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This week in Opportunities:

Commerce Report Shows More Money Spent on Travel
Consumers Choose to Spend More on Holiday Travel
ASTA Survey Finds Family Travel Is Increasing
IAC Plans Split into Two Separate Companies
Want Opportunity in Travel? Head North to Alaska!
Opportunities Watch!
Opportunities Resource!
Executive Movers! See who's going where?
Travel Executive Employment Report

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OPPORTUNITIES NEWS & TRENDS!

Commerce Report Shows More Money Spent on Travel

According to the U.S. Commerce Department, the amount of money spent on travel and tourism in the U.S. continued to grow in third quarter 2004, despite a sharp decline in airfares. But employment in the industry sector continued to lag three years after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis report found that sales of tourism-related goods and services grew at a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.1 percent in the third quarter to $973.3 billion, though that was slower than the rate of growth in the second quarter, when tourism sales grew 5.3 percent.

Consumers Choose to Spend More on Holiday Travel

Despite recent declines in the consumer confidence index, a new Maritz poll reports good news for industries associated with holiday travel. The new poll shows that Americans planning to travel over the holidays were set to spend at least 25 percent more than they did last year. According to the poll, the median amount travelers planned to spend this year on travel for one of the winter holidays, including Christmas, was $500 compared to only $400 in 2003. The number of Americans who actually planned to travel is one-in-four (25 percent), which is consistent with a similar Maritz poll conducted last year. The data findings indicate that travelers are spending more money in a variety of ways; specifically, 39 percent intended to travel by air over at least one of the holidays, compared to only 29 percent in 2003. The amount travelers plan to spend on alternative lodging was an average of $126 per night, which is higher than the 2003 average of $96 per night. The Maritz poll data indicates that travelers are spending more money across the board for at least one of the winter holidays: Among those planning to travel, 37 percent said they plan to spend more on holiday travel this year than last, as opposed to only 10 percent of the respondents who plan to spend less. On the other end of the spectrum, 21 percent of respondents said financial constraints will keep them from traveling over the holidays. This figure was nearly identical to the 20 percent who were limited by finances in 2003. Regardless of financial circumstances, spending time with extended family members remains an important priority, as three-out-of-four (74 percent) said they would be spending time with relatives, other than those who live in their immediate household, over the holidays. Maritz poll is a national consumer opinion survey conducted periodically by Maritz Research. The recent telephone poll, conducted October 11-19, 2004, featured responses from more than 1,000 randomly selected adults from throughout the United States. For more information on Maritz poll, visit www.maritzpoll.com.

ASTA Survey Finds Family Travel Is Increasing

If there's one travel niche that's been hot despite the aftereffects of 9-11 and a general downturn in the industry over the past three years, it's family travel. As the holiday season hits its peak, travel agents have reported that family travel is still on the rise. Those traveling with their families are looking for trips that include something for all ages, including cruises and popular destinations such as Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean, according to the latest American Society of Travel Agents' (ASTA) 2004 Family Travel Survey. Family travel has increased dramatically since 2001. An overwhelming percent of responding agents (76.7 percent) reported that bookings have increased in the past three years. Family travel is defined as parents or grandparents with children and/or grandchildren. Of those who saw an increase, the average increase was 19.9 percent Families have been traveling all over the country this year, but warm destinations have been the most popular. Of domestic destinations that did not include Disney and Orlando, 19.5 percent of agents said Hawaii was the most popular destination. Las Vegas and Florida tied for second at 16.2 percent and California was close with 15.9 percent. New York and Alaska rounded out the list with 7.4 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively. When looking at international travel, Mexico (excluding Cancun) tops the list for family bookings, accounting for 22.4 percent of all responses. Next comes Cancun, with 21 percent. Other popular international destinations are the Caribbean (12.7 percent), London (11.6 percent), Europe (11 percent) and Italy (8.8 percent). When families take vacations, a few key factors help influence their decisions. Respondents indicated that finding something for all ages and cost were the two most important factors, bringing in 57.9 and 37.8 percent of responses, respectively. More than half (50.6 percent) of respondents found an increase in single parents traveling with children in the past five years. Of the remaining responses, 23.3 percent did not see an increase, while 26.1 percent did not know.

