Newsletter - June 12, 2002

HOTELIER – KNOW THY GUEST

Written By:  Chris Hartmann        HVS Technology Strategies

Much has been written recently about how the hospitality industry has fared much better after 9/11 than the airlines, but most neglect what I believe are the two primary reasons why.  Firstly, hotel sales and distribution are much more diversified than in the airline industry.  As airlines have cut commissions and tried to take more of their reservations in house, hotels have stayed with and even expanded the importance of Travelocity, Priceline and other third-party channels.  

This means that instead of having one party trying to boost sales, many are.  Secondly, airlines reacted to reduced demand by cutting flights.  Hotels couldn't easily do the same and instead cut prices somewhat and in some cases reduced service levels but kept an excess of supply ready.  That meant as soon as demand picked up, the supply was there.  Airlines continue to fill planes at a higher loading level than pre 9/11, but it hasn't helped them become more profitable despite the fact that an airline’s variable costs (maintenance, staff, and fuel) are much higher as a percentage of total cost than that of most hotels.

Reduced to its most simplistic level, the goal of any hotel is to get 100% occupancy at the highest possible rate.  That may sound foolishly simplistic, but it is important to realize that at the core of all hotel decisions and analyses, this goal must be present.  If perfect information were available, meaning each hotel knew what each potential customer on each night was willing to pay, reaching the above goal would be extremely easy.  

Yield management software, corporate travel deals, and marketing and promotion strategies are all attempts to understand and influence demand patterns and capture this demand at the highest achievable rates.  While hotels have recently made the correct choice in keeping their means of sales diversified and by virtue of the product type have not been able to simply close hotel rooms, a proactive approach of concentrating on “guest selection” needs to be taken next. 

To attempt to maximize revenues and profits, focus on guest selection starts with defining and characterizing each segment.  A segment should have some commonality among average revenue, average cost of service, method of guest acquisition, and expectations.  Key indicators, such as current and potential revenue and costs, should be developed for each guest segment along with probabilities, forecasts and other measures of uncertainty.  

Using this information, each segment can be analyzed for current and potential value.  Value is defined as some measure of profit (could be “net income” profit, EBITDA, “variable cost profit” or some other appropriate and consistent definition).  Value is important here, because analysis based on revenue or AED can result in taking on unprofitable business, which is not only damaging to current profits, it risks revenues over the long term.   Segments with the highest current value must be reviewed to ensure that these guests remain guests.  Segments with the highest potential value need to be examined to determine how to capture this demand.

The mistakes often made by hoteliers are either not spending enough time on segment definition and/or not developing clear indicators, instead approaching the problem from an informal point of view.  Although hospitality remains a people-oriented business, the lesson that has been learned over the last twenty years of the information age is that every business functions best when using well-defined and well-measured numerical indicators.  

Loyalty programs, CRM (customer relationship management), online sales and distribution, and data warehousing all demonstrate that hard information is a critical factor in business.  While the hospitality industry may not have the data intensive needs or focus of other industries like manufacturing, to remain competitive a property must not only be willing to quickly embrace change but know which change to embrace.  This is where knowledge becomes your best instrument.

VIETNAM PROMOTES TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

(Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Vietnam has worked out a plan of attracting foreign investments to promote the development of the country's tourism industry. The tourism department of the country is seeking 1.3 billion U. S. dollars in foreign funds to start 28 development projects and attract more foreign visitors, according to a report of local daily Vietnam News on Thursday.

Major projects include a 400 million U.S. dollar joint venture to build the Tuan Chau tourism area in the country's northern province of Quang Ninh, the 390 million dollar Canh Duong tourism complex in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, and a 100 million dollar joint venture to build a tourism zone at Da Lat city's Tuyen Lam Lake. These projects will increase the number of Vietnam's key destinations for foreign tourists.

Vietnam's tourism and hotel sector attracted six foreign- invested projects, worth a total of 20 million dollars in the first five months of this year, taking the country's total to 123 projects worth 3.26 billion dollars. Vietnam received 1.065 million foreign visitors in the first five months of this year, an increase of 8.6 percent over the same period of last year. 

THE 10^TH ANNUAL HOSPITALITY DESIGN EXPO IN LAS VEGAS, HONORED INDUSTRY LEADERS

A record-breaking 900 exhibitors occupied more than 200,000 square feet of exhibition space at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas, May 2 - 4, for the 10th annual HD Expo. With approximately 6,000 attendees including top designers and industry buyers from around the world, the show welcomed record numbers to a central marketplace where new ideas, applications, products, educational seminars and industry awards were the draw.

