August, 2005        www.LatinEPR.com          LatinEPR News Wire

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COMMUNICATIONS/MEDIA

National Geographic Captures Peru on Film

Peru is looking forward to the realization of National Geographic film project already two years in development, announced Carlos Canales, president of the National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur).  The documentary about the Andean country and the Inca site of Machu Picchu, in particular, would constitute a US$14 million investment, of which the Peruvian government would provide US$1 million.  Seen as an excellent promotional opportunity, the film may still encounter setbacks brought on by such things as the recent farmer strikes.

AOL Latin America Files for Bankruptcy

Ailing internet server AOL Latin America recently filed for bankruptcy, having failed to turn a profit since its creation in 1999.  Unable to draw new financing, the company’s debt of US$181.8 million proved too substantial.  Also filing for bankruptcy are three of AOL Latin America’s subsidiaries: AOL Puerto Rico Management Services, Inc., America Online Caribbean Basin, Inc., and AOL Latin America Management, Inc.  Despite the company’s financial woes, AOL Latin America has indicated that it will not interrupt service to existing subscribers (Dow Jones Newswires). 

MTV Video Music Awards Latin America Come to Mexico

The popular Mexican tourist site, Playa del Carmen, has been chosen to host the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards.  The announcement marks the first time that the show will be traveling to a different destination since its premiere in 2002.  Mr. Felix Gonzalez Canto, Governor of Quintana Roo, was extremely pleased with MTV’s decision to select the Caribbean resort town, and sees this as a valuable opportunity for promoting the Riviera Maya and Mexico as a whole to an international audience.  The show is expected to be viewed in over 400 million homes across the world.   Mexico’s Promotion and Tourism Council will be investing US$2 million in the event, a small price for what the MTV brand offers in return (www.mtvla.com).

LATIN AMERICAN TRAVEL AND TOURISM STATS AND NEWS BRIEFS

Soaring Above Quito

Visitors to Quito, Ecuador, can now enjoy unparalleled views of the Pichincha Volcanoes via a ten-minute cable car ride.  The city’s new attraction, Teleferico, an 18-gondola cable car system, is based in the Vulcano Amusement Park and leads up the mountains to Cruz Loma, situated 13,000 feet above sea level.  Tourism authorities expect around 20,000 visitors daily in the coming months (www.ecuadoronline.com). 

Private Investment up 93% for Mexico Hotel Industry

Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism recently announced that private real estate investment in hotel ventures in the first trimester of 2005 grew 93% compared to the same period last year.

Latin America Records 13.7% Increase in Air Traffic

According to figures released this past month by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Latin American air travel during the first four months of 2005 was up 13.7% from the same period the previous year.  International airline passenger traffic grew 8.7% overall.  Latin America showed the greatest improvement, followed by the Middle East (13.6%), North America (11.5), the Far East (8.2%), and Europe (6%).

Patagonia Tourism Development Corporation

A new organization was recently created in Punta Arenas, Chile, in order to boost regional tourism.  The Magallanes Region and Chilean Antarctica Tourism Development Corporation will organize tourism staff to coordinate regional efforts, and serve an intermediary between local and state government offices. 

LAN Once Again Voted Region’s Best

For the fifth time, LAN Airlines was chosen as the Best Airline Central/South America and Caribbean by the Official Airline Guide (OAG), the foremost world guide on information regarding airline schedules and itineraries. OAG awards have been given for more than two decades based on voting by business passengers worldwide that select the best international companies (Business Wire).

Medellin Poetry Festival Celebrates 15^th Year

Around 100,000 visitors descended on Colombia’s second largest city in June for the 15^th annual Medellin International Poetry Festival, the largest event of its kind in the world.  85 participating poets from 52 countries performed for free at every venue imaginable, including theaters, hospitals, prisons, parks, city squares, and even street corners. Founded by Colombian poets in 1991 as an antidote to the city’s long standing crime rate and violence, the festival has since welcomed over 630 poets, and invited as much criticism as praise.  Apart from been the target of numerous political attacks, the festival was also the site for the 1995 bombing which destroyed Botero’s “Bird” sculpture.   However, ten years later, the event and the city itself seemed changed for the better.  Esteban Moore, who participated in 1995, said, “Medellin today is a city reborn, emerged from pain and madness.  A city transformed by poetry.”  (www.epm.net.co).

Mexico Gets First Low-Cost Carrier

Mexicana de Aviacion intends to launch Mexico´s first low-cost carrier in July, moving the government closer to privatizing its airline industry. The new airline, called Click Mexicana, started ticket sales in May and flights in July as part of a plan to sell Mexico´s leading airlines Mexicana and Aeromexico this year.

Patagonia National Park Receives Czech Donation

The Czech Republic is donating 144,000 Euros to help with the reconstruction and reforestation of Patagonia’s Torres del Paine National Park, which lost 14,000 hectares of land to a forest fire in February.  The fire was started by a Czech tourist, who accidentally overturned his camping stove.  Following the incident, the Czech government promptly issued a formal apology to Chile.

