Radisson Blu Royal Hotel expands in Bergen,Plateau Residential

Austrian Airlines To Offer
Additional Flights to London
in Cooperation with Star
Alliance Partner bmi
Codeshare agreement produces best connections to Great Britain
Flights from 99 Euro / £99 return incl. all taxes and charges
Austrian Airlines is extending its cooperation with Star
Alliance partner bmi, British Midland International, as bmi
incorporates Vienna into its route network as a new
destination. Until now, Austrian Airlines has flown the route
to and from London four times a day. In future we will operate
another service, making a total of five flights. All the
flights will be marketed by both partners. As a result, we
will be offering our customers an even greater range of
flights to and from London. London Heathrow Airport is the
most important hub of bmi, from where the Group will be able
to offer new and attractive connections to Britain and around
the world. Our customers will benefit from additional transfer
options into the East European network.
Hyatt
Strengthens
China
Portfolio with Announcement
of Three New Hotels
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) and Suning Real Estate
Development Co. today announced the signing of agreements for
Hyatt subsidiaries to provide management services to three
hotels in the vibrant hubs of China’s Jiangsu province. Grand
Hyatt Nanjing is currently slated to open in 2013 and Hyatt
Regency Wuxi and Hyatt Regency Xuzhou are projected to debut
in 2012.
Grand Hyatt Nanjing is slated to open in the historic city of
Nanjing in 2013 as an integral part of the mixed-use
development, Suning Plaza. This large-scale complex in the
prominent Xin Jie Kou district of Nanjing will consist of
Grand Hyatt Nanjing, luxury serviced residences, a shopping
mall, and facilities for dining, leisure and entertainment.
The 400-room hotel will feature innovative food and beverage
concepts, a grand ballroom and several meeting rooms as well
as an atmospheric spa and fitness centre. When completed,
Grand Hyatt Nanjing will join the select circle of Grand Hyatt
properties in Greater China that currently includes locations
in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Taipei, and most
recently Macau and Shenzhen.
Anticipated to open in 2012 as part of Suning Plaza, the 350room Hyatt Regency Wuxi will be part of a two tower mixed-use
development in Wuxi. The 70-storey North Tower will feature
the hotel on the upper levels, serviced residences on the
middle levels and office space on the lower levels. The 41storey South Tower will contain additional serviced
apartments. An eight-storey wing of the South Tower will
provide extensive space for a shopping arcade, food and
beverage outlets, a cinema and other leisure facilities. Hyatt
Regency Wuxi will boast four restaurants and bars, an 800square-metre ballroom and 10 multi-function rooms of varying
sizes. Guests at the hotel will be able to de-stress at a spa
with six treatment rooms and fitness centre.
In the mixed-use development Suning is planning to construct
in Xuzhou, Hyatt Regency Xuzhou will be ensconced in the upper
levels of a 60-storey tower, which is one of five towers that
will make up Suning Plaza in the city centre. The lower levels
of the tower will have serviced apartments and offices. A sixstorey wing will contain a shopping mall, restaurants and bars
as well as leisure facilities.
The 350 guestrooms will have a contemporary design and the
hotel will offer travellers the latest technology tools,
stylish restaurants and lounges, a grand ballroom and meeting
venues as well as a spa and fitness centre. Hyatt Regency
Xuzhou is slated to open in 2012.
Steve Haggerty, global head of real estate and development for
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, said of the latest Hyatt properties
planned for China, “These future openings in three of China’s
most dynamic growth centres will further strengthen the Hyattbranded portfolio in the country. We look forward to
delivering authentic hospitality to business and leisure
travellers.”
Six Hyatt-branded hotels have opened in Greater China in the
past 18 months, including Park Hyatt Shanghai, Park Hyatt
Beijing, Grand Hyatt Macau, Grand Hyatt Shenzhen, Hyatt
Regency Hong Kong, Sha Tin, and Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim
Sha Tsui. Hyatt’s subsidiaries currently provide management
services to 15 hotels in the region.
About Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a
leading global hospitality company with a proud heritage of
making guests feel more than welcome. Thousands of members of
the Hyatt family in 45 countries strive to make a difference
in the lives of the guests they encounter every day by
providing authentic hospitality. The company’s subsidiaries
manage, franchise, own and develop hotels and resorts under
the Hyatt®, Park Hyatt®, Andaz™, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®,
Hyatt Place® and Hyatt Summerfield Suites™ brand names and
have locations under development on five continents. Hyatt
Vacation Ownership, Inc., a Hyatt Hotels Corporation
subsidiary, develops and operates vacation ownership
properties under the Hyatt Vacation Club® brand. As of
December 31, 2009, the company’s worldwide portfolio consisted
of 424 properties. For more information, please visit
www.hyatt.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release, which are not historical
facts, are “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
statements include statements about our plans, strategies,
financial performance, prospects or future events and involve
known and unknown risks that are difficult to predict. As a
result, our actual results, performance or achievements may
differ materially from those expressed or implied by these
forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify
forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “may,”
“could,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “seek,” “anticipate,”
“believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,”
“likely,” “will,” “would” and variations of these terms and
similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar
expressions. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily
based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered
reasonable by us and our management, are inherently uncertain.
Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially
from current expectations include, among others, the depth and
duration of the current economic downturn; levels of spending
in the business, travel and leisure industries as well as
consumer confidence; declines in occupancy and average daily
rate; hostilities, including future terrorist attacks, or fear
of hostilities that affect travel; travel-related accidents;
changes in the tastes and preferences of our customers;
relationships with associates and labor unions and changes in
labor law; the financial condition of, and our relationships
with, third-party property owners, franchisees and hospitality
venture partners; risk associated with potential acquisitions
and dispositions and the introduction of new brand concepts;
changes in the competitive environment in our industry and the
markets where we operate; outcomes of legal proceedings;
changes in federal, state, local or foreign tax law;
fluctuations in currency exchange rates; general volatility of
the capital markets and our ability to access the capital
markets. A more complete description of these risks and
uncertainties can be found in our filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. We caution you not to
place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which
are made as of the date of this press release. We undertake no
obligation to update publicly any of these forward-looking
statements to reflect actual results, new information or
future events, changes in assumptions or changes in other
factors affecting forward-looking statements, except to the
extent required by applicable laws. If we update one or more
forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that
we will make additional updates with respect to those or other
forward-looking statements.
Paris Club seeks help from
Taiwan to cancel Haiti’s debt
Taipei, Jan. 18 (CNA) The Paris Club has approached Taiwan for
help in canceling Haiti’s international debt after the
Caribbean country was ravaged by a magnitude 7 earthquake last
week, sources familiar with the case told the Central News
Agency Monday.
France, which chairs the group of financial officials from 19
wealthy countries that provides services such as debt relief
and debt cancellation to indebted countries, has contacted
Taiwan about the matter, sources said, noting that the debt
that Haiti owes to Taiwan is usually donations in the forms of
various collaboration programs.
According to a media report, Christine Lagarde, the French
minister of economy, industry and employment, said last Friday
she has contacted members of the Paris Club to discuss
speeding up debt relief for Haiti.
Lagarde said she was also asking Taiwan and Venezuela, nonParis Club members but major creditors of Haiti, to help in
the debt relief effort.
“I am asking two other states, Taiwan and Venezuela…to also
envisage the cancellation of their debt to Haiti…as a
collective effort. This would be a good step for this
country,” Lagarde said.
The club said on its Web site that it had decided to cancel
US$62.73 million of the country’s debt in July 2009, and is
committed on a bilateral and voluntary basis to cancel an
additional US$152 million.
A spokesman of Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)
declined to comment on the report but said the government is
planning to further review the contents and details of various
bilateral cooperation programs with the Haitian government.
