UNWTO World Tourism Barometer
Testing Times for International Tourism

Friday, July 03, 2009
According to the June edition of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer international tourism declined by 8% between January and April compared to the same period last year. Destinations worldwide recorded a total of 247 million international tourist arrivals in those four months, down from 269 million in 2008. Given the changes in the outlook UNWTO has revised its forecast for the full year 2009. Taking account of the results for the first four months of the year and the current market conditions,...>>>

2009 Airline IT Trends Survey
Survey reveals growing airline demand for mobile application

Friday, July 03, 2009
SITA, the specialist air transport IT provider, outlined its vision of the future of mobility in the industry as the 2009 Airline IT Trends Survey reveals that 78% of airlines intend to adapt their web-sites to work on mobile phones by 2012 opening a whole new vista of convenience and self-service for passengers. The airline-owned company also announced the creation of a Mobile Workforce Innovation Focus Group to define industry requirements for a common-use context aware platform at airports to boost...>>>

National Business Travel Association
NBTA urges U.S. government to permit expansion of Visa Waiver Program

Friday, July 03, 2009
The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) voiced concern about the lack of a fully implemented biometric air exit procedure in the United States, which will prevent expansion of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). As of June 30, 2009, because an official biometric air exit system does not exist, current law prohibits the addition of countries who otherwise meet all necessary security criteria for VWP...>>>