Hotels affiliated with the Beijing Olympics will be allowed to raise their room prices by around 50 percent during the 2008 Games, under guidelines published in the state press last week. The 112 hotels that have signed contracts with the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) will be able to charge between 1.4 and 1.6 more than their normal rates during the Games, according to the guidelines.

TripAdvisor, the largest travel community in the world, has announced results from a summer travel survey of more than 2,300 respondents, revealing that the great majority of travelers are taking vacation this summer and intend to spend at least half their annual vacation time during that period. According to the poll, 92 percent of travelers intend to take a vacation this summer, 70 percent of travelers said the rising cost of fuel will not interfere with their travel plans, and 54 percent of travelers plan to take at least half of their annual vacation time this summer.

If the figures for 2005 are any indication, Europe could receive more American travelers this year than the record 13.1 million set in 2000. In a steady upward trajectory since 2003, U.S. arrivals in Europe have climbed past 12 million, to 12.6 million in 2005 –four percentage points shy of 2000. The numbers also surpassed the European Travel Commission´s projected 12.4 million US visitors. Europe´s popularity has stood steadfast in recent years despite the downturn in global travel following 2001, concern about fluctuating exchange rates and competition from emerging destinations.

Over 55 million baby boomers –those born between 1945 and 1965- are getting ready to retire. When asked what they intend on doing, Travel and see the world is on top of there list. Most of the baby boomers have been to the Caribbean, Alaska and England and Italy. So, where do they want to go? Asia, especially China Japan and India. They also are interested in Russia and eastern Europe like Hungary and seeing beautifully renaissance cites like Budapest.

Fuel prices and soft demand in the Caribbean are responsible for lower quarterly profits and a decreased outlook for the remainder of 2006, Carnival executives said in an earnings conference call with analysts last week. Carnival said an $82 million fuel cost increase had significantly impacted its first-quarter earnings. While Wave season started strong, it said, bookings dipped in February, mostly due to sagging Caribbean sales.

Over three quarters (75.4 percent) of UK business travel agents predict they will see an increase in bookings during the second quarter of 2006, compared to 70.1 percent of UK leisure agents. This is according to the latest Amadeus snap poll in which more than 175 UK leisure and business travel agents and industry professionals were surveyed about how they felt the travel industry would perform during the second quarter of 2006.