Civic groups and nongovernmental organizations in Taiwan have
mobilized a donation effort that has collected 84 tons of
relief meterial, including food, water, medical supplies and
lighting equipment, worth over NT$12 million.
Seventy tons of these humanitarian supplies, the first
shipment of Taiwan’s nongovernmental relief supplies to Haiti,
were scheduled to be shipped to Dominican Republic by a FedEx
air cargo charter at 8:30 p.m. Monday.
On Sunday, Taiwan’s first search and rescue team, which
arrived in the disaster zone by land after being stuck in the
Dominican Republic because of air traffic congestion in Portau-Prince, successfully rescued a survivor on the second day
of its operations.
The survivor was a Haitian security guard at the United
Nations Peecekeeping Force’s police dormitory who had been
buried under the
rubble for five days before being rescued.
(By Chris Wang)
enditem/ls
2nd Taiwanese rescue
begins work in Haiti
team
Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 18 (CNA) A second Taiwanese postdisaster relief team contributed to search and rescue
operations and provided medical services in earthquake-ravaged
Haiti Monday after arriving a day earlier.
The team, composed of 15 volunteers, 22 search and rescue
personnel and six medical staff, was co-organized by the Red
Cross Society of the Republic of China, the Taipei City Urban
Search and Rescue Team and Tri-Service General Hospital.
Squad members arrived at the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince
Sunday after a bumpy nine-hour bus ride from the neighboring
Dominican Republic.
Early on Monday, they reported to the United Nations On-Site
Operations Coordination Center along with the first Taiwanese
team which arrived in Haiti Jan. 13 to get their assignments
and begin their first day of work in the Caribbean country.
Members of the second team were divided into two sub-groups.
The rescue specialists traveled to a wreckage site along with
German workers to search for possible survivors while the six
health care personnel were assigned to work at a U.N.-run
medical center.
Members of the first Taiwanese team were assigned to scout
mountains of rubble at the collapsed Haitian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs building and its vicinity.
Chen Chung-liang, head of Taiwan’s second group, said his team
brought with it enough equipment and goods to support a week
of search and recuse operations and medication sufficient for
the use of 800 people and 200 doses of surgical drugs.
“We are scheduled to stay in Haiti for five days in hopes of
providing the best possible aid to earthquake victims,” Chen
said, expressing the belief that his team can make a
contribution as many survivors were still being rescued
through Sunday.
According to Chen, the difference between his team and the
first Taiwan squad lies in the inclusion of a medical team
consisting of six people — one physician, one surgeon, one
gynecologist, one pharmacist and two nurses.
“We believe health care services are most needed in Haiti at
the moment,” he said. Chen said his team is scheduled to wrap
up its mission in Haiti Jan.21.
A powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti last Tuesday,
leaving heavy casualties and massive property losses.
(By K.C. Huang and Sofia Wu)
enditem/ls
1st Taiwanese rescue team
wraps up mission in Haiti
Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 18 (CNA) After its success in
rescuing an earthquake survivor in Haiti, the first Taiwanese
search and rescue team that was dispatched to the Caribbean
country wrapped up its emergency relief mission here Monday.
The squad, which was assembled by Taiwan’s National Fire
Agency, left the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince for the
neighboring Dominican Republic Monday evening in preparation
for its return to Taipei via the United States.
Team leader Lin Chien-chih told the Central News Agency prior
to his departure that the humanitarian relief experience in
Haiti was a memorable one because the team succeeded in
rescuing a survivor, a 45-year-old Haitian security guard at
the U.N. peacekeeping headquarters.
“I was almost reduced to tears when the Haitian man was pulled
from the rubble Sunday after having been trapped for five
days, ” Lin said, adding that it was a great honor for him to
be able to take part in the humanitarian disaster relief
operations in Haiti on behalf of his country.
Lin said that in the process of its operations, the team
received much assistance from Taiwan’s overseas offices,
including the Republic of China embassies in the Dominican
Republic and Haiti and the Taipei Economic and Cultural
Representative Office in New York, as well as from individual
Taiwanese businessmen.
