December 1, 2006        www.LatinEPR.com          LatinEPR News Wire

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Happy Holidays to Everyone!

LATIN AMERICA NEWS BRIEFS

MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY

Internet Ad Sales to Reach Record 16 Billion Dollars in 2006

Internet ad sales for the first nine months of the year are similar to the amount spent during 2005, making it likely that 2006 could be another record year, The Wall Street Journal reported last month. If Internet advertising spending continues at its current rate, it should reach 16 billion dollars in 2006, which would surpass last year's record of 12.5 billion dollars.  The Interactive Advertising Bureau said the amount spent on Internet advertising from January to the end of September was 12.1 billion dollars. According to the report, some 4.2 billion dollars were spent on Internet advertising in the third quarter, representing a 33% increase from the year-earlier period. The third-quarter's ad revenues represent the largest ever spent on Internet advertising in any three-month period, according to the IAB, besting the most recent record of 4.1 billion dollars set in the second quarter of 2006.

TRAVEL

Caribbean Incentivates as U.S. Passport Deadline Looms

This past month, the controversial Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative was signed into law, requiring all US citizens, as well as foreign nationals, to carry passports for all international air travel in and out of the United States, starting January 8, 2007.  This includes air travel to Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean; the date for sea travel to those regions has been extended to 2009.  Designed to improve border security, the initiative is cause for major concern in the Caribbean, a region that relies primarily on the U.S. market.  The law especially affects those island nations, like the Bahamas, where ‘spontaneous tourism’ from the U.S. has been long been an important source of revenue.  In response to the new passport requirements and to lure reluctant travelers, hoteliers across the Caribbean are implementing a variety of ‘thank you’ incentives.  In Aruba, for example, hotels and resorts are offering food and beverage credits, and rental car vouchers for visitors who make Aruba their first stamp.  Other hotels are going so far as to pay for the cost of a new passport.  Although is difficult to project the long-term impact of the new passport law, one Caribbean island is not complaining.  Puerto Rico is launching a new ad campaign that highlights the fact that as a U.S. territory, no passports are required for visitors from the US.

Aeromexico Introduces First International Route for Texas Destination

Aeromexico, Mexico’s largest airline, announced in November that it will begin the only international non-stop service from Austin with flights to Mexico City starting December 15.  The airline has also launched a new daily flight from Guadalajara to Chicago, and is boosting flights from Mexico City to Orlando and Houston. To accommodate this continued growth, Aoeromexico recently placed an order with Boeing worth around $900 million.  The order includes two 787 Dreamliner airplanes, scheduled to be delivered in 2011.

World Tourism Remains Strong with Global Growth above 4%

(Mercopress) – World tourism is expected to grow 4% in 2007 for the fourth year running, although slightly slower than in previous years according to the latest release from the United Nations World Tourism Organization in Madrid.  The short term outlook remains very positive especially against the background of a strong world economy and as favorable exchange rates continue to encourage European and Asian travelers, says the WTO report, adding that international tourism is likely to remain buoyant unless major incidents occur.  In the first eight months of 2006 international tourist arrivals totaled 578 million worldwide (+4.5%), up from 553 million in the same period of 2005, a year which saw an all-time record of 806 million people traveling internationally.  In the Americas, Central America (+8.7%), South America (+8.1%) and the Caribbean (+5.1%) all exceeded the global growth average, but North America fell well below 0.4%, pulled down by the results of Canada -4.1% and Mexico -3.8%, in spite of the 4.3% growth in the USA.  

LAN Argentina and LAN Ecuador Join Oneworld Alliance

Oneworld is strengthening its position as the leading airline alliance serving Latin America with the addition of two more airlines in the region -- LAN Argentina and LAN Ecuador. The two airlines -- members of the LAN Airlines group -- will become affiliate members of oneworld as soon as joining technicalities can be completed. All parties have committed to ensure this takes place as early as possible in 2007.

Argentina Gets High Approval Rating by International Visitors

According to a poll conducted this past season by Argentina’s Secretary of Tourism, 95% of all international visitors to Argentina would happily return to the country for another vacation, reported Travel al Dia recently.  86% of visitors said they were satisfied with services received, compared to 90% of domestic vacationers.  The poll also found that visitors planned their vacations primarily through the Internet, according to destination rather than price.

Airline Ticket Prices Fall in Mexico while Rest of the World on the Rise

Airline ticket prices around the world are expected to increase next year, up to 5% in economy and 7% in business class, claims the recently released America Express Business Travel Forecast 2007.  But some countries, where low cost air carrier are making their mark, are actually experiencing a fall in average prices, namely Mexico, which could see a drop of up to 9% in domestic flight fares in 2007.