IAC Plans Split into Two Separate Companies

In a deal that's bound to have some implications on the employment front, IAC InterActiveCorp, parent company of Expedia, has approved a plan to separate IAC into two publicly traded companies. The first is Expedia, which will include the domestic and international operations associated with Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Hotwire, TravelNow.com, Activity World, HotelDiscount.com, Condosaver.com, AllLuxuryHotels.com, Anyway.com, eLong, TV Travel Shop, Expedia Corporate Travel, Classic Custom Vacations, and TripAdvisor. The second is IAC, which will include the domestic and international operations associated with IAC's ticketing business, including Ticketmaster, ReserveAmerica, TicketWeb and MuseumTix.com; Electronic Retailing business, including HSN, HSN.com, HSE 24, America's Store, Improvements, and 9Live; Financial Services and Real Estate, including LendingTree, RealEstate.com, GetSmart, iNest, and Domania; Local and Media Services, including Citysearch, ServiceMagic, Entertainment Publications, and Evite; Personals, including Match.com and uDate; Teleservices, including Precision Response Corporation, Access Direct, and Hancock Information Group; and Interval International. IAC will retain the company's VUE securities, outstanding indebtedness and preferred stock obligations, as well as substantially the Company's cash. Expedia will be appropriately capitalized. Barry Diller will remain as chairman and CEO of IAC and chairman of Expedia. Dara Khosrowshahi, who the company previously announced would become president and CEO of IAC Travel, will serve as CEO of Expedia. Victor Kaufman will remain as vice chairman of IAC and will also serve as vice chairman of Expedia.

Want Opportunity in Travel? Head North to Alaska!

Alaska's tourism industry experienced a strong and welcome rebound in 2004 after two flat years following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. While the figures are still incomplete--the September visitor data is still an estimate-- it appears that summer visitors to the state increased 7 percent in 2004, to about 1.45 million visitors, according to the Alaska Travel Industry Association. Tourism currently brings in $1.5 billion into the state's economy each year. The numbers were up across the industry, but a 13 percent growth in cruise visitors was the main engine of the recovery. Cruise ships brought an estimated 876,000 passengers to Alaska in 2004 compared to 776,000 in 2003. Summer border crossings at the Alaska/Canada border, a count of travelers who come north on the Alaska Highway, showed a 2 percent growth in 2004. But it was the third year of gradual increases in highway travelers after a sharp drop between 2001 and 2002, which was blamed mainly on the 2001 terrorism attacks. About 3.5 million passengers arrived and departed from airports in Fairbanks, Anchorage, Juneau and Ketchikan last summer, a 9 percent growth over 2003. While these numbers include all air passengers using these airports, the bulk of them were tourists. The 2004 statistics for air travel also reflected a sharp reversal of a downward trend in passengers from 2001 through 2003. Airport arrivals and departures totaled 3.2 million in 2003, but increased to 3.5 million in 2004,

OPPORTUNITIES WATCH!

Fledgling Travel Tech Firm Kayak.com Gets More Financing

Looking for a new, well-financed travel technology firm? Kayak.com, a web site that helps consumers get comprehensive and objective travel information, said it completed a $7 million Series B financing round led by Sequoia Capital, a California-based venture capital firm. Kayak.com is only the third East Coast company Sequoia Capital has funded in the last two years. The company has now raised a total of $15.5 million to create the next generation of online travel. The additional funding will be used to further product development and expand marketing. Kayak.com was founded by the creators of Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity in January 2004 to satisfy the demand of internet users for a clear, objective and comprehensive source of online travel information. Kayak.com addresses consumer frustration by providing comprehensive rates and relevant objective information as well as giving users choice of where to book. Kayak.com is not an online travel agency, but instead searches over 60 other online travel sites, providing prices and itineraries for more than 550 airlines and 85,000 hotels. It claims to display more choice of available itinerary/price combinations than any other online travel agency and is the only travel search engine with MultiBook, a breakthrough technology that lets the consumer choose where to purchase the preferred itinerary. Kayak.com is also the first online travel tool to offer consumers the ability to access user-created reviews and ratings as well as other relevant travel information. For more information, visit www.kayak.com.

