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This week in Opportunities:

U.S. Travel Expenditures Hit $600 Billion
TIA Reports Boost for Summer Travel
AmWest-US Airways Merger Could Impact Top Posts
Hotel Analyst Forecasts Record Summer
AAA Predicts Record Memorial Day Travel
Opportunities Watch!
Opportunities Networking!
Executive Movers! See who's going where?
Travel Executive Employment Report

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OPPORTUNITIES NEWS & TRENDS!

U.S. Travel Expenditures Hit $600 Billion

Building on the travel recovery that began last year, a relatively healthy economy, and a favorable exchange rate, Americans and international visitors are traveling and spending more in the U.S., according to the Travel Industry Association of America's (TIA) Annual Travel Forecast. In 2004 overall travel expenditures for both U.S. residents and international visitors surpassed the $600 billion mark for the first time, and the 2005 forecast is a healthy 5.6 percent increase, pushing the total travel expenditures number to $633.5 billion. "Increasing travel demand is benefiting most sectors of the travel industry," said Dr. Suzanne Cook, TIA's senior vice president of research, "and with it has come a corresponding increase in U.S. travel expenditures by both domestic and international travelers." A weak dollar overseas continues to help bring more international visitors to the U.S. Spending by international visitors is predicted to increase 9.6 percent in 2005, reaching $81.9 billion, and a total of 49.1 million international visitors are expected to come to the U.S. in 2005, up 6.5 percent from 2004. While these figures are encouraging there is room for growth as visitation is still below 2000 levels and worldwide market share decreased 36 percent between 1992 and 2004. Spending by U.S. residents continues to rise, with a 5 percent increase forecast for 2005, bringing the domestic spending figure to $551.6 billion. Domestic person-trips, however, will experience a more moderate increase of 2.2 percent over 2004, bringing the total domestic travel volume forecast to 1.19 billion person-trips for 2005. Business travel has seen one of the most dramatic turnarounds. After several years of decline, business travel continues to improve with a 3 percent increase predicted for 2005 to nearly 150 million person-trips. This comes after a 5 percent increase in 2004. On the leisure travel side, Americans are forecasted to take 961 million domestic leisure person-trips in 2005, up 2 percent over 2004. Travelers are taking to the skies again as improved business travel is helping boost air travel. Building on a 2004 recovery, air travel is predicted to see a 3.5 percent increase in 2005, taking air travel volume to 200 million air person-trips. Auto travel, the most popular mode of travel, continues to experience modest growth with over 960 million auto person-trips expected in 2005, nearly 2 percent more than in 2004.

TIA Reports Boost for Summer Travel

Despite rising prices, Americans will be traveling in record numbers this summer with Florida, California, Nevada and New York the top preferred destinations, according to the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA). "Every sector of the travel industry will be up, up, up," said Dr. Suzanne Cook, TIA's senior vice president of research. "The momentum in travel recovery that began in earnest last year is continuing into the summer with a 2.3 percent increase in leisure travel. That means that Americans will take 328 million leisure person-trips during June, July and August 2005." A person-trip is one person traveling 50 plus miles, one-way, away from home. While travel prices are up in the first three months of 2005, this will not discourage Americans from taking trips, but they will be looking for deals and ways to economize without giving up their summer vacations. While the number of trips is up, the number of nights away from home continues to decline from 7.6 nights last summer to 7 nights this summer on their longest leisure trip. Travelers plan on spending an average of $1,019 on their longest leisure trip this summer, a decrease of 7 percent from summer 2004 ($1,101). "Again, what we see here is a trend to take more trips during the year of shorter duration. So while the spending per trip is down, the number of trips is up," Cook said. Three out of four Americans plan to visit friends and relatives this summer, two thirds will be at a beach and/or visiting small towns and rural areas. Many trips will include children this summer, with 37 percent of travelers taking kids on their longest trip. Six percent will include a grandchild. Traveling with one's spouse is also popular (55 percent), as is traveling with other family members (19 percent) and traveling with friends (13 percent). Seven percent will travel with their parents and 8 percent will travel solo. The top three planned activities are visiting friends and relatives (75 percent), going to a beach or lake (70 percent) and visiting small towns or rural areas (64 percent). Rounding out the top 10 summer traveler activities are: visiting cities/urban areas (54 percent), visiting national or state parks (47 percent), visiting historic sites (41 percent), camping, hiking or climbing (38 percent), fishing (36 percent), attending a family reunion (35 percent), or attending performing arts events (34 percent). One-third plan on visiting museums (33 percent), theme parks (31 percent), gambling casinos (26 percent) or attending cultural events such as ethnic festivals (24 percent). Seventeen percent of summer travelers plan to use an RV, while 16 percent intend to enjoy an all-inclusive resort. Sixteen percent plan on traveling outside the U.S. and 10 percent say they plan to take a cruise.

