Traffic results for the first six months of the year showing more then 6% growth in year on year international passenger demand - slightly higher than the 5.9% full-year rise recorded for the year 2006.
However, passenger demand growth weakened to 5.3% for the month of June, the lowest growth rate in nine months.
Freight demand for the first six months of 2007 grew 2.7%, well below the 4.6% growth recorded for the full-year in 2006. While year-to-date demand growth is weaker than forecast, June year-on-year demand for freight grew 4.9%. This is the second consecutive month of strengthening demand for freight, following the 5.0% growth recorded in May, and could be indicating a return to historical growth levels in the 5-6% range.
Average passenger load factors were 75.7% during the first half of the year, up 0.6% over the same period in 2006. “A focus on efficiency, with careful capacity management, is keeping load factors at record levels. But the challenge will get tougher. Over the next 18 months almost 1,800 new aircraft will be delivered—equal to 10% of the existing fleet,” said Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO of IATA.
Asia-Pacific’s carriers will receive the biggest share (35%) of the new aircraft, to meet demand in the fast-growing Chinese and Indian markets. With a stronger emphasis on fleet replacement, but also to meet demand growth, European airlines will take delivery of 26% and North American airlines will take on 25%. “The new aircraft, operated efficiently with high load factors, will keep us on target to improve fuel efficiency 25% by 2020,” said Bisignani.
The Middle East led all regions with passenger demand growth of 17.8% that outpaced capacity growth and boosted load factors during the first half of the year. Africa followed with 9.9% thanks to improving links with Asia and the Middle East. Asia demand rose 6.0% due to favourable economic conditions followed by North America (5.2%), Europe (4.9%) and Latin America (0.7%).
Air freight demand growth was led by airlines in the Middle East during the first half of the year at 11.7%. Demand growth in Asia Pacific rose 4.6% during the same period although demand surged to 7.4% in June following a 7.6% increase in May. Demand growth in Europe was sluggish (0.7%) and contracted in North America (-1.2%) and Latin America (-3.8%).
“Strong passenger demand means that record numbers of people are expected to travel in August. Harmonised security measures across borders are more critical than ever. The US-EU agreement on the sharing of passenger data, signed this month, was a step in the right direction. But governments must focus much more on further harmonisation to ensure that effective security is also convenient for passengers. A particular focus will be the UK, where unique screening policies inconvenience passengers with no improvement in security. The only beneficiary is the airport operator—BAA—that continues to deliver embarrassingly low service levels by failing to invest in appropriate equipment and staff to meet demand. This must stop,” said Bisignani.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
London returns to double digits.
London hotels reported a close to 13% increase in room revpar to ￡103.12 in June, according to the latest survey -
The rise was backed by an 11.7 per cent growth in average rate to ￡118.20. Occupancy was also up slightly, rising 0.9 points to 87.2 per cent.
“The capital is continuing to enjoy a very strong trading environment with hoteliers able to push rates upwards despite modest increases in occupancy,” said Jonathan Langston, managing director of TRI Hospitality Consulting.
The provinces also put in a good performance, thanks to the most convincing monthly growth in provincial occupancy this year, rising by 1.8 points to 75.8 per cent, double the increase experienced in the capital.
Improved occupancy levels, combined with average room rate up by 4 per cent to ￡73.26, resulted in a rise in revpar of 6.4 per cent to ￡55.53.
Glasgow and Sheffield shine despite downpours
TRI’s unique database of more than 500 full-service hotels across the country shows that Glasgow and Sheffield put in particularly strong performances in June, with revpar increases of 27 per cent and 23 per cent respectively.
“In Glasgow, the revpar improvement was aided by three major medical conferences at the SECC with nearly 5,000 delegates,” said Langston.
In Sheffield it was the International Indian Film Academy awards held at the city’s Hallam FM arena that boosted revpar with some 28,000 visitors to the Sheffield area. In addition, a spell of flooding at the end of June may have caused some travellers to unexpectedly seek refuge in one of the city’s hotels.
In the six months to June, total revpar in London rose by 10.6 per cent to ￡23,340, while in the provinces total revpar was up 4.5 per cent to ￡17,400.
