Silversea Cruises confirmed the hiring of Kenneth W. Watson as executive vice president and chief operating officer following the abrupt departure of top sales executives David Morris and Marilyn Conroy. Silversea also announced the appointment of Fabio Agostini as vice president and chief information officer.

Malev launches its fifth route to Romania as its summer timetable comes into force (29 March 2009). In total, the Hungarian national carrier operates scheduled services to five cities in the neighboring country including Bucharest, Cluj, Timisoara and Tirgu Mures. Its latest route, Iasi, opens 30 March 2009.

The island of Bonaire has reason to celebrate this year when their national parks both reach landmark anniversaries: the Washington Slagbaai National Park attains its 40th year, while the Bonaire National Marine Park reaches its 30th.

While companies across the globe slash their marketing spend due to worsening economic forecasts, the corporate and private event portal eventplannerspain.com continues to dominate the country’s Web-based meetings and event industry, introducing several new products within the past few months including video content, translations in two additional languages and deep discounts on supplier membership fees.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced international traffic statistics for the month of February showing continuing deterioration in demand. Passenger volumes fell sharply to 10.1 percent below 2008 levels (from the decline of 5.6 percent recorded in January).

In celebration of its opening in fall 2009, The Palmyra, A Solis Resort & Spa, located in the enclave of Rose Hall in Montego Bay, Jamaica, is offering guests complimentary suite upgrades with its introductory promotion “How Suite it is … Reserve a Room, Stay in a Suite.”