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This week in Opportunities:

U.S. House of Representatives Passes 'Travel Promotion Act of 2008'
Opportunities Networking!
Opportunities Watch!
Executive Movers! See who's going where?
Travel Executive Employment Report

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OPPORTUNITIES NEWS & TRENDS

U.S. House of Representatives Passes 'Travel Promotion Act of 2008'

Last week the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3232, the "Travel Promotion Act of 2008," by voice vote. The legislation will create thousands of new jobs and spur economic growth nationwide by attracting millions of additional international travelers to the United States who, since 9/11, have found ever-changing security policies and negative foreign press coverage to be a deterrent to visiting the United States. "The U.S. House of Representatives took decisive action today to jump-start America's struggling economy and create thousands of new jobs by passing the 'Travel Promotion Act,'" said Roger Dow, President and CEO of the Travel Industry Association. "We now call on the U.S. Senate to act quickly to reverse the decline in overseas visitation to the United States and utilize the power of travel to strengthen the American economy."

The "Travel Promotion Act," H.R. 3232, introduced by Representatives William Delahunt (D-MA) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) and co-sponsored by 243 additional members of the House of Representatives, establishes a public-private partnership to promote the United States as a premier international travel destination and communicate U.S. security and entry policies. The bill specifies that travel promotion would be paid for -- at no cost to U.S. taxpayers -- by private sector contributions and a modest fee on foreign travelers who do not pay $131 for a visa to enter the United States. Nearly every developed nation in the world spends millions of dollars to attract visitors. "This is a historic, unprecedented achievement for the travel community," said Dow. "In response to the tragic events of 9/11, the government put in place needed security measures. This legislation creates a public-private partnership to ensure proper communication of those measures and attract millions of additional international visitors."

Two million fewer overseas travelers visited the United States in 2007 than in 2000. The decline in overseas travel since 9/11 has cost America 46 million visitors, $140 billion in lost visitor spending and $23 billion in lost tax revenue. If the United States had simply kept pace with global travel trends, the U.S. economy would have created an additional 340,000 jobs in 2007 and the total U.S. unemployment rate would have dropped from 4.6 to 4.4 percent.

OPPORTUNITIES NETWORKING!

Leaders in Sustainable Tourism to meet in Vancouver, British Columbia, October 27-29

Leaders in sustainable tourism from across North America and beyond will be meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, October 27-29th at the Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference (ESTC 2008). Hosted by the British Columbia Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts and the Council of Tourism Associations of British Columbia, the conference will provide opportunities for business leaders, travel and tourism professionals and community members to gain knowledge of the latest trends in ecotourism and sustainable tourism, learn practical skills, and participate in invaluable networking and knowledge sharing. The ESTC 2008 will be held at the legendary Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, and will also include pre-conference trips to both Whistler and Victoria, B.C.’s capital city. This is the third conference by TIES focusing on sustainability in travel and tourism in North America. In 2005, TIES hosted the first Ecotourism in the U.S. Conference, which was followed by this year’s North American Ecotourism Conference (NAEC) in Madison, Wisconsin, which brought together sustainable tourism professionals and businesses from across the U.S. and Canada.

As the conference name indicates, the annual conference will not only provide sustainable solutions for tourism businesses, it will also highlight innovative sustainable practices and case studies in the U.S. and Canada, and discuss effective ways to utilize the sustainable tourism community’s experience and expertise to tackle some of the critical issues and key challenges facing the industry today, including: climate change, sustainable business practices, wildlife conservation, community partnerships and innovative technologies for greening the tourism industry. For more information, visit: www.ecotourismconference.org.

OPPORTUNITIES WATCH!

Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Solstice Sets Sail

The most widely heralded ship to enter the cruise market this year, Celebrity Solstice, departed Meyer Werft shipyard on Sunday in Papenburg, Germany, as the largest ship ever built by the longtime shipbuilder. In a milestone event known as "The Conveyance," the 2,850-guest Celebrity Solstice made its way down the River Eems, as tens of thousands of area residents lining the river banks cheered and photographed the historic event.