In the provinces, total revpar grew at a faster rate than room revpar in the year to date, indicating increased levels of income from food and beverage, leisure and other departments, while in London room revpar continued to increase faster than total revpar.
Lack of North Americans affects overseas spend
The overall volume of overseas visitors to the UK increased by two per cent, according to official Government statistics. From all source markets the number of visitors was 8.1m during the three months to the end of May. The largest increase came from the 12 new EU ascension states, up 28 per cent to 750,000.
In contrast, visitors from North America fell by nine per cent to just over 1m, which contributed to a two per cent drop in overseas expenditure to ￡3.5b.
UKinbound, the official trade body representing the inbound tourism industry, reported modest rises in visitor arrivals and forward bookings of 3.3 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively during May. UKinbound said that the growth continues to be limited to short haul business while the long haul markets have remained flat.
Indeed, airports operator BAA confirmed that North American traffic into its seven UK airports remained flat during June. However, there was a 4.3 per cent increase in long haul passenger arrivals from outside North America, the only routes showing significant growth. European scheduled passenger numbers were up by 0.8 per cent and European charter traffic declined by 7.2 per cent.
The rise was backed by an 11.7 per cent growth in average rate to ￡118.20. Occupancy was also up slightly, rising 0.9 points to 87.2 per cent.
“The capital is continuing to enjoy a very strong trading environment with hoteliers able to push rates upwards despite modest increases in occupancy,” said Jonathan Langston, managing director of TRI Hospitality Consulting.
The provinces also put in a good performance, thanks to the most convincing monthly growth in provincial occupancy this year, rising by 1.8 points to 75.8 per cent, double the increase experienced in the capital.
Improved occupancy levels, combined with average room rate up by 4 per cent to ￡73.26, resulted in a rise in revpar of 6.4 per cent to ￡55.53.
Glasgow and Sheffield shine despite downpours
TRI’s unique database of more than 500 full-service hotels across the country shows that Glasgow and Sheffield put in particularly strong performances in June, with revpar increases of 27 per cent and 23 per cent respectively.
“In Glasgow, the revpar improvement was aided by three major medical conferences at the SECC with nearly 5,000 delegates,” said Langston.
In Sheffield it was the International Indian Film Academy awards held at the city’s Hallam FM arena that boosted revpar with some 28,000 visitors to the Sheffield area. In addition, a spell of flooding at the end of June may have caused some travellers to unexpectedly seek refuge in one of the city’s hotels.
In the six months to June, total revpar in London rose by 10.6 per cent to ￡23,340, while in the provinces total revpar was up 4.5 per cent to ￡17,400.
In the provinces, total revpar grew at a faster rate than room revpar in the year to date, indicating increased levels of income from food and beverage, leisure and other departments, while in London room revpar continued to increase faster than total revpar.
Lack of North Americans affects overseas spend
The overall volume of overseas visitors to the UK increased by two per cent, according to official Government statistics. From all source markets the number of visitors was 8.1m during the three months to the end of May. The largest increase came from the 12 new EU ascension states, up 28 per cent to 750,000.
In contrast, visitors from North America fell by nine per cent to just over 1m, which contributed to a two per cent drop in overseas expenditure to ￡3.5b.
UKinbound, the official trade body representing the inbound tourism industry, reported modest rises in visitor arrivals and forward bookings of 3.3 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively during May. UKinbound said that the growth continues to be limited to short haul business while the long haul markets have remained flat.
Indeed, airports operator BAA confirmed that North American traffic into its seven UK airports remained flat during June. However, there was a 4.3 per cent increase in long haul passenger arrivals from outside North America, the only routes showing significant growth. European scheduled passenger numbers were up by 0.8 per cent and European charter traffic declined by 7.2 per cent.
Copyright suit targets local bar owner: $210,000 in fines possible for Salty Dawg II proprietor (The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson)
Jul. 31--The owner of a Midtown Tucson bar is one of 26 bar and restaurant proprietors across the nation who had copyright infringement lawsuits filed against them in federal court Monday.
Michael Cesario, the owner of the Salty Dawg II, 6121 E. Broadway, could be hit with up to $210,000 in fines for providing karaoke fans with musical compositions without the permission of the copyright owners, said Phoenix attorney Peter J. Rathwell.
