Animatur, Spain’s leading provider of services linked to consulting and tourist entertainment for shopping malls and other companies, and Med Playa Hotels are summoning people to sign up for their course for tourist entertainers to be taught in Salou, Catalonia, from April 4 to 25.

The 559-room Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino is celebrating its 15th anniversary as one of the premier resorts on the island after finalizing a $15 million renovation last year. The resort, built by Metacorp, a local Aruba-based holding company, was first opened in 1990 as the Aruba Sonesta Resort & Crystal Casino with 301 rooms located at the Marina in Oranjestad, Aruba´s capital city.

The World Travel Organization (WTO) is calling on news organizations from around the world to screen out negative information about those South Asian countries that were hit by the December 26 tsunamis, in an effort not to paint an awful picture among would-be tourists that could eventually put a damper on the recovery of their travel industries. In the same breath, the WTO plans to unveil an awareness campaign at the Berlin International Travel Fair with a view to help seaquake-stricken nations and other neighboring territories that got off scot-free.

Mexicana Airlines and American Airlines have jointly launched interline electronic ticketing, enabling customers to use a single e-ticket for itineraries with travel on both carriers, executives from the Mexican airline confirmed. The two companies began code-sharing flights between Mexico and the United States in May 2004. Interline e-tickets can be issued by American and Mexicana via their reservations centers, and at airports, ticket offices and travel agencies.

Airlines recorded their safest year in 2004, with 428 people killed out of the 1.8 billion passengers who flew, the International Air Transport Association has highlighted in a report about air safety. 2004 was the safest year ever for air transport,´ said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA director-general and CEO. He said the number of accidents rose to 103 from 99 in 2003 while global traffic increased 15 percent.

Trapped in a financial crisis with no easy way out looming in the horizon, US Airways will call off all Florida-bound nonstop flights from Panama, El Salvador and Puerto Rico’s San Juan come May. Execs from US Airways, the seventh-largest American carrier, said in a press release published by Panamanian news media this action is part of a cost-cutting strategy that includes the return of eleven Boeing 737 jetliners to their former leasers. The company had just set up shop in Panama a few weeks ago.