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This week in Opportunities:

North American Airport Passenger Traffic Rose 4.3% in 2005
Survey: 71% of Vacationers to Stay in Hotels this Summer
Opportunities Watch!
Executive Movers! See who's going where?
Travel Executive Employment Report

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OPPORTUNITIES NEWS & TRENDS

North American Airport Passenger Traffic Rose 4.3% in 2005

More than 1.52 billion passengers traveled through North American airports in 2005, an increase of 4.3 percent, Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) has announced. Both cargo and total operations, however, declined slightly by 0.5 percent and 0.2 percent respectively. According to the ACI-NA President Greg Principato, North American passengers are returning to the skies in record numbers and many air carriers continue to add flights in markets across the U.S. and Canada. The numbers reinforce ACI-NA's 2005 Capital Needs Survey, which shows that airports plan to spend $14.3 billion per year over the next five years to add capacity and upgrade facilities to meet that demand. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport retained the number one worldwide ranking for passenger traffic, counting 85.9 million passengers in 2005, a 2.8 percent increase over 2004. Atlanta was followed by Chicago O'Hare International Airport (76.5 million) and Los Angeles International Airport (61.5 million). Memphis International Airport remained the busiest cargo airport in the world, handling over 3.6 million metric tons -- an increase of 1.2 percent over its final 2004 numbers. Atlanta replaced Chicago as the airport with the greatest number of total operations worldwide with a yearly total of 980,386 movements. Chicago posted a 2 percent decrease in operation at 972,248 movements. Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport ranked third with 711,878 operations, a decrease of 11.5 percent. Canada's busiest airport in two of the three categories is Toronto's Lester B. Pearson International Airport, ranking 17th in North America for passengers (29.9 million) and 18th in total movements (409,401). Vancouver International Airport ranked highest at 30th in Canada for cargo (223,677 metric tons). The ACI-NA 2005 Traffic Report contains passenger, freight/mail and aircraft operations data for 190 North American airport members. Total passengers represent the sum of passengers enplaned and deplaned in all commercial services but not passengers who travel in business or general aviation modes of transportation. Total freight/mail figures represent the sum of the total freight and mail, both loaded and unloaded, at the reporting airport. Total aircraft operations reflect the sum total of all domestic commercial, international commercial, commuter, general aviation and military operations. The final 2005 North American traffic report is available on ACI-NA's website: www.aci-na.aero.

Survey: 71% of Vacationers to Stay in Hotels this Summer

Hotels and resorts should be hearing a loud "cha-ching" as 71 percent of travelers plan to stay at a hotel during their vacation this summer, up a few percentage points from last year, according to a recent TripAdvisor survey of more than 2,300 travelers worldwide. 92 percent of travelers intend to take a vacation this summer and 54 percent plan to take at least half of their annual vacation time this summer. Twenty-eight percent of travelers intend to take more vacation time this summer than last, and 29 percent intend to spend more money on their summer vacations in 2006 than they did in 2005. Men actually intend to spend more money than women on their travels this summer. Travelers seem eager to pull out their credit cards this summer, even at the gas pumps. Nearly 70 percent of travelers said the rising cost of fuel will not interfere with their travel plans. Americans are more concerned with gas prices than travelers from other countries, with 27 percent reporting they will take fewer trips due to fuel costs, compared with 12 percent of travelers from outside the U.S. Coppertone is also seeing green as the two most popular activities this summer, according to the panel, will be swimming and sunbathing. Visiting a museum, going to a concert, and touring a national park round out the top five most popular activities. About one quarter of all travelers, and 39 percent of U.S. respondents, intend to go to a baseball game this summer. Despite the World Cup event in Germany this summer, a mere seven percent of the overall panel and 12 percent of respondents from outside the U.S. intend to see a live soccer match this summer. The majority of travelers intend to hit the sun, sand and city streets. Fifty-two percent of travelers plan to visit a beach destination and 49 percent plan to visit a major metropolitan area this summer. According to the panel, women are more likely than men to participate in outdoors activities, such as hiking and camping. More travelers are planning to go to Florida than any other destination for vacation this summer, followed by California and Las Vegas. The most popular destinations outside the U.S. are Italy, Canada and France. Visiting the beach (67 percent) was also the most popular choice for respondents taking vacation with their children, followed by going to an amusement park or theme park. Nearly 10 percent of respondents plan to travel somewhere on vacation alone this summer. Sixty-three percent of respondents are planning to leave their home country for vacation this summer.

OPPORTUNITIES WATCH!