Exhibitors at the show expressed pleasure in the quality of the attendees.

I have never in my more than 40 years in the business, been to a tradeshow and written an order on the tradeshow floor, but I did here this year, said Paul Richmond, founder of Richmond Textiles, Inc. a Chicago-based textile company that focuses on window coverings and top-of-the-bed treatments.

This show caters to a more upscale design community, which means that we must have a presence at this show to compete in the hospitality design industry, said Faustino Grana of Art: ASAP. We bank a lot of money on this show. We launched our website and our new product catalog here, and we definitely will be back next year.
We expanded our presence at the show this year, explained Randy Moore of Zenith Electronics. We're making good contacts because the quality of attendees is very high.

This is an incredible show, said Tracy Francis of Milliken Carpet. We invested in a larger booth this year, and it's been worth the investment. We've given away 15 percent more product literature to attendees this year.

Exhibitors, attendees and visitors to the show had the opportunity to attend a variety of educational seminars and CEU's ranging from a session on Branding as a Discipline to the first-ever Town Hall Meeting with a [industry] star-studded six member panel moderated by Alan Benjamin that discussed the state of the industry.

The session reinforced issues of importance to the traveler, such as guestroom value and attention to fundamentals, and discussed how to get people traveling again, which is the most important issue facing the industry today.

The $5 billion spa industry, experiencing a 127 percent annual revenue growth, took its place for the first time at the HD show floor with a dedicated HD Bath and Spa display area, which was well received by designers and attendees alike.

A highlight of the show continues to be the recognition of the Platinum Circle honorees, an award program sponsored by Hospitality Design magazine that celebrates exceptional achievement by individuals and corporations within the hospitality design industry, said Michelle Finn publisher of Hospitality Design magazine. This year, held at The Joint at the Hard Rock Cafe, the honorees were:

-- Jordan Mozer, whose inventive designs have won acclaim throughout the world, most notably for the Royal Hotel in Miami, Iridium in New York City, the Cylinder in Berlin and the Cypress Club in San Francisco.

-- Julia Monk is credited for the design of numerous hotel interiors including the St. Regis and the Essex House in NYC, the Peninsula in Hong Kong, Raffles, The Plaza in Singapore and the Hotel Sofitel in Philadelphia.

-- Larry Bogdanow has been responsible for many high-profile restaurants and hotels, including Union Square Cafe, Union Pacific, Savoy and the Tribecca Grand Hotel all in Manhattan, as well as Legal Seafood of Boston. Jason Chodorow is respected as one of the country's top restaurateurs whose properties have raised the bar for service and style in the U.K. and U.S. Some of his better-known properties include China Grill, Red Square, Tuscan Steak and Asia de Cuba.

The Sixth Annual IIDA/HD Product Design Competition, which presents an annual award to the most innovative, significant and technologically advanced products, named Color Kinetics this year's winner.

STARWOOD RECEIVES HVS EXECUTIVE SEARCH LODGING LEADERSHIP AWARD FOR BOARD PERFORMANCE

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) has been honored as the lodging industry's top performing board of directors for the year 2001 by HVS Executive Search, a division of the global hotel consulting firm HVS International.
Keith Kefgen, president of HVS Executive Search, and Stephen Rushmore, president and founder of HVS International, presented the award to Starwood at the 24th Annual New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference.

The award is presented each year to the board of directors that is most effective in leading a public lodging company. The ranking is done using a corporate governance model designed by Kefgen, and compares board makeup, independence, committee structure, conflicts of interest and a commitment to pay-for-performance.

On behalf of the board, Starwood is extremely honored to receive this award, said Starwood Chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht. The board's dedication and stewardship over Starwood's activities and initiatives has been invaluable.

The responsibility of running a public company in today's market is tremendous, says Kefgen. Wall Street has been very unforgiving to companies that have faltered in the area of corporate governance. But in just four years since its inception, Starwood's board has demonstrated a successful commitment to this process. 

FEWER UK VISITORS SPENT EVEN LESS

e-Tid.com -  The Office of National Statistics' findings for the year to end-April show that the UK welcomed 8% fewer visitors who spent 17% less, costing the UK economy £2bn.