“We also learned much during the Haitian mission through
personnel and technological exchanges with rescue teams from
other countries,” Lin said.
The Taiwan team was able to obtain information about the
latest developments in search and rescue skills and equipment,
he said.
“The Haitian experience has also helped us to realize that
there is room for our team to improve, particularly in terms
of working with foreign search teams, on-site coordination and
inspection, and foreign language skills,” Lin said.
In the future, Taiwan should become even more involved in
international humanitarian relief work to gain greater
experience and update its search and rescue technologies, he
suggested.
Lin said he was satisfied with the team members’ expert
operations of the sonar equipment that is used to identify the
locations of trapped survivors.
In addition to rescuing the Haitian security guard, the team
also helped to locate a French survivor using its sonar
equipment. The follow-up excavation work to rescue the French
survivor from the rubble was carried out by American
specialists.
Chen Shih-liang, a squad member from Taichung County, said he
will never forget the moment when the Haitian man was rescued
because it was a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
The NFA team was composed of two sniffer dogs and 23 search
and rescue specialists from the NFA’s special service division
and the fire departments of Taichung County Government and
Kaohsiung City Government. The team took more than 2,000
kilograms of rescue equipment on the mission to Haiti.
The members are scheduled to return to Taipei Jan. 22.
(By K.C. Huang and Sofia Wu)
enditem /pc
Taiwan
travel
industry
showcases tourism resources
in Vienna fair
Vienna, Jan. 18 (CNA) Taiwan’s travel industry and Taiwanese
communities in Austria successfully showcased Taiwan’s tourism
strengths at an annual tourism fair in Vienna recently, with
an exhibition of photos of scenic spots, a demonstration of
Chinese calligraphy, a tea ceremony, and prize drawings.
Taiwan’s envoy to Austria Chen Lien-gene said Taiwan’s booth
at this year’s Ferien-Messe Wien, which took place Jan. 14-17,
was among more than 800 exhibitors from 50 countries.
While the Tourism Bureau presented a colorful exhibition
featuring Taiwan’s tourist attractions such as the Taipei 101
skyscraper and some mountain resorts, Taiwanese associations
in Austria organized folk dance performances and other
cultural programs.
A highlight of the Taiwanese exhibition was a prize drawing of
round-trip tickets from Vienna to Taipei offered by China
Airlines and EVA Airways. The excitement of the prize drawing
and quiz contests drew large crowds to Taiwan’s booth, he
added.
The international travel and leisure fair attracted more than
200,000 visitors this year and was an important event for
airlines, travel agents, tourism establishments and the
restaurant business.
(By Lillian Lin)
Taiwan to issue 2010 Year of
Tiger coins
Taipei, Jan. 18 (CNA) Taiwan’s central bank will launch
120,000 sets of 2010 Chinese Year of the Tiger commemorative
coins on Jan. 21, Tsai Yan-shu, director-general of the bank’s
Department of Issuance said Monday.
Each set consists of a one-ounce silver coin with a face value
of NT$100 and two coins with a face value of NT$50 and NT$20,
respectively. Each coin set will cost NT$1,350, Tsai
indicated.
The obverse face of the silver coin features the motif of a
tiger. As the image of the tiger is one of audacity, courage,
and ferocity, the design aims to symbolize positive
developments in the country, success in enterprises and the
people’s perseverance in the face of hardship, according to
Tsai.
The reverse side features an image of Hongmao Castle (Fort San
Domingo), which is classified as a first-grade national
historic site.
The Bank of Taiwan has been designated by the central bank to
handle the sales of the coins. Only one set of coins willbe
allowed to each buyer, Tsai said.
(Liu Jian-bang and Y.L. Kao)
The
Apache
Software
Foundation Announces Apache
Pivot as Top-Level Project
FOREST HILL, Md., Jan. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Apache
Software Foundation (ASF) today announced the graduation of
Apache Pivot as a Top-Level Project (TLP), signifying that the
Project’s community and products have been well-governed under
the ASF’s meritocratic process and principles. In addition,
the Project announced the release of Apache Pivot 1.4, the
fourth update since joining the Apache Incubator in January
2009.
