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This week in Opportunities:

AAA Reports 5% Rise in Vacation Costs
America West Talks Merger with US Airways
PATA Predicts 10.6% Growth in Arrivals
Casino Resort Companies Post Record Gains
Royal Caribbean Posts Record Results
CSA's Bob Herwig Earns Travel Institute's CTIE
Opportunities Watch!
Opportunities Networking!
Executive Movers! See who's going where?
Travel Executive Employment Report

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OPPORTUNITIES NEWS & TRENDS!

AAA Reports 5% Rise in Vacation Costs

Will the rising cost of vacations put a damper on leisure travel anytime soon? AAA's annual vacation costs survey reveals lodging and dining costs have increased a combined average of 5 percent since last year. AAA's survey shows that a family of two adults and two children can expect to pay an average of $247 per day for food and lodging. Lodging rates will average $129 a night, up 3.9 percent from last year. Meals will cost $118, up 6.5 percent. These increases are attributed to two main reasons -- increased demand pushing hotel rates higher and escalated transportation costs for meat, dairy and produce impacting dining costs. The least expensive U.S. vacations this year are in Nebraska, where the daily cost of food and lodging for a family of four will average $184; North Dakota, $185; Kansas, $186; Oklahoma, $188; and Iowa, $189. The most expensive state for vacationers remains Hawaii at $518 per day. Other destinations with a high average daily cost include the District of Columbia, $441; Rhode Island, $307; New York, $307; and Massachusetts, $303.

America West Talks Merger with US Airways

There may be more job changes ahead for two of America's major carriers, if they carry through on merger talks announced last week. US Airways and America West admitted they are merger talks to create what would be the nation's sixth-largest airline. The deal has not been completed and a number of obstacles remain, particularly since US Airways remains in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. A merger between US Airways, the nation's seventh-largest carrier, and America West, the eighth-largest, would require approval from the bankruptcy court, US Airways' largest creditor General Electric, America West shareholders, unions and the federal government. A combined US Airways and America West would be the sixth-largest airline. Some reports said the resulting carrier would keep the US Airways name, but that substantial operations would remain in Phoenix, America West's headquarters.

PATA Predicts 10.6% Growth in Arrivals

With the effect of the tsunami and SARS apparently well behind it, the Pacific Asia region's travel is back on the growth track. The Pacific Asia Travel Association's Strategic Intelligence Centre (SIC) released "Asia Pacific Tourism Forecasts 2005-2007" last week at54th PATA Annual Conference in Macau. This new series of forecasts for 40 countries across the Asia Pacific region predicts overall growth in international visitor arrivals of 10.6 percent per year to 2007. Every destination covered in the PATA region is predicted to post positive annual growth to 2007, ranging from 4.0 percent (Pakistan) to 20.9 percent (Malaysia). There are numerous factors influencing the forecasts: the recovery following the tsunami, the emergence of low-cost airlines, the rapidly rising middle-classes across Asia, and significant advances in avionics leading to new generation aircraft that will change how we move around the world. A summary of "Asia Pacific Tourism Forecasts 2005-2007" is available for download at www.PATA.org/forecasts05.

Casino Resort Companies Post Record Gains

There's more growth on the gaming front, which should mean career opportunities in this sector will continue to flourish. MGM Mirage reported adjusted earnings from continuing operations per diluted share increased to an all-time record $0.87 in the first quarter of 2005, eclipsing the company's previous best of $0.74 earned in the second quarter of 2004. The strong earnings resulted from several positive factors, including strong gaming volumes and continued strength in hotel and other non-gaming results, driven by a strong convention calendar and increased room rates as well as new amenities at several resorts. Revenue per available room at the company's Las Vegas Strip resorts was $167, an impressive year-over-year increase of 15 percent, on top of last year's 11 percent first quarter increase over 2003. Table games volume, including baccarat, increased 9 percent in the quarter and slot revenue increased 13 percent. Overall, MGM Mirage generated net revenues of $1.2 billion, up 13 percent from 2004. Elsewhere, Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. reported first-quarter revenues of $1.26 billion, up 24.2 percent from revenues of $1.01 billion in the 2004 first quarter. First-quarter Adjusted Earnings Per Share increased to 97 cents, up 27.6 percent from the 76 cents achieved in 2004's first quarter. First-quarter Adjusted EPS from continuing operations was 87 cents per share, an increase of 26.1 percent from the year-ago quarter. First-quarter income from operations rose 32.0 percent to $232.8 million from $176.3 million in the year-earlier quarter. First-quarter net income was $103.8 million, up 27.1 percent from $81.7 million in the 2004 first quarter. Finally, for the first quarter of 2005 Caesars Entertainment reported net income of $50 million, compared to a net income of $71 million for the first quarter of 2004. Adjusted net income for the quarter was $82 million. First quarter adjusted net income excluded $155 million in merger costs related to the company's pending acquisition by Harrah's Entertainment.