Gay Cruise Sets Sail up Amazon

Gayperu Travel launched the first gay ecological cruise up the Amazon this past July.  The 5-day trip, which is expected to become a tri-annual event, explores the Peruvian jungle from Iquitos to Tarapoto with a visit to the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve. 

Thousands turn out for Inti Raymi

4000 visitors attended this year’s Inti Raymi ceremony, held annually in Cusco, Peru.   An Incan celebration of the Sun God and the winter solstice, Inti Raymi festivities are staged throughout the Andean city, including the Sacsayhuaman, where Afredo Incaroca Concha, direct descendent of the royal “Inca Roca” line, presides over a ceremony that comprises some 427 actors and artists.

New Tourism Strategy for Andean Nations

The Andean countries approved the Strategic Tourism Plan for the region, which has the goal of making the five member nations of the Andean Community priority destinations for travelers from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. The strategy focuses on the real regional market of 1.8 million tourists annually who decide to cross the borders and enjoy the multiple travel destinations in the five countries. The measures include making border crossings easier, promoting destinations with a cultural ingredient, and putting Andean certification of hotels and restaurants in place (www.presidencia.gov.co).

Europeans Flock to Peru this Summer

The upward trend in tourism experienced in the early part of this year by Peru is not giving any signs of abating, at least not over the course of this summer.  Ramiro Salas, Vice-Minister of Tourism, recently announced that international arrivals from Europe to the Andean nation are expected to reach the highest number ever, with flights from Europe already fully booked for July and August.   Salas attributes much of this success to the government’s strong promotional efforts abroad.  It also can’t hurt that Cusco won this year’s Wanderlust Travel Awards for Best City, an award it has received four times since 1999.  With Peru’s burgeoning success, it’s not surprising that President Alejandro Toledo would like to see Peru have its own flag carrier.   Aerolineas del Peru, the new Marsan Group project, is poised to become just that, with domestic service set to begin this August.

Strong push for wind energy in Argentina

Among Argentina’s natural energy resources one has remained virtually untapped and is in endless supply: wind. But with Siemens’ recent purchase of Bonus Energy this could be about to change.  Bonus Energy had an accumulated global market share of approximately 9% at the time of the purchase and this now forms the bulk of the new Wind Power Division of Siemens Power Generation.  The announcement in Buenos Aires means Siemens, headquartered in Germany, is promoting the use of their technology in Argentina and will provide the equipment and servicing for companies installing wind farms.  Argentina’s long coastline and vast open expanses make it an ideal location for harnessing wind power and generating electricity, yet relatively high costs of wind turbine technology have resulted in a lack of large scale investment in this sector.   Recent environmental initiatives such as Argentina’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, which went into effect on February 15, 2005, and a federal law promoting the use of renewable energy sources could serve as a boost for this nascent industry.  To date Argentina’s ventures in harnessing wind power have taken place largely in Patagonia and also in the province of Buenos Aires. But Argentina has a long way to go before it catches up with European countries, such as Denmark and Germany, which are the driving force in this global industry.  According to the Global Wind Energy Council, Europe has a 34,205 MW capacity derived from wind power, while Central and South America have a combined capacity of 150 MW (MERCOPRESS).

Green Party Abandons Lula’s Coalition

The Green Party which has a cabinet minister and seven seats in the Lower House announced it was abandoning the ruling coalition of President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva disappointed with the government’s environmental policies.  The Green Party decision coincides with the release of new record figures on Amazon rainforest destruction. The Brazilian Environment ministry said 26,000 sq km of forest were chopped down in the 12 months prior to August 2004.  The figure is the second highest on record, 6% higher than the previous 12 months. Deforestation was worst in the state of Mato Grosso where vast swathes of land have been cleared to grow crops.  The loss of 26,000 sq km means almost a fifth of the entire Amazon has now been cleared (Newsroom).

Minimum Wage Boost in Argentina

This past month, the Argentine government raised the minimum wage from 450 pesos (US$155) a month to 630 (US$217), the latest in a series of increases since Nestor Kirchner took office in 2003, when minimum wage stood at 200 pesos (www.bloomberg.com). 

Hispanics consolidate as first minority in US

The Latino population consolidated as the main minority in United States with 41.3 million people mainly because of a growth rate that is three times higher than the overall population, according to a report from the US Census Office. The report shows that between 2000 and 2004, 49% of the US population growth was Latino. Contrary to the eighties and nineties Hispanic immigration was not the main cause for that expansion but rather births by Latino families residing in the US who on average have more children than non Hispanic whites. The population group with the slowest growth rate was the Anglo-Saxon with a rate of 0.3% between July 2003 and July 2004.  This will have profound effects in the United States, since Hispanics are no longer concentrated regionally in places such as California, New York or Florida (MERCOPRESS).  

US States Target International Tourism

According to the Travel Industry Association of America, state tourism offices plan to spend $21.2 million on international advertising and sales promotion for 2004–2005, an increase of 27.8 percent over 2003–2004. Florida plans to spend the most on international advertising and promotion ($4.7 million), followed by Texas ($1.8 million) and Oregon ($1.3 million).