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers informed Cesario numerous times about U.S. copyright laws, but he continued to allow the music to be performed and never sought to obtain a license agreement, the lawsuit states.
Federal copyright law violators can be fined anywhere from $750 per count up to $30,000 per count, Rathwell said. Cesario is accused of violating the statute seven times.
Cesario denied ever being contacted about copyright infringement, but declined to comment further.
Among the songs performed without permission were "The Heart of Rock and Roll" by Huey Lewis and the News, "Lady" by Lionel Richie and "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak, according to the lawsuit.
Among those named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit are EMI Virgin Music Inc., Isaak Music Publishing Co., Sony/ ATV Tunes LLC and Universal-Polygram International Publishing Inc.
Hotel plan roils the waters at lake: Residents of Saratoga Lake worry about noise, traffic and light pollution (Albany Times Union, N.Y.)
Jul. 31--STILLWATER -- Troubled by the prospect of increased traffic, light pollution and noise from a seven-story resort proposed for Saratoga Lake, opponents have formed the Group Action for Reasonable Development.
"A project this size is not right for our back yard. We have to stick together," said Larry Berger, the organizer of GARD, at a meeting of about 50 people at Malta Town Hall Wednesday.
The hotel was proposed by Brown's Beach Properties LLC. Two of the property owners are Saratoga Springs real estate agents Larry and Geraldine Abrams. They plan to spend $85 million building the hotel, which will include 188 suites divided between two towers, restaurants and a spa.
Berger and other residents who spoke Wednesday said Supervisor Greg Connors has been slow to respond to their concerns, which Conners flatly denied.
"I have kept a record in my office of all the phone numbers and the e-mails of people who have contacted me and I have responded to. Any complaint or concern has been addressed," Connors said.
"Our position on this project remains the same and we are waiting for a response from the developers on several issues."
The Town Board directed the developers to re-examine traffic impact and density at a meeting in January.
Over the last year, the 7.3-acre property has become an eyesore. It was recently surrounded by orange construction tape -- effectively removing the only public access Stillwater residents had to the lake.
"I'm afraid the tax revenue from the project will be so attractive the town won't be able to resist it," said Lisa Morahan.
Morahan's mother-in-law, Margaret Morahan, lives on Make Your Own Way next to Brown's Beach. According to the current design, the hotel would be 30 feet away from her house.
"It's quiet now. If this goes up I won't be able to see the stars anymore. I don't want the light," Morahan said.
An attorney for the project, Michele Anderson, did not return a call for comment.
Omni Hotels Announces Plans for Two New North American Developments
Omni Hotels continues its expansion in the luxury hotel and resort market as it announces plans for two new properties, adding to its existing North American portfolio. In the last 60 days, Omni Hotels closed on a striking parcel of land in Pontoque, Mexico, on the Pacific Ocean, which will become Omni's third resort in Mexico and also entered into a partnership with Songy Partners of Atlanta to jointly purchase and transform a hotel in downtown Houston. Along with these two new projects, Omni is also constructing the Omni Fort Worth Hotel and condominiums expected to open in late 2008.
"We are very eager to add these two new projects to our ongoing development efforts," said Mike Deitemeyer, president of Omni Hotels. "These additions to our portfolio extend our luxury hotel brand and certainly exemplify our commitment to delivering memorable guest experiences in premiere resort and business destinations."
The master planned resort community to be constructed in Pontoque is situated among 90 lush acres along Banderas Bay -- Mexico's largest natural bay -- and is fronted by pristine beaches. Just miles north of Puerto Vallarta, the area is often referred to as the Mexican Riviera. The development will include a luxury Omni resort with exceptional golf, spa and culinary elements along with a boutique hotel, luxury condos, villas and single-family residential areas. Ground is expected to be broken in 2008 with the first phase opening in 2010.
