The World Tourism Organization has already taken several steps to provide leadership to the industry in this time of adversity. Immediately following the attacks, we decided to go ahead with our General Assembly that began on September 23rd in Seoul.

The 700 delegates who attended our meetings expressed their concern with their words and with their actions. They adopted a resolution condemning the attacks, expressing solidarity with the people of the United States and calling for increased international cooperation to eradicate terrorism.

This resolution, endorsed by the 118 countries participating in the General Assembly, has already been incorporated into a report by the United Nations Secretary-General, which will be delivered in one week's time.

Then the delegates went even further. On the request from governments and from the private sector members of the WTO Business Council, they asked the secretariat to draw up an action plan to help the tourism industry recover from the tremendous blow it has been dealt.

It is especially important that our plan is based on joint public-private sector actions that co-ordinate the activities of our government members and members of the WTO Business Council-of which the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises is a vice president. We believe that the unique public-private character of our crisis management effort will be ultimately what makes it effective and successful in rebuilding public confidence in travelling.

The action plan includes three main parts:

First the formation of a Crisis Committee, which will meet for the first time in London on November 11th -the two month anniversary of the attacks. Its purpose is to track developments in the tourism industry in real time and feed back strategic information on how the sector is responding.

Secondly, the action plans calls for strengthening existing WTO activities in the area of safety and security-which currently include the organization of safety and security task forces in member countries, training seminars and publications. We intend to help the tourism industry improve safety and security but in a seamless way that does not take away the pleasure of leisure travel.

The third area of this plan deals with assisting member states in rebuilding a positive tourism image. It is clear that destinations in the Middle East, South Asia and to some extent the Eastern Mediterranean have been more affected than other parts of the world. And they have suffered many times before from incidents that take place thousands of kilometres away, incidents which have nothing at all to do with them. So we feel that these nations deserve some special assistance and also the special support of tourists from other regions of the world, who can demonstrate through their tolerance and openness to different cultures that tourism is truly an industry that contributes to international understanding.

We believe that this series of actions will help the tourism industry get back on track quickly and help restore confidence among travellers.

I would like to end this address on a positive note. Our experience over the last decade, during the Gulf War and during the war in Kosovo has proven that tourism is an industry that has great strength and great staying power. If people are frightened to go to one part of the world, they go to another part of the world or they take trips closer to home. But they still travel

Our experience has also proven that tourism has great resilience and great power to recover from a crisis. If people are afraid to travel to a certain destination one year, demand is pent up and the following year shows extraordinary growth. Since the end of the Second World War there has never been a year of negative growth in the tourism industry.

The summer tourism season in most of the world's major destinations was already finished when this crisis began and globally tourism was on track for about a 3 per cent increase. Since September 11th we have been obliged to reduce our short-term forecast for 2001 to growth of 1 to 1.5 per cent-about half of what we had expected but still positive growth.

We feel confident that tourism will make a quick recovery and resume its customary growth rates by the end of 2002. For that reason, we don't see any need at this point to adjust our long term-forecasts for 2010 and 2020. We still expect one billion international arrivals in 2010 and 1.5 billion in 2020-which assumes an annual growth rate of just over 4.1 per cent a year.

The crisis began almost two months ago now. Along with the air transport sector, tourism is clearly suffering more than other economic sectors. It is legitimate that we are concerned about the thousands of tourism workers who will inevitably lose their jobs. But tourism is a sector that is destined to look forward.

The human thirst to discover new places, the need to travel to conduct business, as well as need for a leisure break from our business routines...these have all become strong and irreversible habits in our modern society.
External events can shock us and seriously change tourism flows. They can cause us to choose a different holiday destination or take a break closer to home. They can cause us to postpone our holiday plans. But external events cannot stop tourism.

For this reason I urge you to stay optimistic about the long-term future of our industry. I am certain that the new millennium will not be the millennium of terrorism…but instead is the millennium of tourism!

