World Travel News

Australia’s Sybarrow oilfield to be developed by BHP Billiton, Woodside

SYDNEY (AFX) - BHP Billiton and Woodside Petroleum Ltd have approved development of the 600 mln usd Stybarrow oilfield off the coast of Western Australia.

The BHP-operated field will be the second of four planned fields in the Exmouth Sub-Basin and will be the deepest offshore field to be developed in Australia.

‘Stybarrow represents the first opportunity for BHP Billiton to commercialise reserves in the Exmouth Sub-Basin, which is increasing in importance as an oil province in Australian waters,’ BHP energy group president Philip Aiken said in a statement issued late on Thursday.

More: forbes.com

MIDDLE EAST: SHARON RESIGNS FROM LIKUD

Tel Aviv, 21 Nov. (AKI) - Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has resigned as leader of the right-wing Likud party which he helped set up in 1973, and has announced that he is setting up a new party, reported to be called ‘National Responsibility’. It comes after he asked the country’s president Moshe Katsav to dissolve the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, and call early elections. The president revealed after their meeting on Monday morning that Sharon had told him he had reached the conclusion it was impossible for him to continue as prime minister with the current Knesset.

Under Israeli law, President Katsav now has 21 days to decide on whether to dissolve the Knesset and call early elections, but he said he would make the decision quickly, in a matter of “less than days". “Of course, I think we need to dissolve the Knesset and hold elections as soon as possible,” he was quoted as saying by the Tel Aviv daily Haaretz.

The law also states that elections must be held within 90 days, putting them by the beginning of March. Army radio speculated that 8 March now looked like the most likely date for the vote.

More: adnki.com

Tourism has become more resilient to the threat of terrorism over the past few years as the market’s attitude has changed from fear to defiance, and last month’s bombings in Sharm el-Sheikh are expected to have only a short-lived effect on the Egyptian resort, according to a new United Nations report.

“In 2001, the September 11 attacks generated fear,” the Secretary-General of World Tourism Organization (WTO), Francesco Frangialli, said of the report by the agency’s report by the Market Intelligence Department, referring to the terrorist assaults on New York and Washington.

“But recent acts of terrorism have been met more by a sentiment of repugnance rather than fear. When faced with terrorism, the members of the society being attacked are determined not to allow violent acts to pressure them into changing their way of life. There has been a shift in the security paradigm with regard to everyday life and travel, as people have come to accept higher levels of uncertainty than in past years,” he added.

“As we have been seeing of late, attacks can happen anywhere, and are not limited to foreign travel destinations. The public must not let itself be deterred from travelling.”

More: un.org

Alexandria, VA | The focus of the business travel industry will be on San Diego beginning on Sunday, August 14 as the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) kicks off its 37th Annual Convention and Trade Show. With business travel accounting for nearly one-third of all domestic travel and hospitality/tourism being one of the largest revenue generators for the city, the event has lasting implications for San Diego.

The impact of the NBTA Convention and Trade Show on San Diego extends beyond the revenue generated by its thousands of attendees. More than 4,500 professionals are registered to attend the NBTA Convention, an expected 1,200 of which are travel managers who control more than $100 billion in corporate travel expenditures. These travel managers are not only responsible for managing travel policies and expenses, but also the safety of their companies’ road warriors.

Corporate travel managers working for some of the city’s most prominent companies will have the opportunity to attend more than 50 educational sessions on a variety of topics including contract negotiation, anti-American sentiment, travel procurement, policy compliance and travel safety. With this year’s Convention being hosted in San Diego, nearly all of the more than 100 members of the NBTA local chapter, the San Diego Business Travel Association (SDBTA), will join their peers from around the world to learn about how to protect their companies’ travelers and interests.

More: hospitalitynet.org

A report appearing in nytimes.com says, “IAC is trying to bolster its lagging stock price by separating its large travel business from its other units, which include the HSN shopping network, Ticketmaster and the Ask Jeeves search engine. The newly independent Expedia, which will include the Expedia Web site, Hotels.com , Hotwire.com and TripAdvisor.com , is at a crossroads.”

The report adds, “Over the last few years, it has gained market share in the online travel industry, which is still taking business from traditional travel agents. But as the economy improves and travel picks up, airlines and hotels are constantly pressing to cut the fees they pay to Expedia. And in the second quarter of this year, Expedia lost market share to Sabre Holdings , Travelocity and Priceline as it cut advertising expenses to maintain profitability.”

The analysts agree that the challenges have increased but Expedia is up to it.

“There is no question that the game is a lot harder. But Expedia moves more product than any other online agency. They are simply better at marketing and better online,” Henry H. Harteveldt, an analyst with Forrester Research reportedly said.

More: eyefortravel.com