The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced results for November showing a 4.6 percent drop in international passenger traffic and a 13.5 percent drop in international cargo. International capacity dropped by 1.0 percent. The November international passenger load factors stood at 72.7 percent –a decline of approximately 3 percentage points over the same month last year.

Norwegian Cruise Line has scheduled eight weekly webinars for travel agents with its top executives. The webinars are only for travel agents who are registered as NCL U students. The first webinar is 4 to 5 p.m. EST Jan. 6 with NCL President and CEO Kevin Sheehan.

GOGO Worldwide Vacations released a guide to the emerging vacation hot spots for 2009. GOGO, which services almost 20,000 United States travel agents, has studied recent sales data and other factors that could influence short-term demand to identify 10 hot “new” locations for U.S. travelers for 2009.

Jamaica was voted among the Top Ten Holiday Dream Escapes, according to TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel community in its December holiday travel survey. Jamaica ranks No. 7, ahead of Rome (No. 8) and the Bahamas (No. 9) with Tahiti completing the Top Ten. Of the more than 1,800 travelers surveyed, Hawaii was voted the No. 1 Holiday Dream Escape.

The State Department is recommending that travelers apply now for travel documents that will be required at all land or sea border entry points as of June 1, 2009. On that date, under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), U.S. citizens will be required to present a government-approved document that denotes both citizenship and identity when entering the United States.

The State Department is recommending that travelers apply now for travel documents that will be required at all land or sea border entry points as of June 1, 2009. On that date, under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), U.S. citizens will be required to present a government-approved document that denotes both citizenship and identity when entering the United States.