FINANCIAL GIANT CS PRESENTS LOSSES

Credit Suisse Group, Switzerland's second-largest bank, posted a third-quarter loss as investment banking revenue declined.
Like its rivals, Switzerland's UBS and Deutsche Bank, Europe's biggest bank, Credit Suisse has struggled to win business from corporations who are trying to cope with the global economic slowdown rather than expansion.
The bank made a loss of 299 million Swiss francs ($181 million), or 0.25 francs a share. That compares with a profit of 1.6 billion francs, or 1.46 francs in the same period a year ago.
"Demanding market conditions impacted our investment banking business as well as investment income from the insurance unit," said chief executive Lukas Muhlemann.
CS Group's investment bank, Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), which earns revenue from advising companies on mergers, acquisitions and selling shares, announced plans to slash 2,000 jobs in October as global market activity waned. The September 11 terror attacks exacerbated the problems.
CSFB, under the new chief executive John Mack, posted a third-quarter operating loss of $123 million. Its revenue fell 17 percent. The company warned in October it expected to report an operating loss of about $120 million.
The investment bank does not expect operating results to improve in the fourth quarter compared with the third quarter, CS said. Mack has said job cuts at CSFB will help drive down operating cost by $1 billion at the end of 2002.
CS also registered a 400 million franc loss on Swiss Life, whose shares have plunged more than 40 percent in the third quarter. CS has a 5 percent stake in Switzerland's biggest insurer.
The bank has also set aside 200 million francs for a possible loan default from Swissair, which has sought bankruptcy protection.
Costs related to the acquisition of U.S. brokerage Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette also added to the group's losses.
Muehlemann said the group "remains cautious in its outlook for the current quarter. Transaction volumes are expected to stay at relatively low levels, and markets will continue to be challenging."
Shares in CS fell 2.2 percent to 68.90 francs in Zurich. The stock has fallen more than 20 percent from a high for the year of 87.25 francs in February.
Among it other businesses, CS said assets managed for clients fell 11 percent to 1.29 trillion francs at the end of September from 1.45 trillion francs at the end of June. The level was down 7.3 percent from the end of last year, due to weak markets and currency moves.
Net new assets -- inflows from clients -- were 7.1 billion francs in the third quarter. The inflows were less than some forecasts. Private banking showed a net operating profit of 513 million francs, down 11 percent versus the second quarter.

SEPTEMBER CALAMITY BRINGS TOGETHER P&O PRINCESS CRUISES AND ROYAL CARIBBEAN

P&O Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean Cruises have said they will merge in an attempt to save costs amid a slump in travel following the September 11 attacks in the U.S.

The merger will form the world's largest cruise vacation group, with a market value of around $6 billion, and will save in excess of $100 million a year.
Cruise operators have been suffering since the attacks as many passengers cancelled trips, forcing operators to lower fares in an effort to win them back.

Last month, Royal Caribbean posted a 20 percent drop in third-quarter profits following the attacks, although travellers were beginning to respond to cheaper tickets.

Cruise operator American Classic Voyages filed for bankruptcy in October, a month after privately held U.S. rival Renaissance Cruises also filed for protection from its creditors.

P&O Princess and Royal Caribbean have cancelled trips and have rerouted cruises as a result of the tensions in the Middle East and the U.S. air strikes against Afghanistan.

Richard Fain, Chairman and Chief Executive of Royal Caribbean, said in a statement the merger would enable both firms to see "near-term cost savings and increased efficiencies that will help us respond to any short-term challenges while building a stronger group."

P&O Princess will own 50.7 percent and Royal Caribbean, the No. 2 cruise operator, will own 49.3 percent of the enlarged group, which will have a dual listed company structure similar to Royal Dutch Shell, the world's second-largest publicly traded oil company, and mining behemoth BHP Billiton.

Each Royal Caribbean share will be equivalent to about 3.46 shares in P&O Princess.
"It makes sense for the two to join forces as there are considerable synergies," Gunnar Holen, an analyst with Fearnley Fonds in Oslo, told Reuters.
"The exchange is close to the share prices, (but) with a small premium for Royal Caribbean. However, Royal Caribbean was traded with a discount compared to Princess, so in view of this it was only to be expected."

The combined group, based in Miami, Florida, will have a fleet of 41 ships and some 75,000 berths with leading positions in the Caribbean trade and destination trades, including Alaska, the Mediterranean, the Baltic and the Panama Canal.
The merged company is set to challenge the current market leader Carnival Corporation.

Shares in P&O Princess, the third-largest cruise operator, surged 13 percent to 358 pence in pre-market trade on Tuesday. The stock had lost about a fifth of its value since the September 11 attacks.

Royal Caribbean's Oslo-listed shares were up over 18 percent at 164.50 Norwegian crowns. The stock closed at $15.01 on the New York stock exchange on Monday.
Peter Ratcliffe, Chief Executive Officer of P&O Princess Cruises, said:
"Our industry has sustainable long-term growth characteristics, despite the impact of recent events on short term trading."