New Co. Plans Acquisitions in Mexico, Latin America, Caribbean

Grupo Barcelo, headquartered in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, has announced the formation of a new company within its portfolio: Playa Hotels & Resorts, S.L. (Playa). Playa will focus on the acquisition and development of all-inclusive beachfront resorts in Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean. To date, Playa has raised more than $580 million in equity funding commitments from a small group of international institutional investors, including Barcelo, Merrill Lynch Global Principal Investments and Marathon Asset Management. Barcelo Crestline will be the asset manager for the Playa portfolio. Bruce Wardinski, President and CEO of Barcelo Crestline, will also be the Chairman and CEO of Playa Hotels & Resorts. The new company is headquartered in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Playa is anticipating aggressive growth through the acquisition and development of all-inclusive beachfront resorts in Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean. Playa's initial portfolio will consist of four properties in Mexico: the Barcelo Premium La Jolla de Mismaloya in Puerto Vallarta, Barcelo Premium Ixtapa, the Barcelo Premium Huatulco and the Barcelo Premium Karmina Palace in Manzanillo. All future acquisitions will also be branded and managed by Barcelo Hotels & Resorts.

OPPORTUNITIES EXECUTIVE MOVERS!

AIRLINES: NetJets has announced that Bill Noe has been appointed to President of NetJets International Inc. (NJI). Noe will assume all day-to-day responsibility for the operations and administrative functions of NJI. Since joining NetJets in 1993, Noe has served as a pilot, director of operations and vice president of operations. Noe holds a B.A. from Marshall University and serves on several industry advisory boards...Eos Airlines has added two key positions to its executive management team. Travel industry veteran Toby Joseph has been appointed Executive Vice President of Global Sales with offices in New York and London. At the same time, John Morgan, seasoned in the international airline business, has been named Vice President of Europe and General Manager, United Kingdom, based in Eos' London operation, and will be reporting to Joseph. At Eos, Joseph will oversee the airline's global sales effort, utilizing his extensive experience in worldwide travel sales and development. Joseph most recently served as global chief operating officer of TQ3 Travel Solutions, an international travel management company which he was recruited to launch in 2000 by owner Tui AG. Over a six year period, Joseph led the international development process, assisting in the company's growth to a $12 billion entity employing 12,000 people and operating in 100 countries. He had responsibility for all commercial and customer facing areas, including sales, marketing, account management, supplier relations and network development. Prior to his tenure with TQ3 Travel Solutions, Joseph served as vice president sales - Europe and the Middle East for Carlson Wagonlit Travel, a company he joined in 1987 as business development manager for the city of London. Morgan joins Eos from GB Airways where he had served as commercial director since 2004. Morgan started his career in airlines in 1988 when he joined British Airways in Melbourne, rising up management ranks in marketing and operations until he became general manager business sales/UK/I, a post he held until leaving in 2000. His tenure at British Airways provided Morgan with experience in many parts of the globe, including New Zealand, the South Pacific, Europe, the Mediterranean and the U.K. Morgan joined British Midland as director of sales and marketing in 2000. While there, he led the rebranding of the airline and spearheaded development of its first long haul product. From British Midland, he broadened his career experience with a travel management company, Travel Force, where he served as chief executive officer.

AGENCIES: Carlson Companies has promoted Carmen Baker to Vice President of Diversity. In her new role, Baker will lead the company-wide Diversity Center of Expertise (COE) and report to Jim Porter, Carlson's executive vice president of human resources. Baker will become a member of the Carlson Human Resources Leadership Council and continue to serve on the Diversity Advisory Team and Multi-Cultural Committee. Baker also will be responsible for establishing a long-term diversity strategy aligned to all of Carlson's operating groups. Her COE will aim to continually build a culture where Carlson's work environment is a great place that attracts and retains great people. Prior to her new assignment, Baker was vice president of diversity for Carlson Hotels Worldwide (CHW), where she was responsible for leading the hotel group's strategy and tactics in support of diversity and inclusion. She joined Carlson in 2001 as general manager of reservations for CHW, managing the Omaha, Sidney and Mexico City reservation centers. Under her leadership, in 2003, the CHW Reservations Sales and Services center in Omaha was named the top company on the "Best Places to Work in Omaha" list by the Great Places to Work Institute. In 2005, CHW was recognized with the "2005 Mosaic Award for Diversity" by the Human Resources Association of the Midlands. Prior to coming to Carlson, Baker owned her own consulting business with a focus on working with clients to launch new businesses. She has a broad base of general management experience, both nationally and internationally, in sectors including high tech, finance, insurance, travel and hospitality, and consumer products.