Apache Pivot is a platform for building rich Internet
applications (RIAs) in Java. It combines the enhanced
productivity and usability features of a modern RIA toolkit
with the robustness of the industry-standard Java platform.
Pivot provides a foundation upon which sophisticated and
engaging applications can be easily built and deployed over
the Web. Because Pivot applications are written in Java, they
can take full advantage of the comprehensive feature set and
extensive industry support of the Java platform.
“Users have much higher expectations for Web applications now
than they did 10 years ago,” said Greg Brown, Chair of the
Apache Pivot Project Management Committee (PMC) and Principal
Consultant at Cantina Consulting. “This is why we’re seeing
tools like Flex and Silverlight beginning to gain traction;
however, both of these require developers who are otherwise
happy using Java to switch technologies. Pivot is an attempt
to create a modern, rich client development platform in Java.”
Pivot provides a comprehensive set of standard user interface
elements ranging from simple buttons to editable tree and
table controls. It also includes a number of features that
significantly simplify development of modern GUI applications,
including an XML markup language for declaring the structure
of a user interface, data binding, animated effects and
transitions, and Web services integration.
“I’ve tried the demos and I was stunned,” said Pivot user
Trelieux Einagen. “The framework uses easy to understand
markup for the applet front end while at the same time taking
advantage of the power of Java for business logic and server
side processing…I think the Java community in general is
fortunate enough to have those guys at Pivot stand up and
build something that can actually compete RIGHT NOW with the
likes of Flash/Flex and Microsoft Silverlight/WPF without
losing your sanity.”
Pivot user Scott Lanham said, “The current default theme has a
nice clean look and feel…I am impressed with the good
selection of widgets. They appear to cover just about every
need of an application…Well done with Pivot!”
“Thank you guys with coming up with Pivot,” said Java
developer and Pivot user N. Forbes. “Java really, really needs
a smooth, coherent RIA next generation framework to
‘seriously’ compete with the likes of Flex and
Silverlight/WPF…I saw someone comment on the Pivot Framework
that it leverages existing Java skills to make the transition
to the framework as seamless as possible. I looked at the
source code and screamed out in joy: you guys may actually end
up bailing out the Java RIA from pure academic obscurity and
back into the more popular sphere of mind.”
Apache Pivot 1.4 is released under the Apache Software License
v2.0 and can be downloaded at http://pivot.apache.org/.
A Dazzling New Beach Debuts
at The Ritz-Carlton, Cancun
The new gorgeous 300 feet deep beach at The Ritz-Carlton,
Cancun
CANCUN, MEXICO–(Marketwire – January 19, 2010) – A new beach
is born at The Ritz-Carlton, Cancun marveling the
sophisticated traveler. The Caribbean oceanfront resort has
recently added to its world-class facilities a 300 feet deep
beach as part of Cancun’s $71 million beach recovery project.
The colossal enterprise contemplates extracting and pumping
more than 5.2 million cubic meters of sand using 2,137 tons of
equipment, which is equal to 4,470 linear meters of pipe use
on land, floating and submerged for the restoration of the
sand. As a result, the white-sand beach in front of the resort
has been restored and is larger and more gorgeous than ever
before.
“It has been a truly unique experience to witness first hand a
project of this magnitude and we are extremely happy to begin
the new year with what probably is one of the world’s best
beaches. Guests will find new programs designed to bring back
to life the lively ambiance of vacationing on the beach which
will make the travel experience to Cancun even more
memorable,” said Hermann Elger, general manager.
To highlight the dramatic expansion, guests staying at The
Ritz-Carlton, Cancun will experience a beach celebration
program that includes dining literally on the beach, moonlight
fiestas, salsa lessons, ocean-inspired spa treatments and much
more.