MOST COMPANIES CUT QUARTERLY TRAVEL SPEND

Two-thirds of travel buyers said their companies have reduced travel spending for the current quarter, according to a study conducted by Equation. The survey, conducted the week ending November 6, revealed that approximately 22 percent of the 640 travel buyers polled said their companies would reduce travel spending by up to 10 percent; 15 percent will cut between 11 percent and 20 percent; 17 percent plan to reduce expenses 21 percent to 50 percent, and another 9 percent said they would reduce by more than 50 percent. More than half of those surveyed said this will come from fewer trips, while one-third of respondents also will book trips further in advance to get cheaper fares. One-quarter of respondents said they are negotiating better hotel and airlines rates.
In anticipating how 2002's travel spend will compare with 2001, 46 percent said their companies would spend the same in 2002, while 27 percent said they would spend less. Domestic travel will survive before overseas trips: Nearly half said their travellers would fly less internationally than they did this year.
Renegotiations are figuring in heavily during this time of depressed travel; 40 percent of those polled said they were in the process of renegotiating with suppliers to avoid getting penalized for not meeting 2001's targeted travel volume.
More than one-third said preparation of 2002's budget has been difficult given the current economic climate.

BRITISH GOVERNMENT APPROVES EXPANSION OF HEATHROW

The British government cleared the way Tuesday for construction of a long-debated expansion of Heathrow airport, already the busiest air facility in Europe. Transport Secretary Stephen Byers sided with the airport owner and business interests, and against a coalition of local residents and environmentalists, in approving construction of a fifth terminal designed to handle up to 30 million passengers a year. The $3.6 billion terminal is scheduled to open in 2007. "Terminal 5 would make a major contribution to the national economy," Byers said, adding that a new terminal was needed to help Heathrow meet competition from Frankfurt and other European airports. The number of flights at Heathrow will be limited to 480,000 a year, an increase of 20,000 over current levels.

US AIRLINES WORRY ABOUT BOMB-SCREENING DEADLINES

A federal mandate that U.S. airlines begin screening checked bags for bombs in January is proving a headache to airlines and could complicate passengers' travels. Airline officials say they might have to increase connection times between flights. And that could make close connections and last-minute flight changes for passengers obsolete. The requirement is the first deadline in the sweeping aviation security law signed by President Bush.
The law requires that airlines, by Jan. 18, screen checked luggage by one of several means: bomb-detection machines; manual searches; bomb-sniffing dogs;
X-ray machines; or matching bags to onboard owners.
Airline officials worry they won't meet the deadline and say they aren't getting much help from Department of Transportation officials.
"It's tough for us," says Dick Doubrava, the Air Transport Association's security chief. "Can it be done in 60 days? We'll make a good-faith effort."
Northwest Airlines said bag matching is its most feasible short-term option. It has spent millions of dollars on wireless technology and equipment to reduce bag-handling errors. At two hub airports where it's been installed, that technology will allow bag handlers to transmit bag-tag information to a database that can be compared with passenger lists.
Elsewhere, handheld scanning guns could read bag tags and transmit data for matching. Whether it can get enough scanners in 60 days is not known, said Dirk McMahon, senior vice president for ground operations.
Doubrava said most airlines want the government to let them use a variety of systems because of the bag volume and short deadline. "Airlines move about 1 billion checked bags a year on domestic flights and don't have enough of any one technology to screen them all" he said.
Airlines, most of which are losing money amid a sharp travel downtown, might need federal help to pay for equipment, he added. An X-ray machine, for example, costs $50,000.
"This isn't going to be easy to comply with," said Ed Faberman, a former Federal Aviation Administration lawyer who represents a group of low-fare airlines.
It could be especially complex for smaller carriers that contract out management of luggage to other airlines.
If airlines start matching bags to passengers, fliers whose bags don't get on the plane in time would have to get off, and bags loaded on planes without a matching passenger would be removed. If bomb screening is used, more bags might miss flights because of the extra time required.
"This is going to become more of an issue for how people plan their flights," said Frontier Airlines' Elise Eberwein.

BE MY GUEST

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) lead a high-level team of travel & tourism executives to showcase the country's new products and launched the colourful new marketing campaign, 'Be My Guest', at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London.

