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[EXECS SEE ‘FRIENDS ON BOTH SIDES’ OF THE AISLE]
Possible power shift on Hill
doesn’t faze tourism industry
By Michael Milligan
WASHINGTON — With voter polls indicating that Democrats, for the first time in 12
years, could gain control of the House or the
Senate in the coming Nov. 7 midterm elections, travel industry lobbyists are preparing
for a possible power shift on key committees
in Congress.
But there may not be much to prepare for.
Lobbyists for several industry groups last
week told Travel Weekly that the industry
has, and will continue to need, “friends on
both sides.”
Travel and tourism issues, they said, generally do not break out on party lines, and sup-
port for tourism is something that generally
gets bipartisan support — or neglect.
Still, the personalities involved in Congressional debates on transportation, travel and
security may change significantly.
On election day, voters will decide the fates
of all 435 representatives in the House as well
as 33 lawmakers in the Senate. Governors’
races in 36 states will also be decided.
Early polling suggests that Democrats
hold the advantage in at least 17 Senate races,
while Republicans candidates hold an edge in
eight. The remaining five can go either way.
If the GOP wins those five seats, it would
hold a 53-seat majority in the Senate.
Continued on Page 52
FIFTH OF A SEVEN-PART SERIES
TRAVEL+MONE Y
How the Industry Really Works
CAR RENTALS
In this complex, competitive business, perfect timing
is a key to profit. BY DAN LUZADDER PAGE 17
[INDUSTRY MOURNS LOSS OF RISING STAR, 53]
Seabourn chief Deborah Natansohn
dies after suffering heart attack
By Rebecca Tobin
Deborah Natansohn, the president of Seabourn Cruise Lines and the executive who
oversaw the marketing and sales
effort connected to the introduction of the Queen Mary 2, died
Oct. 24 in Fort Lauderdale, two
days after suffering a heart attack.
She was 53.
Natansohn, who in July 2004
took the top job at Seabourn, a
Carnival Corp. company, guided
the company to the most successful period in its history, according
to a statement from the line.
One of Natansohn’s biggest
achievements for the brand, an order for
two new ships — the first new tonnage for
Seabourn in more than a decade — was an-
nounced less than a week before her death.
Natansohn had viewed the introduction
of the Queen Mary 2, for which she had
helped to coordinate as senior vice president
of worldwide sales and marketing
for Cunard, as her legacy to the in-
dustry, said Pamela Conover, Car-
nival Corp.’s senior vice president
of shared services and the former
president of Cunard.
The new ship order “will be her
legacy for Seabourn,” Conover
said. “It’s a tremendous achievement. There’s no greater accolade
[than the fact] that the corporation was willing to invest $500
million, and that was due to the
success that she’d made at Seabourn.”
Howard Frank, Carnival Corp.’s COO, told
Continued on Page 53
Deborah
Natansohn