Inbound visitors totalled 22.7m compared with 24.8m last year. This year’s visitors generated £2bn less than last year’s £12.5bn. The average spend per visitor dropped from £505 to £460.

The BTA has launched £40m advertising campaign, £25m of which is earmarked for TV, aimed at attracting an extra 1m visitors from seven key inbound markets. A key target for ‘Only in Britain, Only in 2000’ is to get the extra visitors to spend an extra £500m.

Fort the month of April, 2.22m overseas visitors came to the UK, compared with 2.02m in April 2001. Cumulatively, 6.876m have visited the UK so far this year – at the end of April 2001 the number was virtually the same.

The findings are in the public domain. Click here to get to the ONS hoe page from where overseas travel and tourism April 2002 can be downloaded from the ‘latest news releases’ box.

DESPITE RISING OCCUPANCY RATES, NEW YORK CITY HOTELS SKITTISH ABOUT RAISING ROOM RATES

Daily News, New York   -  Nine months after Sept. 11, the city's hotels are humming again. Rooms are filling up, and occupancy rates are approaching pre-Sept. 11 levels. 

But there are some potentially ominous suggestions that a real recovery may still be far off. 

The city lost over 1,000 hotel rooms on Sept. 11, with the Marriott World Trade Center destroyed and the Millennium Hilton still closed. But some downtown hotels have reopened, and five new hotels have opened this year. Moreover, there are currently, 10 new hotels under construction in New York, according to PriceWaterhouseCoopers. 

"All of the major projects are moving forward," said Cristyne L. Nicholas, president of NYC & Company. 

Though hotels continue to add rooms, post-Sept. 11 business remains fragile and the rebirth has come at a cost. Hotels cut rates to lure guests back after the World Trade Center attack. And those prices have stayed down -- 10 percent to 15 percent below last year, according to PKF Consulting -- good news for the guests, but bad news for the hotels. 

"Hoteliers are still very skittish and don't feel there's enough strength in the market to increase" room rates, said Sean Hennessey, a hotel consultant at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. "They're still discounting fairly heavily." 

In addition, "there is all kinds of packaging going on to try to sell it," said John Fox, a hotel consultant with PKF. 

At four of New York's five W Hotels, for example, a guest can book a room for $300 a night and on weekends get another room free -- designed to lure families to the upscale chain. 

The New York hotel business has changed dramatically since 2000 -- the industry's last Golden Age. That year, hotels often were 80 percent to 90 percent occupied. And the average daily room rate was often higher than $250 a night, according to NYC & Company. 

The market softened in 2001, even before Sept. 11, as companies cut back on business travel amid an economic slowdown. On Sept. 16, 2001, after the terrorist attacks, New York's hotels were only 39 percent occupied. 

Guests have returned. In the first four months this year, occupancy was 71.7 percent , compared to 73.8 percent for the same period in 2001, according to PKF. 

"You've had a pretty gradual and steady improvement since 9/11," said Paul Keung, an analyst at CIBC World Markets. 

Still, hotels are making less money. Revenue per available room -- the key measure of a hotel's health -- remains down from last year. The average price of a room in the first quarter of 2002 was $185.48 per night, down from $209.02 for the same period last year. 

Analysts blame the falloff in corporate travel, which brings the highest room rates. 

"Our customer base has been made up of leisure and recreational travelers who are more price-sensitive," said Hennessey. "They keep the pressure on the rates to remain low." 

Meanwhile, hotel managers hope things keep improving but remain aware their business is vulnerable to world events. 

"Up until May we saw better numbers than last year," said Michael Silberstein, managing director of the New York Palace Hotel. "Then came the weekend of Memorial Day and the media killed it. The panic about terrorism took us back to last year's level. We lost 250 reservations at the last minute. It was unbelievable."

WORLD CUP CALIBRE

Yokohama's Hotels Prepare for Asia's
First Ever World Cup

Asian Hotel & Catering Times

Joher Anjari speaks to two of Yokohama’s most prestigious hotels about their responses to and preparations for Asia's first ever World Cup.

Yokohama lies at the very centre of Japan’s hopes for World Cup 2002, which this month is being jointly held with South Korea. The grandest stadium of the 10 newly built around Japan is just 10 minutes from the nation’s second most populous city, and the venue for the World Cup final on June 30. The city will also host three group matches – meaning that more games will be played here than anywhere else in Japan.