AmWest-US Airways Merger Could Impact Top Posts

What will be the impact on jobs of the planned merger of America West Airlines and US Airways? Clearly some top executive jobs will be lost in the process, though some observers say US Airways would eventually have been forced to liquidate, given its precarious financial position. In the press release announcing the deal, officials of the combined airline, which collectively will be known as US Airways headquartered in Tempe, Ariz., said they expect to have one of the most efficient work groups in the industry, with anticipated annual cost savings and revenue synergies of over $600 million. Operational labor groups of the two airlines will be integrated over two to three years with emphasis on minimizing any dislocations within the work groups. "A combined US Airways/America West places the new airline in a position of strength and future growth that neither of us could have achieved on our own," said America West Holdings CEO Doug Parker. US Airways currently employs 30,100 people and America West employs 14,000 people. Contract integration of represented employees is expected to occur after integrated seniority lists have been negotiated between each respective airline's labor groups. "While seniority integration will be a challenge for us and our employees, we will ensure that those issues are discussed and resolved in a fair and equitable manner," said Parker, who will be CEO of the combined carrier. "We are building a new future that will present far greater job security and growth opportunities than either airline would have achieved on its own, and we are doing so with the ability for all to share in the collective upside."

Hotel Analyst Forecasts Record Summer

More good news on the hotel front: PricewaterhouseCoopers is forecasting record demand for the U.S lodging industry between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend. The company expects an average of 3.21 million occupied room nights per night, marking a 4.7 percent increase over 2004 and a 6.2 percent increase over 2000. Summer occupancy is forecast to be 71.4 percent, the highest since 2000 when occupancy was 72.1 percent. In addition, summer room rates will be 4.5 percent higher than last year and 6.3 percent higher than 2000. Meanwhile, room rates are increasing as hotel executives, especially in urban and resort markets, respond to strong demand and try to make up for declines in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

AAA Predicts Record Memorial Day Travel

AAA's Memorial Day travel forecast often serves as a harbinger for the rest of the travel season. So last week, when AAA reported record numbers of Americans will travel this Memorial Day holiday despite the highest gas prices ever recorded for a holiday, it appeared to be good news for travel in general this summer. AAA estimates that 37.2 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday, a 2.2 percent increase from last year. Approximately 31.1 million travelers (84 percent of all holiday travelers) expect to go by motor vehicle, a 2.2 percent increase from the 30.5 million who drove a year ago. Another 4.2 million (11 percent of holiday travelers) plan to travel by airplane, up 3.2 percent from last Memorial Day. A projected 1.9 million vacationers (5 percent) will go by train, bus, or other mode of transportation, about even with a year ago. "Highest-ever holiday gas prices won't keep Americans from traveling," said AAA Travel Vice President Sandra Hughes. "Prices might be 15 cents per gallon higher than last year's then-record levels, but gasoline remains a relatively small part of most travelers' vacation costs. Look for another crowded holiday on the highways."

OPPORTUNITIES WATCH!