The 'Be My Guest' campaign to be carried out between 2002-2003 aims at boosting awareness of Thailand among international visitors and promoting the country as a value-added destination in the face of growing competition from around the world.

The Prime Minister will be the host and presenter of the 'Be My Guest' advertisements in which he will personally invite overseas tour companies and visitors to visit Thailand and experience for themselves the country's unique hospitality and friendliness.

A consortium of airlines, hotels, tour operators and other private companies has been set up to market a wide variety of special themed packages featuring Thai food, Thai products and handicrafts, honeymoon holidays, MICE events, golfing and diving.

Within Thailand, the campaign will encourage Thai people to be constantly aware of the importance of preserving the natural beauty of the country and being good hosts to visitors. It will also call on them to travel domestically to help minimise the outflow of tourism foreign exchange.

GET IN FREE TO LONDON MUSEUMS FOREVER

All of London's major public museums will be free to the public beginning December 1. World-class institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Imperial War Museum, the Natural History Museum, the National Maritime and Science Museums, and the Museum of London will all abolish their charges.
Those museums join an equally prestigious list that have always been free, including the British Museum and the UK's four greatest art venues: the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, the Tate Modern, and the Tate Britain.
London has always made a good claim as the museum capital of the world, and the scrapping of charges will make it an even greater draw. In recent years, London has taken a global lead in making learning accessible and exciting.
A visit to the Science Museum, for instance, is exciting for children and adults alike. The kids have plenty of knobs, buttons, and interactive exhibits to play with, while the grown-ups can marvel at everything from the world's first steam train to the latest in space exploration. Given that the entrance fee for adults was $10, its removal represents a fantastic savings for visitors.
The V&A (which will be free beginning November 22) is timing the move to free admission with the opening of 15 new galleries. Built at a cost of $45 million, the British Galleries recount the history of British design from 1500 to 1900, including works from such legendary designers as Chippendale, Macintosh, Morris, Wedgwood, and Liberty. Among the artifacts will be Henry VIII's writing desk and James II's wedding suit.
The Tate Britain had also expanded, and now features 35 percent more gallery space than before, much of it devoted to a chronological history of British art.

From My Notebook - By Connie Soloyanis

With tourism is a shambles, with everyone comparing losses, this columnist finds it better to delineate wisdom this time around. At one annual international travel and tourism show gathering, it was observed:

Business gatherings such as these are important because they demonstrate how many people a company can operate without. The same goes for tourism officials attending these shows.

It is not whether you win or lose, but how you manage to place the blame.

If at first you do not succeed, lower your standards.

If at first you do not succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a fool about it.

If at first you do not succeed, you will get a lot of advice.

An optimist is someone who has not had much experience.

What is the difference between man and wine? Wine matures.

You've reached middle age when your wife tells you to pull in your stomach and you already have done so.

The older a man gets the farther he had to walk to school as a boy.

Living in the past has one great advantage. Things are cheaper.

Diet is the penalty for exceeding the feed limit.

Syntax is the money collected at church from sinners.

Bigamy is having one husband too many. There are some wives who claim that monogamy is the same thing.

What a woman knows where her husband is at all times? A widow.

A good scout obeys all to whom obedience is due and respects all duty constipated authorities.

A city purifies its water by filtering it and then forcing it through an aviator.

A census taker is someone who goes from house to house increasing the population.

A clear consciouns usually heralds a poor memory.

Good judgement comes from experience, and experience, of course, comes from bad judgement.

Experience is a positive force. It enables you top recognize a mistake when you make it again.

The only thing about doing nothing is that you never know when you're finished.

Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.

Garlic is highly recommended to avoid colds. Eat it and everybody who has a cold will stay away from you.

When a person goes on a diet the first thing he loses is his temper.

The trouble with being a good sport is that you have to lose to prove it.

Luck is factor in the other guy's success.

The premise of being on time (especially in Greece) carries a lot of wait.

A bargain hunter is someone who is moved by brotherly shove.

Those who think they know it all are very annoying to those who do.

When all is said and done, there is more said than done.

One advantage for talking with children is that they do not show you pictures of their parents.

People who boat of their family tree have usually pruned it first.

Confirmed bachelors are like detergents. They work fast and leave no rings.

Blessed is he who expects nothing for all he shall not be disappointed.

When it comes to giving, some people stop at nothing.

Advice to heed when travelling: Do not lose your sense of humor.

The delay for luggage is the worst aspect of air travel.