Miss DR Makes Top Three in Miss Universe

Miss Dominican Republic, Renata Sone, was the second runner up in the Miss Universe 2005 pageant held in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 30. She came in third place, behind Miss Puerto Rico and Miss Canada, Natalie Glebova, winner of crown.  In addition to Renata Sone, two other contestants of Dominican origin participated in this year’s pageant.  Italy was represented by DR-born Maria Teresa Francville, daughter to a Dominican mother and Italian father, and Aruba was represented by Luisana Cicilia, daughter to a Dominican mother.  The Dominican Republic won its first Miss Universe title with Amelia Vega in 2003. This year, Claudia Cruz of the DR was the runner up in the Miss World pageant. Yadira Geara of the DR also recently won the first runner up position in the International Queen of Coffee pageant held in January in Manizales, Colombia.

LOOK IT UP

COLOMBIA

http://www.economist.com/countries/Colombia/

Country biefing by The Economist

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mapshells/south_america/colombia/colombia.htm

Colombian Map

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/1212798.stm

BBC - Country Profile - Colombia

http://www.presidencia.gov.co/

Official Colombian Presidential Website

http://www.einnews.com/colombia/

Colombia in the news worldwide

CURIOSIDADES

The Internet Transforms Modern Life

By Steve Almasy, CNN

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, fewer than one in seven Americans were online in 1995. Then along came an experimental browser called Mosaic, followed by an improved browser from Netscape.  And if you had a computer, you discovered a new way to this cool, new thing called the World Wide Web. Today, Pew says, two out of every three Americans spend time online. 

The World Wide Web has transformed the way people live, work and play. People can play travel agent and book all the elements of a vacation online. They can arrange for their bills to be paid automatically while they are gone. They can put a hold on mail delivery, find directions to tourist attractions and get a long-term weather forecast before they pack.  Even on vacation, they can log onto the Web to keep up with news from their hometown paper or TV station, and stay connected with friends and family. In its first decade, the Web altered the pace of popular culture. It made distance less daunting, rendered information instantly accessible and revolutionized communication.

Googling and blogging

In the mid-1990s, the top three Web sites were AOL, Netscape and WebCrawler (which was a search engine owned by AOL), according to Internet research measurement company comScore Media Metrix. Each had an audience of 4 million to 6 million people per month.  Today, the audience for the Web numbers more than one billion and is growing.   The Web has (also) added plenty of words to our lexicon, although some have yet to make the dictionary. If you had talked about Googling or blogging 10 years ago, you might have had a lot of listeners scratching their heads.  But like any youngster, the Web still has some growing to do. For all its uses, most people still go to the Internet primarily for e-mail. According to Pew surveys, 58 million Americans sent e-mail each day in December 2004, while 35 million used the Web to get news. 

Broadband 'has changed everything'

In the early days of the Web, many news sites were little more than a collection of links to stories by The Associated Press and a few pieces of content repurposed from the newspaper or TV station. If you were lucky, there might be a photo in the story. With so many people using the Web today for news, TV networks, newspapers and magazines have been increasing the types of content they make available on the Web.  "Rich media and multimedia content are much more popular," Outing said. "Media companies are more willing to put in the money to produce it. They recognize that people can now use it."  Some media companies have been slow embrace the Web, he said, and in the meantime, they have found themselves facing increased competition from entrepreneurial sites, like craigslist.org, which is a popular bulletin board featuring free classifieds.  The biggest change has been effected by broadband, Outing said.  "In the past four or five years, the penetration of broadband has changed everything," he said. "The computer is always on and the information is always there."  There are 10 times more broadband users today than there were in June 2000, according to Pew.

The Internet generation

Daboll, of Media Matrix, said broadband outnumbers dial-up as the connection of choice among people who log on from home.  Just a few years ago, the move from a 28.8k modem to 56k was enough to make many users ecstatic. These days many DSL and cable connections are up to 70 times faster than the old dial-up. The Web is changing the way people communicate, Daboll said. He pointed to the "Internet generation," teenagers who have grown as the Web as grown. One of their favorite tools is instant messaging, he said.

But the Internet isn't an orderly environment for the person who wants to pay bills, watch the latest music or take a virtual college class. It also can be a tempest. There are bad people out there -- hackers, pedophiles and thieves.  According to the Federal Trade Commission, 1 in 25 adults was a victim of identity theft in 2003 and the number of people affected online continues to increase.  And there's plain old fraud. The FTC said slightly more than half of the fraud-related claims it received in 2004 were Internet related, and many of the deceptions involved individuals or companies that used e-mail or a Web site. 

Advertisers are changing, too, trying to figure out how to best use the Web. JupiterResearch projects that Internet advertising will grow 27 percent, to $10.7 billion, in 2005.  The increase in demands of the Web has even affected the way Media Matrix serves its clients, generally companies looking to best place their advertisements.  "The nature of what we do has changed from ratings and ranking to more broadly covering what goes on the Web," Daboll said. "Looking at actual number or searches and looking at actual expenditures by household by category -- for instance money spent on travel sites versus retail sites."  A decade from now, who knows what statistics and functions they'll be measuring.