Beach lovers can reserve the resort’s Beyond Beach package
available until June 1, 2010. Starting at $559 USD per room it
includes overnight accommodations with spectacular views of
the Caribbean, complimentary Beach Villa during stay, daily
breakfast for two, a beach bag with tailored amenities and a
farewell gift. In addition, guests may pre-order picnic
baskets to enjoy luncheon in the comfort of their own beach
oasis for an additional price.
About The Ritz-Carlton, Cancun
Considered one of the most elegant resorts in the world, The
Ritz-Carlton, Cancun features 365 guestrooms overlooking the
sea, a 2,400-foot beach, sculpted outdoor swimming pools, a
full service Spa, a private Beach Club, an impressive Culinary
Center and award winning restaurants. For more information
contact the hotel directly at 52-998-881-0808, The RitzCarlton toll free reservations at 1 (800) 241-3333, your
travel consultant or visit ritzcarlton.com.
International
Tourism
on
Track for a Rebound after an
Exceptionally
Challenging
2009
Growth returned to international tourism in the last quarter
of 2009 contributing to better than expected full-year
results, according tothe latest edition of the UNWTO World
Tourism Barometer. Internationaltourist arrivals fell by an
estimated 4% in 2009. Prospects have alsoimproved with
arrivals now forecast to grow between 3% and 4% in 2010.This
outlook is confirmed by the remarkable rise of the UNWTO Panel
ofExperts’ Confidence Index.
2009 – Last quarter sees return to growth
International tourist arrivals for business, leisure and other
purposes are estimated to have declined worldwide by 4% in
2009 to 880 million. This represents a slight improvement on
the previous estimate as a result of the 2% upswing in the
last quarter of 2009. In contrast, international tourist
arrivals shrank by 10%, 7% and 2% in the first three quarters
respectively. Asia and the Pacific and the Middle East led the
recovery with growth already turning positive in both regions
in the second half of 2009.
“The global economic crisis aggravated by the uncertainty
around the A(H1N1) pandemic turned 2009 into one of the
toughest years for the tourism sector”, said UNWTO SecretaryGeneral, Taleb Rifai. “However, the results of recent months
suggest that recovery is underway, and even somewhat earlier
and at a stronger pace than initially expected”, he added.
Experience shows that tourism earnings generally follow the
trend in arrivals quite closely, even if they suffer somewhat
more in difficult times. Based on the trends through the first
three quarters, receipts for 2009 are estimated to have
decreased by around 6%. While this is unquestionably a
disappointing result for an industry accustomed to continuous
growth, it can also be interpreted as a sign of comparative
resilience given the extremely difficult economic environment.
This becomes even more evident when compared with the
estimated 12% slump in overall exports as a consequence of the
global crisis.
Similarly to the situation in previous crisis, consumers
tended to travel closer to home during 2009. Several
destinations have seen domestic tourism endure the crisis
better and even grow significantly, often with the support of
specific government measures aimed at leveraging this trend.
This was the case among many other countries, of China, Brazil
and Spain, where the domestic market, representing a large
share of the total demand, contributed to partially offsetting
the decline in international tourism.
Regional panorama
Except for Africa, which bucked the global trend, all world
regions show negative results in 2009:
Europe ended 2009 down 6% after a very complicated first
half (-10%). Destinations in Central, Eastern and
Northern Europe were particularly badly hit, while
results in Western, Southern and Mediterranean Europe
were relatively better.
Asia and the Pacific (-2%) showed an extraordinary
rebound. While arrivals declined by 7% between January
and June, the second half of 2009 saw 3% growth
reflecting improved regional economic results and
prospects.
In the Americas (-5%), the Caribbean returned to growth
in the last four months of 2009. The performance was
more sluggish in the other sub-regions, with the A(H1N1)
influenza outbreak exacerbating the impact of the
economic crisis.
The Middle East (-6%), though still far from the growth
levels of previous years, had a positive second half in
2009.