Accor Set to Open 20 New Hotels in China

China continues to the focus of a major boom in travel. In a move to tap the world's most populous market, Europe's largest hotel operator, France's Accor, plans to open 20 new hotels in China in the coming years. The announcement came right after Accor signed a deal to open its five-star Sofitel brand hotel in Beijing. Accor is also in talks with Chinese real-estate developer Dalian Wanda Group to establish a joint venture to open Ibis budget hotels in the northern city of Dalian. The Paris-based company currently operates 24 hotels on the Chinese mainland using its Sofitel, Novotel, Ibis and Century brands. It opened its first mainland Ibis hotel in Tianjin Municipality late last year, which immediately saw occupancy rates climb to 90 percent. China's annual tourism market is predicted to expand from $87 billion to more than $300 billion within the next 10 years, according to World Travel and Tourism Council estimates. The organization also predicts China will surpass France, Spain, Italy and the United States to become the worlds top destination by 2020.

Travel Holdings Gets More Financial Backing

Want to work for a company that seems to be clearly on the move? Travel Holdings, Inc. which was formed earlier this year by the merger of Tourico Holiday Tours, LastMinuteTravel.com, and Travel Global Systems (TGS), said it has concluded a $15 million round of capital that includes investments from leading domestic and international institutional investors. Travel Holdings, headquartered in Orlando and with technology operations in Tel Aviv, serves customers in 122 countries. By supplying proprietary global travel inventory and technology at highly competitive pricing, Travel Holdings integrates with every segment of the travel industry including retail, wholesale, group, travel agents, corporate and affiliates. With a combined 20 years in travel distribution and service to the world tourism market, Travel Holdings offers the consumer market penetration of LastMinuteTravel.com with the wholesale clout of Tourico Holidays and the empowering technology of Travel Global Systems. Since the merger of the three companies creating Travel Holdings said it has become the largest U.S.-based global receptive tour operator, Inc Magazine named the company to the "Inc 500"; the company signed its 10,000th merchant hotel contract; 37 airlines have signed net rate contracts; global receptive business has grown to 2,500 tour operators in 122 countries; 92 dedicated web sites launched in 2004; the company's 24/7 call center was expanded to serve 23 languages; the company has entered China, South Africa, Middle East and India. Travel Holdings is a privately held corporation, led by Alan Greenberg, CEO and chairman, and Uri Argov, president. For more information, visit: www.travelholdings.com.

Ritz-Carlton Continues to Grow in China

Luxury hotels continue to exhibit growth-especially with new properties in Asia. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. said it plans to open a new 300-room hotel in Kowloon, Hong Kong in 2009, which at 1,574 feet tall aims to be the world's highest hotel. The hotel will be owned by Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. and sited near its Kowloon Station development on the railway line to the city's international airport. Ritz-Carlton said it also plans to open a second hotel in Shanghai on Century Boulevard in Pudong's Lujiazui District. That hotel will also be owned by Sun Hung Kai, with both operated by Ritz-Carlton. No timetable was given for the completion of the Shanghai hotel. "Asia continues to provide the best strategic growth opportunity for The Ritz- Carlton Hotel Company," said Simon Cooper, president and chief operating officer. -By Hong Kong Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2802-7002; djnews.hongkong@ dowjones.com. Ritz-Carlton currently operates 58 hotels in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Expanding Riu Hotels Opens Bahamas Resort

Riu Hotels & Resorts, a growing Spanish all-inclusive chain, announced the opening of Riu Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The 379-room all-inclusive resort opened Dec. 18, 2004 and is located on Paradise Beach, just two miles from the Nassau, Bahamas and walking distance to the casino at Atlantis. The new hotel complements the company's expanding portfolio in the Americas region, where the resort group now offers 23 hotels. Riu Hotels & Resorts, a family owned business, was founded in 1953 in Mallorca, Spain. The international chain expanded to stunning beachfront locations in Europe and in 1991, Riu Hotels & Resorts opened its first hotel in the Americas region. Riu now operates 110 hotels worldwide with 23 hotels in the Americas region including Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Florida, Jamaica, and Mexico. For more information, visit www.riu.com.

