Turning a Profit on Travel
from Squawk Box – CNBC
It's been a lost decade for the U.S. in terms of long-haul travel. Stephen Cloobeck, Diamond Resorts Int'l Chairman & CEO and Chairman of the Corporation for Travel Promotion, appears on CNBC's Squawk Box to discuss international travel facilitation. More

Flier Patience Wears Thin at Checkpoints
from The New York Times
As the Transportation Security Administration scrambles to address vulnerabilities in procedures for screening cargo, it is facing growing criticism from travel industry groups over the escalating security measures for passengers. In recent weeks, representatives from the International Air Transport Association, the U.S. Travel Association, the Allied Pilots Association and British Airways have criticized the T.S.A., saying it adds intrusive and time-consuming layers of scrutiny at airport checkpoints, without effectively addressing legitimate security concerns. More

The Burden of Rising Hotel Room Taxes
from Meetings and Conventions
The prolonged economic downturn has wreaked havoc on municipalities across the country, leaving cities both big and small struggling with depleted revenues. Among the measures being used to prop up teetering budgets, one of the most common – and controversial – has been to hike hotel bed taxes, some by as much as 3 percent. In response, opponents are howling their disapproval, claiming the additional levies will cost them lucrative group business. Nowhere is the fight more contentious than in San Francisco, where the Hotel Fairness Initiative, or Proposition J, came to a vote this month. More

Skipping the Line at Customs
from The Wall Street Journal
These days, you don't have to be rich and famous to get the VIP treatment and zip through some of the nation's busiest airport customs checkpoints. International frequent fliers are hailing a program called Global Entry, a "trusted traveler" program run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. To enroll, U.S. citizens and those with permanent-resident cards pay $100, pass a government background check and get fingerprinted. The program lets you use kiosks that take an average 40 seconds to clear, compared to one to three minutes with a customs agent plus a wait in line that can, at peak times at busy airports, stretch to an hour or more. More

Taiwan Moves Step Closer to Joining US Visa-waiver Scheme
from The China Post
Taiwan has moved another step closer to be qualified in the United States Visa Waiver Program (VWP) after a survey released last month that shows Taiwan's U.S. visa applications rejection rate is lower than 3 percent for the last 12 months, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced last week. “Taiwan's U.S. visa refusal rate has dropped from the 4.4 percent in fiscal year 2009 to 2.2 percent in fiscal year 2010,” said Bruce Linghu, director-general of MOFA's Department of North American Affairs yesterday in a regular news briefing. More

Floridians Stage Beach Walk to Show Coast is Clear
from USA Today
Six months after the Gulf oil spill darkened the image of Florida's coast – if not the beaches themselves – thousands of volunteers walked all 825 miles of the state's coastline on Saturday, documenting with photographs that sand and sea are fine and visitors should c'mon down. About 3,700 Floridians, many of them toting still and video cameras, covered every mile of coast from the Florida-Alabama border on the Gulf to north of Jacksonville on the Atlantic side. More than 5,000 of their photos have been uploaded to a nifty interactive map that allows you to select exact locales and view firsthand the state of the beaches. More

Sticker Shock for Travelers as Airfares Climb
from The New York Times
Airfares in most of the world are on the rise as the global economy picks up and demand for air travel climbs, particularly for business trips. Airlines, meanwhile, have been reluctant to add more flights to meet that growing demand. That is increasing pressure on ticket prices and making for packed planes and longer standby lines as the year-end travel season approaches. This has been a boon, of course, for an industry that is expected to roar back into profit this year, to the tune of $8.9 billion. More

It’s a Small Price to Pay for Safety
from The Telegraph & Argus
In the months following the terrorist attacks the mood changed and suddenly all passengers were viewed with suspicion. It gave rise to a decade of scrutiny that anyone who’s been through customs will have experienced, even if it’s only a case of having to throw away a lipstick because you’ve forgotten to get one of those clear bags for your hand luggage. Like it or not, strict airport security is something we’ll have to get used to. For those not wealthy enough to fly toffs class, traveling by air is already a test of endurance, leaving us like livestock being herded through a succession of queues. More

TSA Rules Require Full Name of Passengers
from the Chicago Tribune
As of this month, the Transportation Security Administration is requiring "airlines to collect a passenger's full name (as it appears on government-issued ID)" before a boarding pass is issued, according to the administration's website. So which is it? Complete name or as the name appears on a government-issued ID, which on many driver's licenses means just a middle initial? The latter, it turns out. More

Tap into the Growing International Markets at U.S. Travel’s International Pow Wow
from the U.S. Travel Association
There has never been a better time to take advantage of the future growth expected in international inbound travel to the United States. Attending International Pow Wow is a surefire way to build a position of strength and stay ahead of the curve in the international marketplace. U.S. Travel’s International Pow Wow will bring top international leisure, meeting & incentive buyers and U.S. supplier travel organizations all together in one place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA on May 21-25, 2011, thus providing an unbeatable opportunity to get your fair share of the $100 billion that international visitors spend annually in the United States. Space is limited and we're expecting a sellout, so it's important to act fast to secure your booth today. Register before Nov. 29 and save up to $270 per delegate. More