Egyptian tourism officials announced Thursday that a record number of tourists visited the EGYPT. Ahmed el Khadem, Chairman of the Egyptian Tourist Authority, said some 8.1 million tourists visited the North African country last year. It represents a 34.1 percent increase over 2003 when an estimated 6.4 million visited that Arab nation. A report by the Egyptian central bank said revenues from tourism were estimated at $6.1 billion in 2004.

Frankfurt Airport has reported that a record 51.1 million passengers had passed through Europe´s second-busiest airport last year, an increase of 5.7 percent over the number of 2003. Passenger numbers were up particularly on routes to North America, India and China, the management said in a statement. The airport, considered Europe´s number two after London Heathrow, also handled a record volume of freight, with cargo volumes rising by 13.1 percent.

Mexicana de Aviacion was recognized as the best Latin American air carrier during the 11th edition of the Annual World Travel Awards (AWTA). This is the seventh time the Mexican airline walks offstage with top AWTA honors. Hundreds of thousands of travel agents from around the world took an online poll to pick the best travel companies on the basis of quality, comfort and customer services. A grand total of 1.8 million representatives from the world hospitality industry cast their votes for this year´s awards.

Trapped in a financial crisis, Air Jamaica has laid off 100 flight attendants as part of a restructuring effort to take the airline afloat. The jobs cuts were the first phase of what is expected to be a large staff reduction at the debt-ridden the company, which was brought back under government control last month. One hundred of the airline´s approximately 500 flight attendants were told they had been laid off after a meeting between Air Jamaica managers and union officials, airline spokeswoman Sandrea Falconer said.

Felix Diesch has just taken over as new general manager of the Maritim Varadero Beach Resort in Cuba´s premier sun-and-sand destination. With ample experience and positive outcomes in the tourist sector worldwide, Mr. Diesch has worked in Cuba for prestigious hotel chains Holiday Inc and Milton, especially in the travel circuit of Holguin. He also acted as general manager of LTI Costa Verde Hotel.

Tourism and healthcare officials in the Dominican Republic dismissed rumors of a possible malaria outbreak in several travel destinations across the country and stressed that endemic disease in well under wraps. Tourism Vice Minister Luis Simon said the travel advisory issued by the Atlanta-based Center for Disease Control (CDC), that warned U.S. travelers to take chloroquine, a medication that helps prevent malaria, was based on outdated information.