Arn ie Weissmann:
‘They’re Britney Spears.
We’re Julie Andrews.’
P. 12
www.travelweekly.com
M ORE NEWS: J etBlue signs distribution deals
with Priceline, Orbitz P. 6
Andrew Compart:
Ju st give me the airlines’
on- time flight info up front.
P. 73
THE NATIONAL NE WSPAPER OF THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY
DECEMBER 3, 2007
Sinking of GAP Explorer casts
shadow over Antarctic cruises
By Michelle Baran
COVER STORY
In Vino
Veritas
When GAP Adventures’ Explorer sank in the Bransfield Strait off King George Island near Antarctica last
month, the first concern was the safety of the 100 passengers and 54 crew members who survived a four-hour wait for help, bobbing in lifeboats in freezing
temperatures.
The second concern was the impact
on the destination, both in terms of
the environment and the economic
fallout.
Preliminary indications are that the
sunken ship’s fuel tanks, holding nearly 50,000 gallons of marine fuel oil, are
not leaking and thus do not pose an
immediate hazard.
It is harder to know if demand for
Antarctic tours will take a downturn.
For GAP Adventures, however,
there is certainly an immediate economic impact. The
Explorer was its first and only ship and, according to
CEO Bruce Poon Tip, it was booked to carry nearly
1,600 passengers on Antarctic, Arctic and other itineraries through the end of 2008.
“We put out a call” to other Antarctic operators,
said Poon Tip, in the hope that GAP Adventures
passengers would be able to carry out their expedi-
tions with other operators that might still have avail-
able space. The problem, he said, is that there is little
chance of accommodating everyone,
given the small size or availability on
other operators’ ships — five slots
here, another 10 there. GAP Adven-
tures will work to reimburse those
who cannot be reassigned, he said.
As for the financial loss, including
the asset and the future business, Poon
Tip declined to reveal how much GAP
Adventures had paid for the vessel or
how much the company had invested
in recent renovations.
But he did say that although the
Antarctica program was important symbolically
for the company, securing its presence on all seven
See ANTARCTIC on Page 74
‘As long as the
ships are sailing
at the appropri-
ate time and
place, it’s safe.’
— Denise Landau, IAATO
[ ‘POTENTIAL FOR DECEPTION’ ]
FTC to examine ad claims about carbon offsets
We put 11 house labels
to the test
in a blind wine tasting
By Michael Milligan
Travel Weekly asked a panel
of professional wine connoisseurs
and a second panel of
“averagejoes’ torate
theprivate-labelbrands
offered by hotels and cruiselines.
BYJOHANNAJAINCHILL
PAGE16
of carbon offsets and renewable energy certificates
should be covered by its so-called “Green Guides,” a
WASHINGTON — The concept seems simple set of guidelines governing advertising claims about
enough: To counter the effects of greenhouse gases environmental issues, such as biodegradability.
that contribute to global warming, consumers pur- As part of the process, the FTC will host a public
chase carbon offsets that support projects designed workshop in Washington on Jan. 8 to “examine the
to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide, or CO2, emerging market for carbon offsets and renewable-
belched into the atmosphere. energy certificates [RECs] and
That said, do travelers know WORLD BEAT related advertising claims.”
exactly what they’re paying for Disney pres- Vibrant New Miami It is also asking for public
when they buy a carbon offset ence giving Ko Vancouver campaign pro- comment on a range of related
in conjunction with an airline Olina a market- offers delights motes warmer issues.
trip? ing boost. to cruisers. welcomes. In announcing the work-
Currently, the advertising P. 58 P. 63 P. 66 shop in the Federal Register,
claims about such offsets are the FTC noted that “the nature
not governed by any specific of offsets and REC claims raise
federal guidelines, but the Fed- particular challenges because
eral Trade Commission may be consumers cannot easily verify
about to change that. that they are receiving that for
With environmental aware- which they paid.” As a result,
ness growing, the F TC has the FTC said, “the potential for
decided to examine the ques- deception is greater” than it is
tion of whether the marketing See OFFSETS on Page 75