Kessler Adds St. Pete Hotel to His Empire

Orlando-based hotel developer Richard Kessler, president and CEO of The Kessler Enterprise, Inc./The Kessler Collection unveiled his new Grand Bohemian Hotel and Residences project in St. Petersburg, Florida. Scheduled to break ground in January 2006, the dramatically-designed Grand Bohemian will be St. Petersburg's first luxury mixed-use, contemporary hotel and residential destination. This unique, urban 28-story tower will rise 350 feet and be situated on the eastern corner of the site of the existing Florida International Museum next to Progress Energy Florida's new headquarters. The luxury hotel will provide 205 oversized guest rooms and suites with unsurpassed amenities and services to all guests and residents, including the area's corporate and social community. Amenities will include a fine dining restaurant, chic lounge, market cafÈ, private club, art gallery, pool and large deck area, health spa and more than 16,000 square feet of meeting, banquet and pre-function space. The hotel's operational and service concept will be reflective of Kessler's Westin Grand Bohemian Hotel located in downtown Orlando. The Kessler Collection includes the AAA Four-Diamond Casa Monica Hotel in historic, St. Augustine, Fla.; the AAA Four-Diamond Westin Grand Bohemian Hotel in Orlando; the AAA Four-Diamond Celebration Hotel in Celebration, Fla.; the Mansion on Forsyth Park in Savannah, the historic Kehoe House Bed and Breakfast Inn in Savannah; Beaver Creek Lodge in Beaver Creek, Colo.; Doubletree Castle Hotel in Orlando; Sheraton Studio City Hotel in Orlando; Red Horse Inn in Orlando; the Sheraton Safari Hotel in Orlando and the Colorado Nature Ranch in Grand Junction - slated to open September 2006.

Rocco Forte Plans to Add Munich Hotel

Britain's Rocco Forte Hotels is clearly on the growth path. Sir Rocco Forte was in Munich himself earlier this month to help lay the foundation stone for the Lenbach G‰rten site, at the heart of which a new luxury Rocco Forte Hotels property will be built. The eight-story, 71.5 million euro hotel will have 160 rooms, including 28 suites, as well as a restaurant with two private dining rooms, a bar, a health centre with gym, swimming pool, sauna and treatment rooms, and eight meeting rooms, including a ballroom that will accommodate almost 400 people for a cocktail reception. "The hotel here fits perfectly with our plan to build a luxury collection of hotels in the key cities of Europe, three of which are in Germany," said Forte. "Once finished, I believe the hotel will be the most stylish and best-located property in Munich." The Rocco Forte Hotels currently under development in Germany are Villa Kennedy in Frankfurt, Hotel de Rome in Berlin and the property in Munich, which has yet to be named. Current hotels within the Rocco Forte Hotels collection are: Hotel de Russie, Rome; Hotel Savoy, Florence; The Balmoral, Edinburgh; The St David's Hotel & Spa, Cardiff; The Lowry Hotel, Manchester; Hotel Astoria, St Petersburg; Hotel Amigo, Brussels; Le Richemond, Geneva; Brown's Hotel, London (closed for refurbishment, due to re-open September 2005); and Ch‚teau de Bagnols, en Beaujolais (managed on behalf of Lady Hamlyn). Future openings include Villa Kennedy, Frankfurt (2006), Hotel de Rome, Berlin (2006), Verdura Golf & Spa Resort, Sicily (2007) and Munich (2007).

Starwood Set to Manage Another China Hotel

The China hotel boom continues for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. The company announced an agreement for Starwood to manage the Sheraton Urumqi Hotel in Urumqi, China, the capital city of Xianjiang Province. Scheduled to open in early 2007, the hotel will be situated in a prime location in the city, in an area that encompasses approximately 2.2 million square feet of upscale retail space, entertainment outlets and hotels. The Sheraton Urumqi Hotel will feature 410 rooms and approximately 18,500 square feet of meeting and function space, three dining outlets, a health club and spa, an indoor swimming pool and retail shops. The hotel will be the first internationally branded upscale hotel to open in Urumqi. Starwood has expanded its portfolio in China significantly over the last year with the opening of Four Points by Sheraton Shenzhen, and the signing of Sheraton hotels in Shenzhen, Xiamen, Ningbo, Haikou, Chongqing and a new Westin recently announced for Nanjing. With a total of 19 operating hotels and 14 hotels under development in China, Starwood is well-established as the largest international operator of upscale hotels in China.

OPPORTUNITIES NETWORKING!