City Significance

So what does this mean for the hotels that shape Yokohama’s spectacular skyline? Now a tourist attraction in its own right, the striking Minato Mirai waterfront area, that includes the Pan Pacific Yokohama and Grand Inter-Continental hotels, will feature on every television frame that introduces the city to an estimated audience of 4.5 billion worldwide.

A veteran hotelier with more than 30 years experience in five countries, Kenichiro Ide, GM of the Pan Pacific, was very positive when he heard the momentous decision that if Seoul was given the opening games of the

competition, Yokohama would have the final. “The publicity will finally take some of the attention away from Tokyo,” he says. “It is a wonderful opportunity for this city to get some exposure. Yokohama suffers because it is too close to the capital city, which grabs all of the attention. Yet did you know that 3.5 million people live here? Not many people do.”

Living On The Edge

Ide is ver y keen for people to visit Yokohama for themselves so that they can appreciate the broad vistas and airy feel. He adds, “Other hotels that I have worked in, in Vancouver and Singapore, are right in the centre of their respective areas, but we are a little on the outside. When people come and see the advantage of this, the space we have, then Yokohama will be put on the map. But I am not sure if we in the city has really appreciated the value of this event.” Football has always languished far behind the far more popular sports of sumo and baseball in terms of media and national interest.”

The hotel's proximity to focal point such as Pacifico Yokohama Exhibition and Conference Centre (which will house the media centre) for visitors will, according to Ide, work both ways though.

On visiting Belgium and Holland, the co-hosts for the European Championships in 2000, he witnessed how journalists and fans came and went to where the games were. “We can't dream that they will stay in Yokohama for the whole month!” he exclaims.

Co-host Comparisons

There will be another media centre in Seoul, and the differences between the two countries present more challenges. Japan is on average about twice as expensive as South Korea, and while Japan is extremely hospitable, they are trailing other Asian countries because of the language barrier – the English level is a long way behind.

Both nations made it policy to distribute stadia as widely as possible to share out the investment and benefits of the competition. Ide suggests that it is ver y difficult to estimate the gains in the short-term, in terms of occupancy, corporate hospitality and banqueting.

“Many of the blocked rooms and major functions have already gone to Tokyo for convenience sake, so we actually don't know who will be coming here or how many. We have allocated 125 rooms per night to the World Cup Accommodation Bureau Japan on a trust basis.”

“We have to look to the long-term. At present about 10-15 per cent of our guests are non-Japanese, but we would like to see this increase to 30-35 per cent. This may present a wonderful chance to meet those targets. But we will have to sort out Yokohama's identity problem first, and make people aware of this hidden secret.”

Event Enthusiasm

Masami Inoue is the PR manager at the Yokohama Grand Inter-Continental Hotel, a stone's throw from the Pan Pacific. As a member of the hotel staff as well as a citizen of Yokohama, she felt very happy that the city would be hosting a big event that attracts the attention of the world. “That feeling has not changed over time,” she is careful to add.

The need to exploit the publicity that the World Cup generates is also a major focus for Inoue. “We expect media requests to heat up as we get closer to the opening ceremonies. In Japan alone there are about 170 television stations, 90 radio stations, and 12,500 newspapers and magazines.

“Although not all of these will cover the World cup, we expect many of these to report on the World Cup in some manner. From right before the opening of the games through to the final, we believe that there will be a rush of many media companies collecting information for stories, and we would like the hotel to be the focus of such publicity.”

Like the Pan Pacific the numbers of various types of bookings are not very different from those of a normal year. However, the hotel has seen a slight decrease in bookings of wedding receptions at the hotel. Inoue puts this down to people's impression that the Yokohama area will be quite crowded during the World Cup. “Apart from this decrease, we have not seen any other big differences in occupancy.”

Fans Or Fanatics?

When asked about whether football fans may be different from any other guests, Inoue is open-minded. “We do not believe that there is a difference between regular guests and football fans. Everyone has a sport, hobby, or interest that they love. While we believe that there are individual differences in levels of devotion and ways of expression, we do not believe that the football fan is a different kind of customer.”

Like Ide, she sees the advantages of staging the event in terms of the city and the hotel. “By having the World Cup in Yokohama, we think that the greatest merit will be having the name of our city become more widely recognised worldwide. Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto are large cities that are well known throughout the world, but Yokohama (despite being just 20 minutes away from Tokyo) is not catching up with regard to name recognition.

