Mexico´s Tourism Department (SECTUR) estimates a 12 percent spike in the number of foreign tourist arrivals for the upcoming summertime vacations. SECTUR chief Rodolfo Elizondo Torres said in a recent interview all expectations are running high and his office expects to keep hotel demand in the neighborhood of 62 percent nationwide.

German-owned Thomas Cook expects for the first time in four years to turn the corner and return to profit in 2005. The travel group evidently saw Winter pre-tax losses cut to euros 244.2 million in the six months to April from euros 385 million a year earlier. Thomas Cook U.K. & Ireland, which has implemented cost-cutting initiatives, expects this year´s profits to exceed last year´s figure of euros 51 million due to a continued focus on improving profit margins.

Washington retreated from its demand that close allies, including many European countries, begin to issue new high-tech passports from the end of October onward. But there was confusion about whether French and Italian citizens could still be singled out as requiring visas to enter the US.

Central Holidays, a US-based tour operators, reduced its prices by 5 percent after the French rejection of the proposed European Union constitution helped push the dollar to its highest point in nearly eight months, $1.23 per euro. Overall, the value of the dollar has risen 11 percent since March 13, when an euro cost $1.35. After the Netherlands rejected the EU constitution following the vote in France, the price of the euro dropped further to $1.22.

An international disaster specialist wants businesses and families in the Caribbean to join governments in preparing for a number of serious storms forecast for the region. Speaking ahead of the Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism´s CMExPress workshop (to be held at Sandals Antigua on June 14), Oliver Davidson, an advisor to Counterpart International, said businesses and governments must take mitigation measures and promote preparedness, "however, it is also every family´s responsibility to be ready for an emergency."

Ottawa´s tourism industry is expected to see solid growth over the next two years, thanks to a bigger marketing budget and growing number of overseas travelers. The Conference Board predicts the number of overnight visits will jump 4 per cent this year to 4.4 million and a further 3 per cent to 4.5 million in 2006. The new Canadian War Museum is emerging as a major tourist draw for 2005.