AMResorts Opens its Fourth Sunscape Resort & Spa

Here's another all-inclusive resort on company on the upswing. AMResorts--with 11 resorts in the Dominican Republic and Mexico under the Secrets Resorts & Spas, Dreams Resorts & Spas, and Sunscape Resorts & Spas brand-announced the opening of the brand's fourth property, Sunscape The Beach Punta Cana, on December 1, 2004. Sunscape Resorts & Spas is a member of Summit Hotels & Resorts, a collection of 145 unique and culturally elegant luxury hotels in 100 popular destinations around the world. Sunscape The Beach Punta Cana opened in the resort area of Uvero Alto in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, an area specifically chosen for its exquisite pristine beaches and magnificent shoreline. Catering to friends, families and couples, this 616 room, first-class resort features 422 premium rooms; 54 deluxe private garden swim-out rooms; 28 honeymoon deluxe rooms; 96 honeymoon suites and eight two-bedroom master oceanfront suites. Sunscape Resorts & Spas is an all-inclusive concept in a tropical setting appealing to families, couples and singles. Philadelphia-based AMResorts opened in 2001 and operates three brands of resort properties in Mexico and the Dominican Republic. For more information, visit www.amresorts.com.

OPPORTUNITIES RESOURCE!

HospitalityNet.com Offers Hotel Industry Resource

Want yet another comprehensive web site with hotel news and information? Hospitalitynet.com offers daily headlines, major news stories, financial news and columns on the hotel industry. It also lists major hospitality associations, with descriptions and links to their web sites. It features a limited listing of job opportunities as well as postings for those seeking positions. The site also offers descriptions of all major hotel brands worldwide, plus links to their web sites. It includes a directory of all hotel industry events, plus a listing of top books on the hospitality industry (with purchasing links to either Amazon.com or Barnes&Noble.com). For more information, visit www.hospitalitynet.org.

OPPORTUNITIES EXECUTIVE MOVERS!

CRUISES: The American Association of Port Authorities named Aaron Ellis as its new communications director. Ellis will manage the association's public relations and media relations agenda, serve as the public relations committee liaison with member ports, provide information systems support and oversee the annual Communications Competition awards program. Ellis joins the AAPA after 13 years as public affairs and maritime media relations manager for the Port of Portland, in Portland, Ore. During that time, he also served on the AAPA Public Relations Committee.

HOTELS & RESORTS: Kerzner International Limited promoted Howard Karawan to divisional president/managing director of the company's destination resorts business, effective immediately. Karawan, formerly executive vice president and chief marketing officer, will oversee the company's flagship property, Atlantis, Paradise Island in The Bahamas, and its anticipated future destination resorts, Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai, and Mazagan in El Jadida, Morocco, and will report directly to Kerzner CEO Butch Kerzner. Karawan, 43, first joined the company 10 years ago as vice president-sales and marketing, responsible for the marketing activities on Paradise Island. He was responsible for the re-launch of Atlantis, Paradise Island, following the completion of the $640 million Phase II expansion project, as well as the sustained positioning of the resort on a global levelÖStanley Cheung has been named managing director, The Walt Disney Company (China). In this capacity, Cheung will be responsible for driving the company's strategy, coordinating all of Disney's business efforts in China, including overseeing Disney's global brands in the market, expanding existing businesses and seeking out new business opportunities. With Cheung's appointment, Disney will now have its existing businesses in China managed locally, with all business segments reporting into him, as well as their respective business unitsÖ AMResorts, with 11 resorts in the Dominican Republic and Mexico under the Secrets Resorts & Spas, Dreams Resorts & Spas, and Sunscape Resorts & Spas brands, named Jorge Vilanova as general manager of the Sunscape Punta Cana Grand. The 346-room, all-inclusive resort is the first property in Dominican Republic to be part of Summit Hotels & Resorts, a collection of 145 unique and culturally elegant luxury hotels in 100 popular destinations around the worldÖThe 362-suite Renaissance Chicago O'Hare Hotel, managed by Tishman Hotel Corporation (THC), has put executive team leaders in place with the appointments of Kit Pappas as general Manager and Arthur Cooper as director of sales and marketingÖChoctaw Resort Development Enterprise has reached an employment agreement with Richard "Chuck" Miller as the new president and CEO of the Pearl River Resort in Choctaw. After a national search in which a number of highly qualified candidates were interviewed, the Choctaw Resort Enterprise Board selected Miller, who began in the post effective Jan. 1, 2005. Miller comes to the Pearl River Resort from Caesars Entertainment, where he was vice president of development.

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