In an update on the island’s tourism infrastructure and attractions following the November hurricane which devastated the island, Sen. Allen Chastanet, St. Lucia’s minister of tourism and civil aviation, said St. Lucia will continue to work on an earlier-announced 25-year economic development plan to improve infrastructure weaknesses highlighted by the storm, including a new terminal at Hewanorra Airport.

Expedia, Inc. announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Mobiata, creator of mobile travel applications including FlightTrack. The deal marks Expedia's most significant investment to date in addressing the mobile travel market, and accelerates the company's ability to enable mobile travel shopping and booking across multiple platforms.

Viking Airlines has successfully filed for bankruptcy protection in Sweden as it seeks to refinance ahead of a planned re-launch in March. The Swedish-based carrier is in talks with investors and creditors after filing for protection in late November. Travel Weekly understands a court in Stockholm granted the request at the end of last week.

Priceline.com said that the average Christmas-time air fare booked by its customers is $422, based on all tickets purchased between Nov. 3 and Dec. 2. At this time last year, the average Christmas fare booked by priceline.com customers was $431.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. announced that President and Chief Executive Officer Frits van Paasschen and other members of the company’s senior management team will present Starwood’s business strategy, key initiatives and three-year financial outlook during the company’s 2010 Investor Day to be held this week in New York City.

Choice Hotels International announced Wednesday the launch of a new travel agent commission payment processing system. The system will run with the help of Dell Services.