ECONOMY AND POLITICS

Panama wins backing for UN seat

The UN Latin American and Caribbean Group recently endorsed Panama to take its nonpermanent seat on the Security Council.  Panama got 164 votes in the 192-member U.N. General Assembly, more than the 120 needed to win the two-year term on the U.N.'s most powerful body.  Venezuela only garnered 11 votes, followed by Guatemala with 4 votes, and Barbados with 1 vote.   Panama succeeds Argentina on January 1, 2007.

Lula retains Presidency in Landslide Victory

Incumbent President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva received 58 million votes, a total of 61%, in Brazil’s presidential election on October 29, 2006, surviving a contentuous campaign and several political scandals.  In the end, the economy and Lula’s popular stipends program helped him defeat right-wing candidate Geraldo Alckmin.  It is this strong commitment to economic development which Lula pledges to continue in his second term, as well as a renewed fight against corruption, particularly within his own administration.  His international agenda includes helping Mercosur to incorporate all Latin American countries in the future.

Peru Has Highest Economic Growth in Latin America

(Livinginperu.com) – Peru has recorded an economic growth of almost 9 percent, the highest in Latin America, affirmed executive director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the Andean region, Peruvian economist Javier Silva Ruete. Silva made the announcement to EFE news agency at the end of a one-week visit to Lima, during which he supervised a group of IMF experts analyzing the details of a new "letter of intent" that will be signed with Peru. Silva added that unemployment is also diminishing “slowly”, private investments and imports remain growing and all economic indicators “are very positive”.

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL

LatAm and Caribbean Lead Developing World in Pre-School Education

(GPA) – Latin America and the Caribbean lead the developing world in providing pre-school education, with 62 per cent of their children participating in such programs, according to UNESCO's annual report on education. Most other regions fall far behind in meeting children's education needs, and one in two of the world's countries "have no early childhood care and education policy for children under age three," UNESCO said in a summary of the report. Participation in pre-school dropped precipitously to 35 per cent in East Asia and the Pacific; 32 per cent in South and West Asia; 16 per cent in Arab States; and 12 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa. Developing and implementing such policies are part of six world goals set for 2015.

Brazil to Grant Titles for "Favelas"

Brazilian officials have announced they will begin mapping two labyrinthine Rio shantytowns, a first step toward granting land titles to residents who otherwise have no property rights despite living for generations in the sprawling slums, reports Mercopress.  According to the news source, the government will spend one million dollars to survey the Rocinha and Vigidal shantytowns that drape two mountainsides overlooking some of the city’s most famous beaches.  The shantytowns, known in Brazil as favelas, sprung up at the end of the 19th century as freed slaves sought to make their home on unclaimed land mostly along the city’s steep hillsides. Later migrants from the country’s poor northeast caused the favelas to swell. Today, about a fifth of Rio de Janeiro’s six million residents live in the favelas.  The land titles help favela residents finance home repairs, receive credit and mail, and sell their property. The last point is especially important in a city where entire favelas have been removed to make way for commercial developments in the past.  In order for families to receive titles they must be able to prove they have lived there for at least five years. The program is expected to benefit more than 5,000 families in the two favelas.

Chile Eats the Most Ice Cream in Latin America

Per capita, Chile is the number-one consumer of ice cream in Latin America and number ten in the world, reports the Santiago Times, citing the Chilean government’s Consumer Review (Sernac). On average, Chileans consume six liters of ice cream per person each year, and families spend almost USD$16 per month on frozen treats. The price of an ice cream in Chile is almost four times lower than the world average—about a dollar for a cone. According to Sernac, this is the main reason for the country’s high ice cream consumption.

Cusco Named Culture Capital for 2007

This past month, the Peruvian city of Cusco was elected the American Capital of Culture-2007 by the International Capital Organization of Culture and the American Capital Organization of Culture, announced Xavier Tudela, president of both institutions, who will assign the designation with Mayor Carlos Valencia, of the ancient Inca Empire capital.  This project, which was created in 1998 to annually promote cities as cultural capitals and establish new cooperation links with Europe, chose Cordoba, Argentina, as its 2006 Culture Capital. In celebration, the Argentine city organized about two thousand activities and festivities for its promotion.  But another important Inca site is getting international attention as well.  Macchu Picchu is currently ranked among the top candidates for the global vote accompanying the New 7 Wonders Campaign.  The campaign is aimed at raising money and awareness to preserve heritage sites.  Until next summer, people across the world will be able to vote on line and via phone for their favorite candidates for wonders of the world.  The final list will be announced in Lisbon on July 7, 2007.   At the moment, Macchu Picchu is joined in the top seven by the Chilean territory of Easter Island.