Arnie Weissmann:
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Then humanize human sales.’
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AA moves to improve
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THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER OF THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY
SEPTEMBER 3, 2007

[ SMALLER PORTS HIT HARDEST ]

In shift to Europe,
U.S. cruise ports
are losing vessels
Beijing

By Johanna Jainchill

Tianjin

Cruise ports in the U.S. are experiencing a ship drain as cruise companies increasingly send their fleets to lucrative and trendy European destinations.

Secondary U.S. cruise ports, which even in bountiful times might only accommodate a few ships, are feeling the brunt of the redeployment. According to a Cruise Lines International Association report released last

China’s quest
^forOlympic gold

Shanghai

‘All the ships are going to
Europe. And all the Northeast
ports are feeling it.’

— Anthony Caputo, Bayonne, N.J.
The 2008 summer Olympics will offer Beijing an opportunity
to shine on the world stage, and
China is pulling out all the stops to polish its image.
BY JERI CLAUSING PAGE 18

EAST
CHINA
SEA

week on the state of the cruise industry, during 2006 the growth of embarkations at U.S. ports besides the 10 biggest, where the cruise lines still tend to put their newest and largest vessels, shrunk by 12%. (For more on CLIA’s report, see Numbers, Page 12.)

T W ILLUS TRATION B Y THOMAS R. LECHLEI TER

This came after two straight years of rapid growth for secondary ports: 71.9% in 2004 and 28.9% in 2005.

The largest ports saw mixed levels of growth in that time, but most were up, the beneficiaries of the newest vessels.

CLIA’s numbers underscore the challenges these secondary ports are facing.

They were the darlings of the post-9/11 travel scene, a time during which many Americans were frightened to go abroad and wary of flying at all.

Taipei

Guangzhou

Hong Kong

N.Y. mayor: U.S. must end tourist neglect

By Nadine Godwin

Continued on Page 48

NEW YORK — Mayor Michael Bloomberg last week sharply criticized the Bush administration for failing to appreciate the importance of tourism to the U.S. economy and to America’s long-term security.

The government’s failure to take reme-

dial steps, he said, is one of “many reasons” that international tourist arrivals in the U.S. dropped 17% between 2000 and 2006.

For one thing, he said, tourists find customs and immigration personnel rude, which “diminishes our competitive edge; that has to change at the federal level.”

Customs and immigration staffers need “some direction and an administration that makes it a high priority to fix this,” Bloomberg said, adding that it could be done in 12 months.

Bloomberg, a two-term mayor, recently left the Republican Party and is frequently mentioned as a possible presidential candidate, though he has steadfastly denied that he is interested in running in 2008.