"This is a very momentous occasion for Celebrity Cruises," said the brand's President and CEO Dan Hanrahan. "Celebrity Solstice is the perfect manifestation of what the Celebrity brand is all about: extraordinary service, spectacular dining, and fabulous style and design. And as the first in a series of five Solstice-class ships, it's a vivid example of the growth and momentum of the Celebrity brand, and our commitment to meet our guests' and travel agent partners' demands for more vacation options with Celebrity." Celebrity Solstice will be berthed in Eemshaven, Netherlands, from September 29 to October 24, with two separate sea trials planned during that period, in addition to crew arrivals, training, provisioning and finishing work onboard. The ship will depart Eemshaven October 24 on a transatlantic voyage, with arrival in Fort Lauderdale planned for early November, followed by a series of promotional cruises for invited travel agents, press and other dignitaries. The ship will be named in formal ceremonies on November 14, and will begin its maiden season November 23, with a series of alternating 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruises roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale, calling on San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, and Tortola during this Fall and Winter. Celebrity Solstice presents a series of 10- and 11-night Mediterranean cruises from Rome beginning in Spring 2009.

OPPORTUNITIES EXECUTIVE MOVERS!

AGENCIES: Expedia, Inc. has announced that Jeffrey W. Diana has been named executive vice president, human resources. Diana will assume the role on September 29, 2008 and will report to Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO, Expedia, Inc. Diana joins Expedia from SAFECO Corporation in Seattle, Wash., where he served as chief human resources officer since 2006. Diana began his career at BellSouth Telecommunications in 1997 and has since held a number of positions of increasing responsibility, including general manager of human resources for World Wide Services, Global Customer Support and IT for Microsoft Corporation, and global organization and executive staffing leader at General Electric Corporation. Diana has a proven track record of delivering positive impact in multiple industries and Fortune 500 companies through superior human resource management, implementing innovative talent movement processes to improve depth and deployment, and creating sustainable people infrastructure. Additionally, he has been noted for developing strong talent pipelines and driving effective change management to align culture and drive enterprise-wide engagement. Diana has master's degrees in human resource management and sociology from the University of South Carolina.

HOTELS & RESORTS: Hilton Hotels Corporation has announced the appointment of Thomas C. Kennedy as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Kennedy will report to Hilton’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Christopher J. Nassetta, and will be responsible for oversight of all Hilton’s global finance functions. Kennedy joins Hilton from Vanguard Car Rental, the holding company of the National Car Rental and Alamo Rent-A-Car car rental brands, where he also held the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He will be based in Beverly Hills and assumed his position on September 15, 2008. Kennedy brings more than 20 years of experience to his new role at Hilton. Most recently, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Vanguard Car Rental, where he oversaw the finance function for the U.S., Canadian and European corporate operations. Prior to Vanguard, Kennedy held a variety of management and executive positions at Northwest Airlines, Inc. from 1992 to 2003, most recently serving as Senior Vice President and Controller. During his tenure, he spent two years in Tokyo, Japan, managing the finance and information systems in Northwest’s Pacific Division. Kennedy has also held positions with Chiquita Brands International, Bank of Yokohama, and Merrill Lynch Capital Markets. He received his Masters in Business Administration from Harvard University and his Bachelors of Science in Economics, summa cum laude, from Tulane University... Hilton Hotels Corporation has also announced the appointment of Ellen D. Gonda as Senior Vice President, Global Communications and Public Relations. In this newly created position, Gonda will be responsible for all corporate communications for Hilton and will report to Christopher J. Nassetta, Hilton's President and Chief Executive Officer. She will be based in Beverly Hills and will commence her duties on October 1, 2008. Gonda joins Hilton from global private equity firm, The Carlyle Group, where she was the Director of Communications for the Americas, with responsibility for firm-wide communications initiatives in North and South America. Prior to joining Carlyle, Gonda was a Director at Brunswick Group, the international communications consultancy. A strategic communications professional with significant international experience, Gonda specializes in counseling companies on a diverse range of communications projects, including corporate positioning and profile raising, mergers and acquisitions, shareholder activism, and issues management. In her time at both Carlyle and Brunswick, Gonda developed and executed corporate communications campaigns across several industries. Prior to joining Carlyle in 2007, Gonda was a Director at the Brunswick Group. Before that, she held positions at Gavin Anderson & Company and Abernathy MacGregor Frank. A citizen of the U.S., U.K. and Australia, Gonda earned a B.A. with high honors from the University of California, Berkeley... Great Wolf Resorts, Inc., North America's leading family of indoor waterpark resorts, has announced that Kimberly Schaefer has been promoted to president and chief operating officer...

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