Royal Caribbean Posts Record Results

The cruise sector continues to exhibit extraordinary financial strength. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. last week reported net income for the first quarter of 2005 was $135.3 million, compared to $95.8 million for the first quarter of 2004. Revenues for the first quarter of 2005 increased 10 percent to $1.2 billion from revenues of $1.1 billion in the first quarter of 2004. The increase in revenues was attributable to an improvement in cruise ticket prices, a 3.3 percent increase in capacity and increases in occupancy and onboard revenues. Gross yields and net yields for the first quarter of 2005 increased 6.5 percent and 8.2 percent from the first quarter of 2004, respectively. Occupancy reached a record level for the first quarter, at 105.7 percent, up from 104.2 percent in the first quarter of 2004.

CSA's Bob Herwig Earns Travel Institute's CTIE

Bob Herwig, vice president-national accounts for CSA Travel Protection, has become the first executive in the travel insurance business to attain the designation of Certified Travel Industry Executive (CTIE) from The Travel Institute, a trade organization that sets the standards for professionalism in the travel industry. The CTIE certification is for midlevel to executive management, or anyone leading a team and working with key business issues in all segments of the travel industry. The CTIE evaluates leadership style and effectiveness, providing an alternative certification option for industry leaders who feel that an executive certification more appropriately represents their role. To qualify for the CTIE designation, Herwig met the requirement of at least 10 years of full-time professional work experience, with five of those years in the travel industry. He also wrote a white paper on the future of individual travel agents. Herwig formerly held the institute's Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) designation for 16 years. The CTC certification has long been considered the top certification in the travel industry and is designed for travel professionals interested in advancing their career.

OPPORTUNITIES WATCH!

Raffles Hotels Joins China Growth Surge

There's more hotel growth in China. Raffles International Limited signed an agreement with Beijing Hotel, a hotel under the Beijing Tourism Group (BTG), to rebrand and manage two of the four blocks of the Beijing Hotel under Raffles International's luxury Raffles brand. After a period of renovations and refurbishment, it will be re-launched as the Raffles Beijing Hotel in 2006. This contract marks the very first entry of Raffles International's luxury Raffles brand into China. With the Raffles Beijing Hotel, the growing portfolio of Raffles International will comprise 40 hotels and resorts in 20 countries, in 34 destinations. The Raffles Beijing Hotel will have 179 rooms, four food and beverage outlets, meeting facilities, a brand new ballroom and a fitness centre with an indoor swimming pool.

Private Charter JetStream Makes Debut

A team of aviation veterans has launched JetStream International, specializing in arranging private jet charters and charter flights for cruise lines, executives and tour operators. Unlike charter carriers, JetStream doesn't own aircraft and therefore isn't limited to promoting a specific group of planes. Based in Coral Gables, Florida, JetStream was incorporated in March by Jeffrey Jacobsen, who started Student Travel Services in the 1980s, and Robert Conser, a former Eastern Airlines pilot and flight instructor who later served as a founding executive of charter heavyweight Miami Air International. Cruise industry veteran Noemi Freeman, who directed air/sea operations at Cunard, Seabourn and Royal Cruise Line, is Jetstream's vice president-cruise line. Though JetStream has been in business for only a month, Freeman already is booking charters for cruise operators.

Horst Schulze Firm to Manage Montelucia Resort

West Paces Hotel Group has been awarded the management contract for Montelucia Resort & Spa in Paradise Valley, in partnership with developer Crown Realty & Development. The luxury resort will feature a range of over 300 guestrooms, suites, villas and casitas. A $185 million refurbishment, complete redesign and transformation of the existing La Posada resort will give way to the new Montelucia, set amid 28 acres, Camelback Mountain panorama and surrounding Red Rock landscape. West Paces Hotel Group was founded in 2002 by Horst Schulze, former president and chief operating officer of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, with a team comprised of former key Ritz-Carlton executives, to create and operate branded hotels in select upscale market segments.

OPPORTUNITIES NETWORKING!

Connect at TravelCom 2005

This April, Travel Commerce Conference and Expo will be bigger and better than ever before, with more exhibitors, an exciting new venue, and a comprehensive executive level conference program that has been created for the industry, by the industry! Opportunities subscribers also can save 20% on TravelCom 2005! - Simply use the following discount code when registering at TravelComExpo.com: GTC2L. TravelCom runs April 27-29, 2005 at the Marriott Marquis in New York, NY.

Meet Top Hotel Pros at NYU's 27th Hospitality Conference

The Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management at New York University will be hosting the 27th Annual International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, June 5-7, 2005. The event will feature general sessions on important hospitality industry issues with a choice of workshops that include finance, legal, development and technology, among others. The conference will feature such industry leaders as Jonathan M. Tisch, chairman and CEO, Loews Hotels; Randell Smith, CEO, Smith Travel Research; and Stephen Rushmore, president and founder, HVS International; and Stephen Wynn, chairman and CEO, Wynn Resorts. It will take place at The Waldorf=Astoria in New York. For more information, call 212-998-9140 or www.scps.nyu.edu/hospitalityconf.

