Officials announced that Washington D.C. will sue popular online hotel-booking firms in order to recoup millions of dollars in unpaid taxes. The complaint is similar to other lawsuits across the nation, which accuse leading online travel companies of basing their tax receipts on wholesale prices paid by the online booking ...

Oklahoma County District Court Judge Daniel Owens has ruled against Oklahoma's legal effort to collect back sales taxes from online travel reservation companies which offer discount hotel rooms.Source: NewsOK; find article here>>.

The plaintiff, a Virgin Islands citizen purchased a ticket for a Liat airline flight from Tortola, British Virgin Islands, to Antigua, scheduled to depart on July 28, 2002. On the day of departure, he checked in on time, and obtained a boarding pass and seat assignment. Due to overbooking, Liat ...

On August 31, 2008, the plaintiff traveled together with her husband on a flight from Frankfurt/Main to Malaga, operated by the defandant. Upon arrival she discovered that her golf bag (checked baggage) was lost. She claimed that the bag did not only contain her own golf equipment but also that ...

The Dublin Metropolitan District Court referred the follwoing questions to the Court of the European Union:Do circumstances such as the closures of European airspace as a result of the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland, which caused widespread and prolonged disruption to air travel, go beyond "extraordinary circumstances" within ...

After the civil unrest, Egypt's Minister of Tourism Mounir Fakhry Abdelnour is launching a campaign to bring tourists back to Egypt. The ministry plans to make use of the power of modern communication technology and online and social media to spread the message that Egypt is a safe and secured ...

According to a new World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)/UN Women report launched at the ITB tourism fair in Berlin, women make up an important percentage of the tourism workforce, but more work must be done to close the wealth and skills gap between men and women employed in tourism. Women are ...

Following the decision of the ECJ in case C-585/08 (Pammer v. Reederei Schlüter), the Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) has now referred the case back to the court of fist instance to determinewhether the defendant knew (or should have known) that the agent's business was of international dimension;what the relations between ...

The Finish Korkein oikeus referred the following questions to the ECJ:Is Regulation No 261/2004 and in particular Article 4 thereof to be interpreted as meaning that its application is limited only to cases of denied boarding which are caused by overbooking by the air carrier for economic reasons, or is ...

As reported by serveral sources, Chinese Government has banned the entry of foreign visitors to Tibet as the third anniversary of a bloody anti-government riot in 2008 approaches. Chinese travel agents organizing trips to Tibet have been ordered not to receive foreign visitors. China strictly limits access to Tibet by ...

The World Economic Forum has for the past five years engaged key industry and thought leaders through its Aviation, Travel & Tourism Industry Partnership Programme to carry out an in-depth analysis of the Travel & Tourism competitiveness of economies around the world. The aim is to provide a platform for ...

Mexican President Felipe Calderon last week signed a National Agenda for Tourism. The Agenda is an effort to fully develop the full potential of the tourist industry in Mexico with the goal to grow Mexico into one of the world's five leading tourist destinations.Source: Travel Pulse; find article here>>.

The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) has issued new regulations on Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Public Accommodations and Commercial Facilities effective March 15, 2011. The new regulations will substantially limit the types of animals that will qualify as "service animals" under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Service ...

The Austrian Constitutional Court (VfGH) held that terms and conditions in public transport with regard to granting discounts for elderly people must not refer to different ages for men and women. Such differentiation is discrimiatory and cannot be justified by the fact that the retirement ages of men and women ...

The municipality of Ilhabela, on the northern coast of Sao Paulo, Brazil, did not allow the passengers of the Cruise "MSC Sinfonia", visit the island in the days of Carnival. The reason that moved the administrative act of the Tourism Department, is overcrowding. According to the Secretary Djane Vitoriano "Ilhabela ...

Plaintiffs purchased gift cards for air travel and services on Continental's airline. The gift card had a one year expiration date and when the donee attempted to utilize the gift card after its expiration date, Continental refused to honor it. Plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit against Continental asserting claims ...

On Dec. 1, 2010, the provisions of the French Civil Aviation Code (Code de l'aviation civile - "CAC") were re-codified within the French Transport Code (Code des transports - "CDT"), a new legislative framework not just for civil aviation but also for other means of transport.

The Scottish Law Commission have published a consultative document on reform of the rules of interpretation of contracts. This follows the publication of the Draft Common Frame of Reference in 2009.Thissets outa contemporary statement of contract law, based on comparative research from across the European Union. The SLC report provides ...

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced the aviation safety performance for 2010 showing that the year's accident rate for Western-built jet aircraft as the lowest in aviation history. The 2010 global accident rate (measured in hull losses per million flights of Western-built jet aircraft) was 0.61. That is equal ...

In Duay v. Continental Airlines, Inc. (S.D. Tex. Dec. 21, 2010) the plaintiff, a Swiss citizen, when arriving in Texas on a Continental flight from Switzerland on December 2, 2007 discovered that his custom-fitted wheelchair had been damaged. He was provided with a replacement wheelchair which he claims did not ...

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) imposed a civil penalty of USD 2 million on Delta Air Lines for violating rules protecting air travelers with disabilities. The DOT's investigation had revealed many violations of the requirement to provide assistance getting on and off the airplane as well as frequent failures ...

A hotel owner who provides his guests with internet access through a customarily secure and encrypted WLAN connection has no liabilty if the guests or third persons use the internet connection for copyright infringements, a German court recently decided: there is no obligation to examination on behalf of the hotel ...

In his opinion delivered on Feb. 17, 2011, Advocate General Pedro Cruz Villalon expressed his view that EU rules on maximum noise levels and operating restrictions do not prevent member states from imposing their own penalties if airlines make too much noise, as measured on the ground. He saw his ...

Rep. Congressman Mike Thompson, D-California, announced to introduce an "Air Passenger Bill of Rights of 2011" which would require all airlines to provide water, food, working toilets, ventilation and the option for passengers to deplane if there is an extended delay. The bill would not be limited to domestic flights ...

Amtsgericht Köln referred the following questions to the ECJ for preliminary ruling (summarized translation)Is the compensation according to Art. 7 to be regarded a non-compensatory compensation in the meaning of Art 29 of the Montral convention?If so: how has a compensation granted accoding to the Sturgeon decsison for reaching the ...

A man who lost his wife in fatal accident at the hotel where they spent their honeymoon will receive R$ 280,000,00 in damages for material and moral damages. The value was increased by the Fourth Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ).According to the documents, the woman died after ...

The EP Committee onInternal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) has adopted last week the Draft Directive on Consumer Rights (including some exceptions regarding packages under the PTD) with lots of amendments on the basis of the Draft adopted by Council on January 24. Now a Working Document providing a informal ...

Flight DHI 574 of Adam SkyConnection Airlines (“Adam Air”) crashed off the coast of Indonesia in 2007. Adam Air ceased operation in 2008. The representatives of 52 of the 102 decedents filed three cases which were consolidated in a multidistrict litigation (MDL) before the US District Court for Northern District ...

Swedish travel company "Ving Sverige" had advertised New York trips in newspaper ads, indicating an entry level price only. In his opinion of Feb. 3, 2011, Advocate General Paolo Mengozzi held that indication of an entry-level price would only fulfil the information requirements of Art. 7 of the Unfair Commercial ...

The law governing false or misleading statements which may be made in respect of travel arrangements, holidays, accommodation, facilities, prices etc. in the UK was long contained in the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 and the Consumer Protection Act 1987 Most of the provisions of these two Acts have now bee ...