The National Hoteliers and Restaurant Owners Association (Asonahores) cautioned that approval of the new tax reform presented to the nation by President Leonel Fernandez would hit the sector hard, costs would surge and competitiveness in international markets would suffer. Asonahores branded as absurd and irrational the measure that would create a 5 percent exclusive tax for this sector, which is considered the main productive activity that motorizes the economy.

St. Maarten’s new airport terminal at the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) was officially unveiled on November 10. The grand opening ceremony was attended by government officials and dignitaries from neighboring Caribbean islands. Also turning up for the event were local residents who seemed keen on getting a glimpse of Queen Beatrix, the queen of the Netherlands, who inaugurated the new airport terminal.

Worldspan has enhanced its Worldspan Hotel Select booking system to enhance the solution that presents travel agents with the largest pool of hotel content available from a single source. Hotel Select is beefed up with new shopping capabilities and hotel suppliers to lend agents a more powerful hotel shopping experience and help increase agency revenues.

British Airways said on Thursday it was willing to revise a plan to raise the age of retirement for staff in return for higher pension contributions, but unions warned the concessions did not go far enough. The two sides met to discuss proposals to tackle BA’s pension deficit and said the talks would continue. BA said a major issue was its plan to lift the retirement age to 65 from 55 for air crew and from 60 for ground staff.

The Casa Alianza humanitarian organization warned last week of the increase in sexual tourism in Honduras involving children, informing that over 2,500 minors are victims of those abuses by vacationers on a yearly basis. Manuel Capellin, director of Casa Alianza, said that three out of four molesting tourists are men and lamented the presence in the country of homosexual organizations, which provide travelers services primarily of minors, and secondarily of women. Mr. Capellin noted that this scourge has had such success that the tourist who does not find those services immediately at the airport will find cabdrivers who will offer to provide company when transporting the vacationer to his hotel.

The tourism industry in the Dominican Republic has registered a significant variation with a boom in the sector’s real estate offer, according to Luis Lopez, president of the National Hotels and Restaurants Association (Asonahores). Mr. Lopez stated that Dominican tourism is undergoing an interesting evolution toward real estate tourism and that “many foreigners have found in the Dominican Republic a second home.”