OPPORTUNITIES EXECUTIVE MOVERS!

AIRLINES: Aer Lingus has appointed a new chief executive, Dermot Mannion, formerly of Emirates Airlines. Mannion, a native of County Sligo in Ireland, served as president of Group Support Services at Emirates. He replaces Willie Walsh, who was named chief executive of British Airways earlier this yearÖ Delta Air Lines said Brian Leinbach has been named senior vice president and chief information officer of Delta, and president and chief executive officer of Delta Technology, a wholly owned IT subsidiaryÖUS Airways has expanded the roles of two executives, naming Jerrold Glass as executive vice president-chief human resources officer, and Bill Trousdale as vice president-financial planning and analysis.

CRUISES: Oceania Cruises named Mary Kucera as director of air services to oversee all aspects of air-sea operations. Kucera has 23 years of experience in the travel industry and most recently was director of air programs and documentation at Holland America Line. Prior to that, she spent more than 18 years at Delta Air LinesÖAlberto Aliberti joined Norwegian Cruise Line as director of land services. He is responsible for shore excursions and the pre- and post-cruise hotel programs at NCL, NCL America and Orient Lines, reporting to Colin Murphy, vice president on-board revenue & land services.

HOTELS & RESORTS: Wyndham International, Inc., the largest casino operator on the island of Puerto Rico, announced the appointments of four executives to its casino gaming operations: Susy Bell, vice president of casino operations; Rick Yuhas, director of table games operations; Peter Getzler, director of marketing and player development and Luis Del Valle, director of slot operations. The management appointments were announced as part of Wyndham International's $16.5 million upgrade to its three world-renowned resorts, the Wyndham El Conquistador Resort & Golden Door Spa, the Wyndham El San Juan Hotel & Casino (the island's largest casino) and the Wyndham Condado Plaza (offering the largest number of slots on the island). As vice president of casino operations, Bell is responsible for all aspects of the company's casino gaming operations, including marketing and player development, table game operations and slot operationsÖHolland America Line has named Shelley McCool as regional sales manager of Westmark Fairbanks Hotel & Conference Center and Westmark Inn Tok, effective immediately. McCool will be based in Fairbanks and responsible for achieving revenue goals at both Westmark properties through implementing and managing sales and marketing programsÖThe new sales and marketing director at Al Raha Beach Hotel in Abu Dhabi is Christian Dangel, a Swiss national who joins the resort from the Dolder Grand Hotel in Zurich. Dangel trained in Switzerland and Mexico, and began his hotel career with the Bellevue Palace and Best Western Swiss Hotels before moving to South America. After serving as director of sales and marketing at the Swissotel in Lima, he moved to the Chalet Maya in Cancun, Mexico, where he was hotel manager, before returning to Switzerland to the Dolder GrandÖ Melrose Hotels named Christopher Alto as general manager of The Melrose Hotel, Washington, D.C. Alto comes to the Washington, D.C., property after almost four years as general manager of The Melrose Hotel in Dallas. This move is Alto's second time with the Washington, D.C. Melrose. He served as hotel manager for a year, helping with the transition to the Melrose brand, prior to heading to Dallas in 2001ÖIssam Nizam has been named director of rooms for the independent luxury Westminster Hotel in Livingston, N.J. Nizam has more than 17 years of experience in the hospitality industry. He joined the Westminster staff as revenue manager in December 2002, just as the hotel was about to openÖHere's the hotel job of the week: Waikiki Parc Hotel has named Garrett Valles as its first ever director of surfing. The Honolulu hotel's director of surfing will enrich guest experiences by demystifying the surfing mystique with a variety of programs mixing local traditions with plenty of adrenaline inducing wave riding actionÖDidier Boidin has been appointed general manager for InterContinental Le Grand Hotel Paris as well as assuming the role of regional director of operations. As general manager, Boidin's responsibilities will include increasing the stature of the historical Parisian treasure, which was fully renovated in 2003ÖJuergen Stutz has been appointed senior director of sales for the Caribbean for Sol Melia Hotels & Resorts. St¸tz will be responsible for implementing the sales strategies for Paradisus Puerto Rico, Paradisus Punta Cana, Meli· Caribe Tropical, Meli· Santo Domingo and the soon-to-open luxury resort Paradisus Palma Real in Punta Cana.

DESTINATIONS: Makiko Cronin has been promoted to online marketing manager and Cynthia Yuen has been named coordinator of marketing programs and promotions at the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau (SFCVB). As online marketing manager, Cronin will plan and oversee online programs to generate increased online revenue for the SFCVB through hotel bookings and ticket sales. Cronin joined the SFCVB in July 2004 as marketing coordinator.

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