Africa (+5%) was a robust performer, with sub-Saharan
destinations doing particularly well.
2010 – Improved prospects in a ‘year of transformation’
Against the backdrop of both the upturn in international
tourism figures and overall economic indicators in recent
months, UNWTO forecasts a growth in international tourist
arrivals of between 3% and 4% in 2010. The International
Monetary Fund (IMF) has just recently stated that the global
recovery is occurring “significantly” faster than expected, as
compared with its October assessment which already counted on
a clear return of economic growth in 2010 (+3.1% worldwide,
with stronger performance for emerging economies at +5.1%,
alongside a more sluggish one for advanced economies at
+1.3%).
By region, Asia is expected to continue showing the strongest
rebound, while Europe and the Americas are likely to recover
at a more moderate pace. Growth is expected to return to the
Middle East while Africa will continue its positive trend
benefiting from the extra boost provided by the 2010 FIFA
World Cup in South Africa.
These improved prospects are confirmed by the encouraging
steep rise in the UNWTO Panel of Experts’ Confidence Index for
2010, despite persistent uncertainties regarding the global
economy and the operating environment for tourism. The experts
who judge prospects for the current year as ‘better or ‘much
better than would reasonably be expected’ (61%) clearly
outnumber those rating it as ‘the same as’ (32%), or ‘worse’
(7%). The average score for 2010 (131), is well above the
neutral 100 and close to the level of the boom years
2004-2007.
As a result, 2010 promises to be a ‘year of transformation’,
and provides several upside opportunities, while naturally not
eliminating downside risks.
Upside opportunities:
Business and consumer confidence has picked up;
Interest rates and inflation remain at historically low
levels and are expected to rise only moderately in the
short term;
A slump is generally followed by a rebound due to pentup demand and destinations are expected to actively
leverage this opportunity;
There is scope for a revival among source markets which
were hard hit in 2009 such as the Russian Federation or
the UK;
Major international events will take place in South
Africa (FIFA World Cup), Canada (Winter Olympics) and
China (Shanghai Expo), creating potential extra travel
demand;
The momentum of the spirit of cooperation and
partnership bred by the crisis is expected to be
maintained by stakeholders;
The flexibility shown by the tourism sector in dealing
with rapid shifts in demand and volatile market
conditions has made it stronger;
Crises provide an opportunity to address underlying
structural weaknesses and implement strategies fostering
sustainable development and the transformation to the
Green Economy.
Downside risks:
Unemployment is the key challenge. The jobs crisis is
not over yet, particularly in major advanced economies
and many valuable human resources are still at risk;
Economic growth in major source markets, specially in
Europe and the USA, is still fragile;
Stimulus measures are likely to be phased out due to
increasing public deficits while a number of advanced
economies may see increases in taxation, putting extra
pressure on household and company budgets;
Oil prices remain volatile;
Although the overall impact of the influenza A(H1N1)
virus was milder until now than anticipated, experience
from previous pandemics shows that the situation could
once again become challenging;
Security threats and the potential of increased related
hassle and costs for travellers are still a challenge;
Revenues and yields are expected to recover at a slower
pace than travel volumes.
Although prospects have improved, 2010 will still be a
demanding year. “Many countries were quick in reacting to the
crisis and actively implemented measures to mitigate its
impact and stimulate recovery. Although we expect growth to
return in 2010, a premature withdrawal of these stimulus
measures and the temptation to impose extra taxes may
jeopardize the pace of rebound in tourism. As highlighted in
the UNWTO Roadmap for Recovery, the sector can make a vital
contribution to economic recovery, particularly as a primary
vehicle for job creation and the transformation to the Green
Economy. But to do so we need serious global policies that are
supportive of tourism”, said Mr. Rifai.
Relevant links:
Excerpt of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer (Spanish and
French forthcoming)
Presentation of 2009 results and 2010 forecast (in Spanish)
UNWTO’s Roadmap for Recovery and National Stimulus Measures
Report