News Briefs, Week of May 26, 2008

Canada to upgrade ports in Quebec 
Canada will invest $36 million in port development along Quebec's St. Lawrence and Saguenay rivers in a three-year initiative aimed at accommodating larger cruise ships and enhancing Quebec ports of call for cruise passengers. The city of Saguenay was awarded $10 million last year to develop a cruise port, bringing the government's total cruise-related investment in the region to $46 million.

EasyCruise Life finally sets sail 
EasyCruise's newest ship, the 500-passenger EasyCruise Life, began operations from Athens (Piraeus) over the weekend, a month late. EasyCruise blamed strikes in Greece for delaying the refurbishment of the 27-year-old ship, which had been set to depart April 19. The ship is visiting five Greek islands and Bodrum, Turkey.

Ore. agent Dozono loses mayoral bid 
Sho Dozono, president of Azumano Travel in Portland, Ore., lost his bid for mayor in the Democratic primary. Dozono is noted for his Flight of Freedom trips to cities in need of support, such as New York after the 9/11 attack.

Youth travel rising, says UNWTO report 
Youth travel accounts for 20% of international arrivals and is one of the travel industry's fastest-growing segments, according to a report by the World Youth, Student and Educational Travel Confederation and the UNWTO. The report said expenditures per trip in 2007 averaged 1,915 euros, a 40% increase over 2002, adding that young travelers "return more tolerant of other cultures." 

SkyTeam adds antitrust immunity 
The Transportation Department made final a plan to grant expanded antitrust immunity to carriers in the SkyTeam alliance, allowing Delta, Northwest, Air France-KLM, Alitalia and CSA to coordiante transatlantic schedules and fares. The carriers also expect to form an enhanced three-way joint venture involving Air France-KLM, Northwest and Delta.

Attendance down at ASTA expo
ASTA reported about 1,000 delegates attended its International Destination Expo in Lyon, France, last week below the projected 1,500. ASTA said the number of U.S. agents was higher than last year. The number of educators, guests, students, press and exhibitor personnel dropped, but the number of booths rose.

Wyndham to open on Grand Turk 
Wyndham will triple the hotel capacity on Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos early next year when it opens the 251-unit Wyndham Cacique Royal. The island has fewer than 100 guestrooms but has welcomed more than 300,000 cruise passengers since opening a new cruise pier last year.

Radisson brand coming to Ethiopia 
A new Radisson hotel will open in Ethiopia's capital city, Addis Ababa, in the fourth quarter of 2009. The 209-room property, to be managed by Rezidor Hotel Group, will be located near the African Union Conference Centre and will include meeting facilities and a fitness center. 

The Southwest Airlines board of directors elected CEO Gary Kelly as its chairman, succeeding Herb Kelleher, the airline's co-founder, who officially stepped down on May 21. The airline also announced that Kelly will assume the title of president when Colleen Barrett's employment contract expires on July 15. Additionally, the board elected Executive Vice President Ron Ricks to fill Barrett's vacated position of corporate secretary. • • • AirTran Airways announced Bob Fornaro, president and CEO of AirTran Airways, will also take on the role of chairman effective June 1. Fornaro will take over the chairmanship from Joe Leonard, a former CEO who is retiring from the AirTran board. Fornaro joined AirTran in March 1999 as president and CFO. AirTran also announced that board member Bill Usery is retiring but has been named a director emeritus, a new title. Usery has served on the AirTran board of directors since 2000 and is a former secretary of labor under President Gerald Ford. • • • Crystal Cruises has promoted Person Garcia to director of business development and group sales. Garcia has spent five years as district sales manager for Crystal Cruises, Los Angeles region. Replacing Garcia as Los Angeles' district sales manager is Edyta Teper. Teper is a 17-year travel industry veteran who most recently was a regional business development manager for Carnival Cruise Lines.