HOTELS & RESORTS: FelCor Lodging Trust Incorporated has announced Michael C. Hughes as Vice President, Finance. Hughes was most recently Vice President of Corporate Finance for Wyndham International. During his tenure with Wyndham, he held various management positions including Director of Corporate Finance and Senior Financial Analyst. With more than 10 years of experience in finance, Hughes also has previously worked with Maverick Management LLC where he served as Business Consultant and American Express, in the role of Financial Advisor. Hughes received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business from Rhodes College and is a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation...The Majestic Star Casino, LLC has announced that Kirk C. Saylor will serve as its Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO). As the COO, Saylor will oversee and provide direction to the Company's four gaming properties, which are located in Colorado, Indiana, and Mississippi...Scott Candland has been named Vice President of Operations for Outrigger Enterprises' Condominium/Timeshare Division. In his new position, Candland will provide leadership, management and vision to ensure the condominium/timeshare division has the proper operational controls, administrative and reporting procedures, systems and people in place to grow the brand and to ensure financial strength and operating efficiency of the division. He will also oversee all operations and management of Outrigger's fourteen Condominium Collection resorts and four Fairfield vacation ownership properties in Hawaii, including the new Fairfield Resort at Waikiki Beach Walk set to open later this year. Candland comes to Outrigger with more than 25 years of experience in managing destination properties across the country. Most recently, he served as managing director of Advantage Hospitality Services in Scottsdale, Arizona, a diversified company that he established to provide management, marketing, acquisitions and development expertise to hotels, resorts and the investment community throughout the Western United States and Caribbean. Prior to that, he was the executive vice president of operations and development for Discover Resorts, an international marketing and management company, also based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Candland's background also includes management positions with a variety of resorts throughout the Western United States, including McCormick Land Company, Premier Resorts (Village Resorts International), Cathedral Canyon Resort, Rippling River Resort and the Lakes Country Club & Monterey Country Club. Early in his career, Candland held sales and marketing positions with Hyatt hotels in Fort Worth, Texas, and Los Angeles, Palo Alto, San Francisco and Long Beach, California...Benchmark Hospitality International has announced the appointment of Mark Bommarito as project vice president of sales and marketing for the historic French Lick Springs Resort & Casino. Bommarito was most recently the director of marketing at Grand Victoria Casino Resort, located in Rising Sun, Indiana. Prior to this position, he held the title and responsibilities of director of marketing at Casino Magic, a gaming property located in Biloxi, Mississippi. Bommarito has also served as vice president of marketing for Caesars Indiana, located in Elizabeth, Indiana, as well as the director of database marketing at the Grand Casino Avoyelles, located in Marksville, Louisiana. His first executive-level position within the gaming industry was as director of marketing operations for the Casino Aztar of Evansville, Indiana. Bommarito is a graduate of LaSalle University of Mandeville, Louisiana, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration.

TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY: LeisureLink, Inc. has named Erik Hovanec as President and CEO. Hovanec, who has served on the Board of LeisureLink since 2004, was previously the General Manager for the Green Dot Financial Network, a division of Green Dot Corporation and a market leader in the multi-billion dollar prepaid financial services industry. From 1998 to 2003 Hovanec was a member of the Senior Management team at GoTo.com which became Overture Services Inc and is now owned by Yahoo!. At Overture Services he oversaw numerous facets of that company's rapid growth in the Paid Search Engine industry from its inception through to its subsequent acquisition by Yahoo! in October 2003 for $1.6 Billion. Previously Hovanec worked as a consultant for the Boston Consulting Group, Marakon Associates and as a product manager for a high tech startup. Hovanec is also a Board member and past officer of the Harvard Business School Association of Southern California. He is on the Board of Directors of Nami Media, Inc. and is an active member of the Pasadena Angels where he works with young companies seeking angel investment capital. Hovanec received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Princeton University...Pegasus Solutions today announced that executive Mike Kistner has been named chief operating officer for the company. Kistner joined Pegasus last year as senior vice president of operations and technology, managing all functional areas that deliver the production elements of Pegasus services, including computer systems, networks, call centers and business process fulfillment. He later assumed the operations and technology aspects of the Pegasus business. Kistner is based in Pegasus' Scottsdale, Ariz., location and is the company's senior executive at that facility. Kistner's background includes serving Best Western International as CIO and senior vice president of distribution, as well as executive roles at Cendant Corp., Super 8 Motels and HFS Inc. He holds a bachelor of science degree in accounting and information systems from Northern State University, Aberdeen, S.D., and a master of science degree in information systems from Colorado State University.

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