National News

Solid growth forecast for lodging industry

The U.S. lodging industry is set for another year of expansion, thanks to solid fundamentals, increased capital flows into the sector and the opening of more foreign markets, according to a report by Ernst & Young. In its 2006 U.S. Lodging Report, Ernst & Young said the cities that will be most attractive for investment are Chicago, New York City, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston, Miami and Phoenix. The report also picks these markets, as well as Hawaii, as among the most promising markets for investment based on projections for occupancy, ADR and RevPAR performance for 2006.
Source: Travel Advance

WTO: International arrivals to grow by 4% in ‘06

The number of international tourist arrivals worldwide in 2005 grew by 5.5 percent to exceed 800 million for the first time, according to preliminary figures by the UN World Tourism Organization. Barring such negative factors as terrorism, significant increases in inflation or interest rates or a possible Avian flu pandemic, the UNWTO projects international tourist arrivals will grow by at least four percent in 2006, even as overall tourism growth is expected to be approximately one percentage point lower than in 2005. Nevertheless, the world tourism industry has entered 2006 in a comparatively stronger position than in years past. "Despite various terrorist attacks and natural disasters, the recovery of tourist arrivals worldwide, which started in 2004, continued firmly through 2005," the UNWTO said.
Source: Travel Advance

Security lines, delays top complaints in survey

According to a Carlson Wagonlit Travel survey of business travelers, security lines and flight delays top the list as the events that most negatively affect travel. In addition, a majority of business travelers say they do not want cell phone use allowed in flight. The CWT Business Travel Indicator also found that the majority of business travelers and corporate travel managers believe business travel will stay the same or increase in 2006, with travel managers more optimistic than their travelers. Nearly 60 percent of travel managers say travel expenditures will increase this year. Slightly more than 30 percent of business travelers say they anticipate traveling more, while 48 percent believe they will travel about the same as last year.
Source: Travel Advance

Web use still tops

The most popular destination for travelers continues to be the Internet. Forty-seven million Americans bought travel online in 2005, about seven million more than in 2004, according to PhoCusWright, a Connecticut-based travel research firm. This year, travelers will spend about $79 billion online for leisure and self-booked business travel, the firm says. The evolution in consumers' use of the Internet for planning and purchasing travel, and changes in how online sellers of travel interact with their customers, fueled the growth.
Source: Travel Advance