J eri Clausing:
W hat constitutes a
‘g reen’ hotel today?
P. 53
www.travelweekly.com
Arn ie Weissmann:
My 21-day quest for
the ‘hotel of tomorrow’
P. 12
H ealth care at 30,000 feet:
A passenger’s death aboard
an A.A. flight raises new concerns.
P. 6
THE NATIONAL NEW SPAPER OF THE TRAVEL INDUSTR Y
M ARCH 3, 2008
Prosperid ad
Latina
ILLUS TRA TIONS B Y JC SUARES
While hotel growth in Asia
and the Middle East
has grabbed headlines,
a ‘quiet boom’ has been drawing
U.S. hospitality brands to Latin America.
BY JERI CLAUSING
PAGE 26
[ CHEAP IS FINE. PAINLESS IS PRICELESS. ]
A new Web site rates flight options
by weighing consumer ‘pain points’
By Dan Luzadder
“Pain points” are not what most
travelers want to think about when
booking a trip. But understanding
which things can make a journey
more difficult, information that
can be far more complicated than
flight times and seat maps, could
help travelers or their agents make
better decisions about their best air
travel options.
That’s the tune being whistled by Dave
Pelter, a former Farecast executive and
creator of Inside Trip.com, which was slated
to launch this week. And Pelter has at least
one industry guru whistling along.
See WEB SITE on Page 54
W ORLD BEAT
Hawaiian Nikki Beach Israel
Walkways brings its vibe uncorked:
covers the Big to Panama’s touring Holy
Island on foot. Pacific coast. Land wineries.
P. 34 P. 36 P. 38
[ AUTHORIZED BY CHINA, U.S. ]
NTA will qualify operators
for Chinese source market
By Michelle Baran
National Tourism Administration, an agency
of the Chinese government, “should provide
The Chinese government and the U.S. De- the U.S. Embassy or U.S. consulates in China
partment of Commerce have granted the with a list of travel agencies” and that “the
National Tour Association the authority to relevant travel industry associations of the
determine which U.S. U.S. should provide
tour operators will be CNTA with a regular-allowed to work with ly updated list of U.S.
Chinese tourists visit- ‘There is no cap. inbound tour opera-
ing the U.S. Anyone who qualifies tors.”
In December, the The memorandum
U.S. and China signed can participate.’ provided only rough
a memorandum of guidelines for deter-
understanding allow- Lisa Simon, president, NTA mining which opera-
ing group leisure travel tors would qualify to
to the U.S. and permitting U.S. destinations be on that list. For example, they must be
to market themselves in China. legitimate businesses in good standing, and
The memorandum states that the Chinese See CHINESE on Page 55
