On June 12, ASTA held its third Legislative Summit in Washington, D.C., which brought together close to 60 of ASTA's politically minded members and key government officials from such government entities as the Departments of State, Transportation and Homeland Security for the purpose of sharing critical information and opening a ...

As stated by the EU Press Room, "Jacques Barrot, European Commission Vice-President responsible for transport, and Marion Blakey, Administrator of the United States Federal Aviation Administration, today launched - in the presence of aircraft industry representatives - a transatlantic emission-reduction initiative called AIRE."This Press Release is available in full text.

As reported by the VietNamNet Bridge, "At a conference seeking measures to attract foreign tourists to Vietnam held by the VNAT in late April 2007, the representative of the Ministry of Public Security's Immigration Management Agency confirmed that there were more than 100 illegal Korean tour guides operating at Tan ...

In a 12-hour promotion marking its one-year anniversary, go! began offering 1,000 one-way interisland tickets for $1 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today that only can be purchased online at www.iflygo.com. An influx of traffic overloaded the Web site and many prospective buyers were met with error messages. The ...

The Directive was published in the Official Journal on 11 June 2005 and its provisions must be applicable in the Member States by 12 December 2007. The Commission is working with the Member States and stakeholders to make sure that the Directive is transposed into national law in a timely ...

As reported today by Quintus Perera at the Asian Tribune, the "Ministry of Tourism, Sri Lanka Tourist Board and the Police Department working together established a Tourist Police Division and its head office would be located at the Sri Lanka Tourist Board Premises, to coordinate, facilitate and service the needs ...

The Czech state run airline CSA said Thursday it was taking legal action against an American tuberculosis patient who set off an international health scare. CSA spokeswoman Daniela Hupakova said the airline filed a criminal complaint on May 31 on suspicion of spreading an infectious disease. In the Czech Republic, ...

According to the EU Press Room, the "European Union agriculture ministers today agreed to clarify the marketing conditions for meat from bovine animals aged twelve months or less. The new rules will require the use of fixed sales descriptions for these meats in the various Member States coupled with an ...

The German Presidency of the EU has just announced that "In Luxembourg today, the EU Transport Council, chaired by the German Council President, Wolfgang Tiefensee, adopted conclusions on the inclusion of aviation in emissions trading. This means that Europe will have a common position at the Assembly of the International ...

Major travel groups are responding to fierce competition from online travel agents, such as Expedia and Travelocity, in the fight for the lucrative online travel retail industry. The global e-travel market has developed significantly over the last 10 years, causing severe problems for traditional high-street travel agents. Online sales accounted ...

As stated by the EU Press Room, "Consumers across the EU will benefit from tougher holiday protection - when they buy and resell timeshare holidays, timeshare-like holidays on cruise boats, canal boats or caravans and popular 'discount holiday clubs' - under new rules proposed by the European Commission today. The ...

According to the EU Press Room, "The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of First Choice, a UK travel services company, by TUI, parent of the German TUI group, active in tourism and shipping services. The Commission's decision is conditional upon the divestiture by ...

"An Indian court has ruled against a group of female flight attendants who were grounded from the national airline for being overweight. The court said that state-owned Indian Airlines had the right to take the step in the interest of flight safety and in the face of growing competition.The flight ...

A new study indicates that majority of U.K. holidaymakers would be unwilling to change their travel plans to a more environmentally-friendly alternative. According to findings by Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS), seven per cent of tourists claimed they would be "quite likely" to choose a green destination, with only two per ...

By decision of 7th March 2007 Court of Appeal in Frankfurt (Oberlandesgericht Frankfurt) has moved for Preliminary Ruling of the European Court of Justice in regard to Regulation (EC) 261/2004 (often but not quite correctly referred to as "Denied Boarding Regulation").The request for Preliminary Ruling is amiming for clarification in ...

As stated by the EU Press Room, "The annual bathing water report presented today by the European Commission reveals that the large majority of bathing sites across the European Union met EU hygiene standards in 2006. 96% of coastal bathing areas and 89% of bathing sites in rivers and lakes ...

The National Tour Association (NTA) is urging its U.S. members and travel industry professionals to contact their U.S. senators about co-sponsoring the Western Hemisphere Traveler Improvement Act. Introduced by Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minnesota, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the legislation aims to lessen the burden of the Western Hemisphere Travel ...

Australian airline Virgin Blue faced action in the Federal Court in Sydney over its policy on disabled passengers.Two wheelchair users were told they would have to pay for carers to travel with them, even though both live independently. The Public Interest Advocacy Centre says it has been contacted by at ...

According to The Star Online, "Travellers affected by companies that go bust – such as in a recent case – will be protected under a proposal to amend the Tourism Industry Act.The Tourism Ministry, however, first wants the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) to submit to it ...

The results of the first three years of the World Tourism Forum for Peace and Sustainable Development's existence were presented at the General Meeting of the International Academy for Quality (IAQ), held during the 51st European Organisation for Quality Congress in Prague (Czech Republic) on May 22 and 23. The ...

Spanish airline Iberia has cut an advertisement showing black Cuban women in bikinis bottle feeding a baby tourist as he sings "feed me mulattas ... come on little mamas, take me to my cot" after complaints it was sexist. A consumer rights group demanded Iberia, Spain's national flag carrier, pull ...

Last week, the Egyptian Foreign Minister's office sent an official letter to four countries - France, Germany, Great Britain and the United States - demanding the return of famous artifacts for showcase at a temporary exhibition of ancient Egyptian artifacts. The objects, in question, are currently on display in separate ...

As reported by Michael Verikios at the International Travel Daily News, the "Uganda's government is to introduce tourism legislation in support of the UN Millennium Development Goals as Uganda President, his excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni revealed in his keynote address to the 4th IIPT African Conference on Peace through Tourism.'One ...

At the Jamaica Gleaner, Stephen Vascianne states that "Earlier this month, the Government of Jamaica participated in negotiations with the British Government on matters pertaining to the conclusion of a new Air Services Agreement between both countries.This round of negotiations was the latest in a series undertaken by representatives of ...

The 19th Conference of IFTTA - International Forum os Travel and Tourism Advocates will take place in Southern Portugal, from the 11th to the 14th of October.At this event, the main subjects of discussion will be: Moral Damages for Ruined Holidays, Airline Passenger Rights & Land Planning and Tourism Development.The ...

The Gulf Times reveals that "QATAR Tourism Authority (QTA), together with GATO, an international tourism organisation, is formulating a new hotel classification system with a view to improving the overall quality of the Qatari hospitality industry.[...]International benchmarks and guest surveys have clearly indicated that an ever increasing emphasis is placed ...

Two men who admitted a brutal attack on a Dutch honeymoon couple in the Bay of Islands will be sentenced in the High Court. They pleaded guilty in the Kaikohe District Court in March to a raft of serious offences against the young tourists, who were held at gunpoint in ...

In a recent decison Austria's Supreme Court (OGH) held that Art 3 of of the Package Tours Directive, providing that any descriptive matter concerning a package and supplied by the organizer or the retailer to the consumer must not contain any misleading information doesn't apply if the retailer in presence ...

Since 29 March 2007, EASA is responsible for the approval of the flight conditions on the basis of which a permit to fly can be issued by the Competent Authority of the Member State of Registry, or of the Member State prescribing the identification marks.A Permit to Fly is generally ...

A Gainesville anesthesiologist who vehemently proclaimed his innocence in jailhouse interviews went on trial this Monday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta on child pornography charges. In April 2004, his arrest at New York's JFK airport was heralded by federal prosecutors as a major case in the battle against so-called ...