Join Top Travel Marketers in Vegas

The Association of Travel Marketing Executives (ATME) will hold its 25th anniversary conference, June 21-22, at the new Wynn Las Vegas Resort in Las Vegas. As the only worldwide organization of its kind that provides members with an ongoing forum for exchanging creative ideas and effective marketing solutions, ATME 2005 will "Focus on the Future" of travel industry marketing. The event is capped with the annual Atlas Awards Banquet, where Steve Wynn, chairman of Wynn Resorts, will be presented the 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award. ATME is made up of senior level travel industry marketers representing all sectors of travel including airlines, hotels and resorts, cruise lines, online travel, state and local tourism offices, car rental companies, technology providers and other leading industry segments. The conference includes presentations and case studies that address the strategic and critical issues that are impacting the travel marketing industry. Session topics for the 2005 conference include: Using Brand Power to the Fullest; Internet Marketing-What really matters and how to optimize your ROI; Story Driven Marketing-Learn how your brand starts with your story; Delivering the Brand Promise; How Las Vegas Did It-The Anatomy Of One Of The Most Recognized Campaigns In History. Keynote sessions include presentations from: Jonathan Tisch, chairman & CEO of Loews Hotels and author of "The Power of We: Succeeding Through Partnerships"; David Kong, CEO, Best Western; Joanne Smith, president, Song-a Delta Company; Henry Harteveldt, vice president of travel research at Forrester Research; Andrew Jordan, executive vice president of marketing and CMO of Wyndham Hotels; and Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, director-general of Bahamas Tourism. For information, call 800-526-0041 or visit www.atme.org.

NBTA Launches Government Travel Group

There's a new networking group for government travel professionals. The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) announced an initiative to provide government travel professionals with a source of networking, information, education, news and research within a broad travel management context. By joining the NBTA Government Travel Group (GTG), government travel managers and suppliers of government travel solutions will gain access to the member benefits that have long set NBTA apart as the leading association for corporate travel professionals. The NBTA Government Travel Group is a subset of NBTA membership offered to both travel managers (direct members) and travel suppliers (allied members). NBTA GTG members will be able to access all NBTA member benefits, such as leading educational offerings, the Annual NBTA Convention and Trade Show, a daily e-newsletter providing industry news, original research from NBTA and its foundation, sample RFPs and other tools to help travel management professionals perform. Government travel professionals can get more information on NBTA's Government Travel Group, including member benefits and pricing at www.nbta.org/gtg or by contacting Molly Apter, NBTA senior manager of membership marketing, at 703-684-0836,ext. 140 or mapter@nbta.org.

OPPORTUNITIES EXECUTIVE MOVERS!

AIRLINES: Delta Air Lines, Inc. said Hank Halter has been named senior vice president-finance and controller. Halter, 40, will continue to report directly to Michael Palumbo, Delta's executive vice president and CFOÖNorthwest Airlines said Hector Adler, vice president-in-flight services, has advised the company that he intends to retire next month. Suzanne Boda, Northwest's vice president-station operations, will replace Adler as vice president-in-flight services. Boda, who joined the airline in 1983, has been responsible for customer service at Northwest's 109 non-hub airports in the U.S., Canada and the CaribbeanÖAmanda Tobin has joined Alaska Airlines as manager of media relations. In this role, she will serve as one of the airline's primary spokespersons to regional and national news media.

CRUISE LINES: Holland America Line (HAL) promoted Kelly Clark to vice president and general counsel, responsible for managing all legal matters for the 12-ship fleet and subsidiary companies Windstar Cruises, Westmark Hotels and Gray Line of Alaska and SeattleÖJamie Haller, director of deployment and itinerary planning for Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises, has left the company. Haller joined Royal Caribbean in April 1997 in the operations analysis area, then moved to corporate planning in the finance department, then strategic planningÖMike Julius, a 27-year travel industry veteran, was named vice president-sales, Central Region for Carnival Cruise Lines. Julius oversees 20 business development managers who are responsible for maximizing sales and marketing opportunities for travel agents in 15 central U.S. statesÖ Fincantieri, the Italian cruise ship builder, has hired a senior Pricewaterhouse partner as its new general manager in a move aimed at strengthening its corporate structure in preparation for a possible privatization. Emilio Palma, 61, is an experienced auditor and accountant and will assume the newly created position at Fincantieri on June 1.

