March 1, 2007        www.LatinEPR.com          LatinEPR News Wire

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LATIN AMERICA - NEWS BRIEFS

 

MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY

 

ABC Leads Way on Latino Programming

 

The ABC Network has scored an A-minus, the highest mark on the National Latino Media Council’s recent Network Diversity Report Cards for 2006, for its efforts to support Latino programming and television professionals.  ABC has benefited from the success of shows such as George Lopez and Ugly Betty, which it also makes available in Spanish on SAP.  CBS took second place with a B-plus, followed by NBC and FOX, each earning a B.  According to the President of advocacy group Nosotros, Jerry Velasco, the positive grades reflect the significant headway the networks have made in promoting diversity in the television business over recent years.  CBS, for one, has the highest number of recurring Latino actors and the second-highest number of Latino directors of any network on television.

 

Telmex Launches TV via Internet in Mexico

 

(Reuters) - Mexican phone company Telmex has launched a platform that offers television via the Internet, called "Prodigy Media".  The service offers four live channels and the ability to download videos and films. The software is available via the link www.prodigymedia.com.mx.  Included among the channels are Fox News, TV UNAM -- the television of the National Autonomous University of Mexico -- and another Mexican channel which is dedicated to cultural programs. Telmex is not ruling out talks on programming deals with Mexico's two main traditional broadcasters, Televisa and TV Azteca. At the moment, Televisa has its own Internet platform for television, called EsMas Player, through which it transmits live its four national television channels.

  

TRAVEL

 

Record Year for World Tourism: South America up 7.2%

 

(Mercopress) - World tourism registered yet another record last year with 842 million arrivals, a higher than expected growth rate of 4.5% with Latin America consolidating its sustained growth tendency reaching 7.2%, according to United Nations figures.  “Despite downside risks facing global tourism twelve months ago, in particular terrorism, health scares due to avian flu and rising oil prices, 2006 was another year of good growth above the long-term forecast rate of 4.1%, backed up by one of the longest periods of sustained economic expansion,” said UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary General Francesco Frangialli. Three years ago, world tourism, which can play a key role in fighting poverty and become a primary tool for sustainable development, began an unprecedented new phase of growth, as it broke the barrier of 800 million international arrivals. It has grown more than 20% since then.  The increase in international tourist arrivals is projected to be around 4% for 2007, much in line with the forecast long-term annual growth rate of 4.1% through 2020, according to UNWTO’s World Tourism Barometer. Although the 2% growth in the Americas might seem disappointing, regional results varied considerably. The rise in the United States was not enough to compensate for weak development in Canada and Mexico. On the other hand, results from Central (up 6.1%) and South America (up 7.2%) show how Latin America is on track to consolidate the positive outcome of recent years. Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Paraguay and Peru all grew at double-digit-rates.

 

Grounded Cruise Ship in Antarctica Sounds Warning for Area Tourism

 

The recent grounding of the Norwegian cruise ship Nordkapp in the Antarctic peninsula has revived a debate concerning growing tourism in the pristine waters of Antarctica.  The Nordkapp struck rocks in January while touring Deception Island; luckily none of the 300-plus passengers and crew were harmed, and the ship’s broken hull caused minimal environmental damage.  However, according to an article in www.stuff.co.nz, countries that have a stake in Antarctica, like Argentina, Chile, Australia, and the UK, are getting worried about the possibility of greater maritime disasters to come if tourism to the region, which is currently self-regulated by the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators, continues to go unchecked by larger entities.  One particular area of concern is the presence of unmodified ships in these hazardous waters. While ships cruising the Ross Sea, the New Zealand-regulated portion of Antarctica, are required to be either ice strengthened or full icebreakers, vessels in the peninsula, like the Nordkapp and the Golden Princess, are not.  Roughly ten times the size of the Nordkapp, the Golden Princess recently became the first megaliner to cruise the peninsula, departing from Rio de Janeiro for a three-week excursion this past month with almost 4000 passengers and crew.  Stuff.co.nz also reports that an estimated 29,000 people will visit Antarctica before the end of the Southern hemisphere’s summer season.

 

Mexicana Voted Best Airline

 

Mexicana Airlines, Mexico's leading airline, was once again named the "Best Airline in Mexico and Latin America" at the 2006 World Travel Awards, while its Clase Ejecutiva was voted the "Best Business Class in Mexico and Latin America".  Established in 1993, the World Travel Awards recognize standards of excellence in the tourism services offered by the world travel industry. The decision was made based on the votes of 167,000 industry experts from more than 200 countries, 110,000 of which were travel agents.  In 2006, Mexicana Airlines transported 9 million passengers, with an average occupancy rate of 70%.

 

Copa Airlines Joins SkyTeam as Traffic Grows

 

This February, Copa Airlines signed a formal agreement with the SkyTeam global airline alliance to become one of three new Associate members by the end of this year.  The successful Panama-based airline also announced increased passenger traffic for January 2007, up 30.5% over the same month last year.  Airline capacity grew 16.4% for the same period. 

