During the first seven months of this year, Paraguay’s travel industry registered a whopping 36 percent increase from the same period of time in 2003 as nearly a million travelers (996,096) entered the South American nation. Would the current trend remain unchanged for the rest of the year, the country could well exceed the numbers of tourist arrivals chalked up in 2003 and 2002 when 1.5 and 1.3 million trekkers respectively visited the country, the nation’s Tourism Ministry reported his week.

As part of a $5 billion overhaul that kicked off earlier this week in an effort to cut costs, wages and benefits to workers, Delta Airlines announced its intention to lay off between 6,000 and 7,000 employees within the next eighteen months. The U.S. company’s President and CEO, Gerald Grinstein, explained the air carrier is steadily implementing a cost-cutting plan that will hack off approximately $2.3 billion by the end of 2004.

A senior official of the Jamaica shipping industry says the cruise ship sector continues to be a vibrant and growing contributor to the island´s economy, earning between US$80 million to US$100 million annually. Vice President of Cruise Shipping and Marina Operations at the Port Authority of Jamaica, William Tatham, is also predicting that the sector will grow by 10 per cent growth over the next decade.

Mexico and Singapore cut a deal to pour $60 million worth of investment into the development of Acapulco´s travel industry, in the state of Guerrero. The pact was inked by Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts and the Mexican Development Group. According to a press release issued by Mexico´s Tourism Department, the accord will pave the way for the construction of the first Banyan Tree resort in Acapulco´s Punta Diamante, the most exclusive area of this destination of the Mexican Pacific.

With a view to pump up the Latin American image in the United Kingdom, a new PR agency called Branding Latin America will set up shop in London to advertise the region’s travel industry and exports. Led by Argentinean Rodolfo Milesi, the agency will operate in close collaboration with Chime Communications, one of the premier public relations companies in the U.K.

U.S. carrier Continental Airlines (CA) reported quarterly losses as a result of spiking oil prices, quite a setback from last year’s results after the company received a megabuck bailout package granted by the U.S. government. CA informed a $17 million shortfall, 26 cents per share in the stock market, compared to the $79 million worth of profits ($1.10 per share) chalked up in the same period the year before.