Omni Hotels and Songy Partners of Atlanta are planning a comprehensive redevelopment of a former Sheraton to transform the tower into an all-suites luxury hotel in the heart of downtown Houston near numerous high rise office buildings and just a few short blocks from the convention center. The property is also just steps away from the new Houston Pavilions project -- rapidly becoming known as downtown Houston's premiere entertainment, retail and urban office hub, anchored by the House of Blues and Lucky Strike Lanes. The transformed property will feature 400-plus suites, approximately 30,000 square feet of meeting space and multiple culinary venues. Also serving today's business and leisure travelers will be a complete wellness center located on the fourth floor which is also accessible through a separate, private ground floor entrance for neighboring Houstonians and nearby office workers. The 13,000 square foot wellness center will offer a state-of-the art fitness facility with a Mokara Salon & Spa, personal trainers and nutritionists on staff to assist with creating customized wellness and fitness regimens. Redevelopment is expected to begin later this year, and the property will open for guests in 2009. This will be Omni's third property in Houston along with the renowned Omni Houston Hotel in the Uptown/Galleria area, which recently broke ground on a new ballroom and spa addition, and the Omni Houston Hotel at Westside.
The three development projects join Omni's portfolio of luxury hotels and resorts, well recognized for high standards, and extends a continuous period of aggressive growth for Omni Hotels. The latest period of expansion began in 2002 with the opening of its Omni San Francisco Hotel. Since then, the company has opened a 600-room tower and meeting space as part of Atlanta's Omni Hotel at CNN Center (2003), the Omni San Diego Hotel (2004) and the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate (2004). In March 2006, Omni acquired the La Mansion del Rio and the Watermark Hotel & Spa in San Antonio. The company also extended its international reach in March by joining the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), a network of luxury brands with hotels and resorts in more than 150 destinations in 39 countries.
"We are very eager to add these two new projects to our ongoing development efforts," said Mike Deitemeyer, president of Omni Hotels. "These additions to our portfolio extend our luxury hotel brand and certainly exemplify our commitment to delivering memorable guest experiences in premiere resort and business destinations."
The master planned resort community to be constructed in Pontoque is situated among 90 lush acres along Banderas Bay -- Mexico's largest natural bay -- and is fronted by pristine beaches. Just miles north of Puerto Vallarta, the area is often referred to as the Mexican Riviera. The development will include a luxury Omni resort with exceptional golf, spa and culinary elements along with a boutique hotel, luxury condos, villas and single-family residential areas. Ground is expected to be broken in 2008 with the first phase opening in 2010.
Omni Hotels and Songy Partners of Atlanta are planning a comprehensive redevelopment of a former Sheraton to transform the tower into an all-suites luxury hotel in the heart of downtown Houston near numerous high rise office buildings and just a few short blocks from the convention center. The property is also just steps away from the new Houston Pavilions project -- rapidly becoming known as downtown Houston's premiere entertainment, retail and urban office hub, anchored by the House of Blues and Lucky Strike Lanes. The transformed property will feature 400-plus suites, approximately 30,000 square feet of meeting space and multiple culinary venues. Also serving today's business and leisure travelers will be a complete wellness center located on the fourth floor which is also accessible through a separate, private ground floor entrance for neighboring Houstonians and nearby office workers. The 13,000 square foot wellness center will offer a state-of-the art fitness facility with a Mokara Salon & Spa, personal trainers and nutritionists on staff to assist with creating customized wellness and fitness regimens. Redevelopment is expected to begin later this year, and the property will open for guests in 2009. This will be Omni's third property in Houston along with the renowned Omni Houston Hotel in the Uptown/Galleria area, which recently broke ground on a new ballroom and spa addition, and the Omni Houston Hotel at Westside.
The three development projects join Omni's portfolio of luxury hotels and resorts, well recognized for high standards, and extends a continuous period of aggressive growth for Omni Hotels. The latest period of expansion began in 2002 with the opening of its Omni San Francisco Hotel. Since then, the company has opened a 600-room tower and meeting space as part of Atlanta's Omni Hotel at CNN Center (2003), the Omni San Diego Hotel (2004) and the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate (2004). In March 2006, Omni acquired the La Mansion del Rio and the Watermark Hotel & Spa in San Antonio. The company also extended its international reach in March by joining the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), a network of luxury brands with hotels and resorts in more than 150 destinations in 39 countries.
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