An emergency plan, intended to restart the economically-vital tourism industry in countries ravaged by the tsunamis of December 26, was adopted at a special session of the World Tourism Organization Executive Council on February 1 in Phuket, Thailand.

British Airways will become the biggest airline yet to implement what amounts to a net-fare system in its home country, eliminating commissions for agents in the U.K., while adding consumer fees on every route for telephone and ticket-counter bookings.

All through 2004, as many as 1.4 million people were shuttled between the Mexican travel destinations of Cozumel and Playa del Carmen in a record 10,229 combined port operations in both municipalities. Hundreds of tourists, mostly day-trippers, arrive in Cozumel and Playa del Carmen by sea everyday lured by the breathtaking environment the island has to offer. All in all, this is one of the most sought-after tourist attractions in this neck of the woods.

Costa Cruise Lines will receive a new 112,000-ton vessel during spring 2007. The new ship will feature a basis two-guest capacity of 3,000 and a total passenger capacity including upper berths of 3,800. The unnamed ship will be a sister to the Costa Concordia, which will debut a new class for Costa in spring 2006. Construction of the new vessel has led to slight shifts in delivery dates for two other Carnival Corp. ships. Delivery of the Carnival Freedom moves up to February 2007 from spring 2007, and delivery of Cunard´s Queen Victoria moves from July 2007 to December 2007.

Carnival Cruise Lines has launched an online booking system that lets travelers buy shore excursions. Guests must be registered at the site and have a fully deposited cruise booking. Such details as excursion description, duration, activity level and price are provided in each activity listing; after selecting an activity, the user pays online by credit card and receives a printable confirmation. Excursion tickets are delivered to the stateroom on embarkation day.

New vacation airline Sunship1 Airlines will soon begin offering flights to Cancun and four Hawaiian destinations from Chicago-O´Hare and Rockford, Ill. It intends to be a packaged airline of sorts, coupling activities such as snorkeling with hotel accommodations. Flights from Rockford begin February 17 and from O´Hare on February 18 to Cancun. All-inclusive trips for $599 would include air, hotel, meals and drinks under the Sunship1 Vacations brand name, the company informed.