 

Glitz is Back at South American Playground

 

This past month, Reuters released an article touting the return to status of Punta del Este (Uruguay) as the ‘southernmost hot spot for the international jet set’.  Catering to the rich and famous for over a century, the elite resort, known simply as Punta, fell out of favor after Argentina’s recent economic crisis in 2001-02. This year, however, fashion designers, models, millionaires, and other global personalities have rediscovered the southern Riviera and are once again returning in droves.  Visitors like Ralph Lauren and Naomi Campbell are reminding locals of Punta’s 1960’s heyday, when Brigitte Bardot and Gina Lollobrgida regularly graced their beaches.  And while Punta’s bohemian energy is being spurred on by a growing number of festivals, fashion shows, and restaurants, its reemergence as a luxury destination is also setting into motion the largest construction boom in the area since the 1980’s, with a dizzying array of exclusive properties and chic hotelier projects in the works.

 

Bolivia to Develop Indigenous Community Tourism

 

The Bolivian Government recently presented its $200-million National Tourism Plan at Fitur 2007, the International Tourism Fair in Spain.  Focused on promoting the country’s diverse indigenous community under the slogan, Authenticity Still Exists, the five-year plan aims to eradicate poverty by creating jobs and generating revenue for Bolivia’s indigenous peoples, which make up 70% of the population.  Among the most outstanding attractions which the Bolivian government would promote are the Jesuit missions, salt marshes, the colored lagoons, Lake Titicaca, Oruro, Potosi-Sucre, and the Che Route.

 

Air Travel Expected to Double by 2025

 

(Buenos Aires Herald) - The number of air travelers is expected to double by 2025, rising to more than 9 billion a year, a body representing the world’s airports said this month. The Airports Council International (ACI) predicted air freight would triple over the same period. In its Global Traffic Forecast 2006-2025, ACI said passengers passing through the 1,650 domestic and international airports its 567 members operate would grow an average 4% annually over the period. There are currently around 4.2 billion air travelers a year. Environmentalists say aviation is a growing source of carbon dioxide which contributes to global warming. Aircraft movements around the world, however, are likely to grow only an average 2.8% over the next two decades, ACI said, because a new generation of aircraft capable of carrying larger loads was coming on stream. ACI Director General Robert Aaronson said it was vital airlines and air traffic bodies, industry regulators and governments helped ensure the development of airports and the construction of new ones to keep up with the growth. If it did not, he said, “passenger comfort will suffer”.

  

ECONOMY AND POLITICS

 

Ecuador President Names Second Woman as Defense Minister

 

This month, the Ecuadorian government named another woman to be defense minister after Guadalupe Larriva, the first female to hold the office, recently died in a helicopter accident. Lorena Escudero, 41, joins six other women in Ecuador’s 17-member cabinet.  Five of them are new appointments made by President Rafael Correa, who has repeatedly expressed his insistence on a strong female presence in his cabinet.  Although Escudero and her predecessor are the first Ecuadorian Defense Ministers to never have served in the armed forces, they are not the region’s first women appointed to that position.  In the last five years, five South American countries have broken through gender barriers and named women to head their Defense Ministries for the very first time: Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Argentina, and Ecuador.  Most notable of these, perhaps, is Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, who was consequently elected as president in 2006.

 

Brazil and US to Work out Ethanol Partnership

 

The United States is planning to propose a strategic partnership with Brazil to expand the use of ethanol and other biofuels in the Western Hemisphere, the Miami Herald reported in February. The proposed partnership will aim to bolster global energy security and to generate rural jobs in poor countries. The United States and Brazil are the world's two largest biofuels producers.  Ethanol exports from Brazil have always been taxed, discouraging trade, but energy and environmental realities are changing US focus in the energy debate.  Florida Governor Jeb Bush, one of the major supporters of this partnership, wrote in a recent op-ed article for the Miami Herald that the alliance would do much to improve US relations in the region.  It will be interesting, however, to see how this affects Venezuela’s energy position.  Just this past month, the Venezuelan government announced plans to strip major oil companies of their controlling stakes in oil projects in the Orinoco Belt.

 

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL

 

Argentina among Top Places to Live

 

For the first time, Argentina has placed in International Living Magazine’s Top Ten Places to Live ranking, proclaimed as a great country to relocate or invest.  The publication cites wines, beef industry, and exciting nightlife as reasons for Argentina’s placement, but contends the most important factor in its decision was the fact that the country, according to Internationals Living’s own estimates, is the 11th least expensive in the world.  This year’s survey, which considers such factors as taxes, weather, and work opportunity, looked at 193 countries for its ranking.  France placed first for the second year running, followed by Australia, Netherlands, New Zealand, United States, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, and Argentina.  Interestingly, many Latin American nations also fared better this year than in previous times: Mexico, 25, Uruguay, 28, Panama, 34, Ecuador, 38, Costa Rica, 43, Dominican Republic, 47, Brazil, 48, Chile, 49, and Cuba, 108. 

 

Gold Rush Threatens Amazon

 

A gold rush in Brazil, ignited by an Internet story, has desperate individuals tearing apart the surrounding rain forest in a frantic search for the precious metal. The rush began after a local math teacher posted online descriptions of successful gold miners in the remote Brazilian town of Eldorado do Juma, according to Sky News.  Since the beginning of February, up to 10,000 people have descended on the jungle, leaving portions of the jungle state of Amazonas suddenly desolate, as large trees are cut down and area streams are diverted to make way for deeper gold mines. The destructive search is the most massive gold rush in the South American country since the 1980s, when a mountain known as Serra Pelada was destroyed by tens of thousands of miners.