HOTELS & RESORTS: Ian Pullan has been named general manager for the 540-room Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii resort. Pullan brings more than 15 years of hospitality industry experience to his positionÖBenchmark Hospitality International promoted Danny Watts to director of rooms for Stonewall Resort, a AAA Four Diamond resort located in Weston, West Virginia. Watts brings more than 20 years of operations experience within the hospitality industry to his new roleÖJohn Rolfs has been named general manager at The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach, and area vice president of The Ritz-Carlton Hotels of Miami. Rolfs, a 16-year veteran of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company has been in the hospitality industry most of his life was once the manager of King Hussein of Jordan's royal palacesÖNoble House Hotels & Resorts has appointed Emmanuel Gardinier as general manager of Little Palm Island Resort & Spa, a luxury private island resort. Gardinier brings with him more than 20 years of expertise with international luxury properties and destinationsÖNoble Investment Group, one of the hospitality industry's leading owner/operators of upscale and premium branded hotels, announced that Jim Williams has been named general manager of its new downtown Winston-Salem Embassy Suites. Noble is renovating the current Adam's Mark hotel into a four-star Marriott Hotel and Embassy Suites with a completion date scheduled for June 2005 ÖLas Vegas Sands Corp. and its subsidiary Venetian Macau Limited, said Wolfram Diener will join the organization in June 2005 as vice president of convention and exhibition for the convention and expo center being built at The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel Casino on the Cotai Strip. Diener will also be responsible for trade show operations for the company in MacaoÖThe Atlantic City Hilton announced two senior level organizational changes highlighted by the appointment of a new president, Anthony Rodio, effective June 1, 2005. Rodio, a veteran casino executive, has more than 24 years of experience in the Atlantic City gaming industry. Since 1998 until his appointment with the Hilton, he served as vice president of finance and administration for Harrah's and Showboat. Prior to that, he held executive positions with Trump Marina, Trump Plaza and Resorts. The Atlantic City Hilton also named Phil Juliano as executive vice president

TRAVEL AGENTS: Vacation.com Canada has named Elvis Fernandes as the new business development manager to Eastern Canada. Responsible for new member recruitment, the sale of software solutions (AgentNet), preferred supplier sales, the presentation of sales proposals, product demonstrations and ROI analysis, Fernandes will work to maintain high levels of satisfaction among Vacation.com member agencies in Eastern Canada. Fernandes is replacing Christine James, who was promoted to senior director, Canadian Preferred Supplier Relationships for Vacation.com Canada.

TRAVEL MARKETING: Jim Schroer was named president and chief executive officer of Carlson Marketing Group, the largest marketing services company in the U.S. and the world's 10th largest marketing organization. In his new role, Schroer will report directly to Curtis Nelson, president and CEO of Carlson Companies, and will be responsible for guiding the global strategic business direction and all day- to-day operations of Carlson Marketing Group.

TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY: G2 SwitchWorks Corp., the new distribution system that aims to compete with the existing GDSs, named Dave Menzel as chief financial officer. The appointment comes as G2 marks its first year of operation and accelerates its revolution of the travel distribution industryÖFarelogix Inc., a leading provider of independent faring and multi-source distribution technology to the global travel industry, announced that David Cerino has joined the company as chief marketing and product officer. In his new role, Cerino will be responsible for developing and leading the execution of the company's global marketing and product strategyÖGregory Berman has been named vice president, engineering for Hotel Booking Solutions Incorporated, a hotel demand management company recently relocated to Atlanta from New Orleans. Berman has more than 17 years experience in the development, management, marketing, and delivery of transaction intensive, mission critical Enterprise Business Solutions and Information Technology.

DESTINATIONS: Troy Karnoff has joined LA Inc. The Convention and Visitors Bureau's hotel sales team as director, western region sales. He will focus on self-contained groups from Southern California (Santa Barbara to San Diego) and the Southwest (Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas), reporting directly to Erik Dahlerbruch, LA Inc.'s vice president of hotel sales.

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