“However, the final game of the World Cup will also be held here, so we believe that this is a great opportunity for not only the name of the hotel, but for the name Yokohama to be more widely known,” she adds.

Source:   Asian Hotel & Catering Times  “Celebrating 25 years in the business…..”

U.S. SUMMER TRAVEL 2002 VS 2001: VACATIONERS REPORT TRAVELING MORE, SPENDING SAME

Or More, Plan to Take Combination of Short, Long Trips;
New Travelocity.com Research Also Shows Buying Habits Back to Normal; Majority Of Travelers Have Not Changed Plans Due to September Events and Economy

With the summer travel season officially under way, a new poll from travel expert Travelocity.com (www.travelocity.com ), the most popular travel site on the Web, reveals that 90 percent of those surveyed plan to take an out-of-town summer vacation this year, a 9 percent increase from 2001. Of those traveling, more than eight out of 10 said they will spend as much or more money for their summer excursions.

The poll, based on a survey of 6,000 Travelocity.com members that was conducted in May, also discovered that nearly 40 percent of those surveyed will generally take a combination of both short and long trips during the summer vacation season. In addition to the details included below, complete survey results can be found at www.travelocity.com/summerpoll .

"This past year, visiting friends and family has become a top priority in the lives of so many individuals," said Sam Gilliland, president and chief executive officer of Travelocity.com. "This survey reflects the value people have placed on taking the time to get out and enjoy themselves this summer, despite the ongoing uncertainties around the world."

Survey findings also include:

Most Travelers Plan to Increase or Maintain Spending

-- Eight out of 10 surveyed said they will spend as much or more for

their summer excursions this year when compared to last

-- 47 percent indicated that they will spend the same

-- 36 percent said they will spend more

-- 16 percent said they would be spending less

The Majority of Travelers Have not Changed Plans Due to September Events and the Economy

-- 63.9 percent have not changed plans because of these events

-- 11.7 percent have planned to spend more time with family instead of

exploring new destinations

-- 22.7 percent said they will vacation within the United States and

closer

Among Travelocity.com Members, Air Travel is Still the Leading Method of Transportation

-- 72 percent of respondents cited air as their primary means of

transportation for summer travel

-- This is up from 63 percent in 2001

-- Car was second, cited by 24 percent of Travelocity.com members as

their preferred method of transportation. This is down 8 percent

from 2001.

-- Additional methods of travel indicated on the survey included bus,

rail and recreational vehicles

Summer Travel and Family Reunions go Hand-in-Hand

-- 20 percent of Travelocity.com members will spend their summer

vacations visiting loved ones at a family reunion, making this

activity the most common among travelers

-- 13.7 percent will explore cities within the United States

-- 10.8 percent will go to a summer home or cabin

-- 10.1 percent plan to take a romantic getaway

-- Remaining activities include exploring cities outside the United

States, relaxing on a cruise or at a resort, visiting a major theme

park, camping and attending a special occasion

Florida, California, Nevada, Hawaii and New York are the Top 5 Travel Destinations within the United States as cited by Travelocity.com members

-- 14.6 percent cited Florida

-- 10.5 percent California

-- 5.6 percent Nevada

-- 5.2 percent Hawaii

-- 5.1 percent New York

Other Travelocity.com Research Findings

In addition to the member poll on summer travel, Travelocity.com further analyzed how consumers traveled in the 2001 summer season and how they plan to travel in the summer of 2002 by looking at its 34-million member database.

E-Ticket Usage Regains Altitude

-- E-ticket usage dropped slightly from Jan. to Oct. 2001, likely a

result of the events of September, as travelers preferred the

flexibility of paper tickets when changing travel plans.

-- E-ticket usage has since exceeded Jan. 2001 levels.

-- Of all the trips actually eligible for e-tickets on Travelocity.com,

the following percentages were fulfilled via e-tickets as opposed to

paper tickets:

-- Jan. 2001 = Approximately 86 percent

-- April 2001 = Approximately 86 percent

-- Oct. 2001 = Approximately 84 percent

-- April 2002 = Approximately 90 percent

Advance Purchase Time Back to Normal After 2001 Holidays

-- The average advance purchase time of air tickets for domestic travel

in Jan. and Feb. 2002 was approximately 28 days, which is not far

from normal for the season.

-- That average has recently moved back out to approximately 30-31

days, which is relatively normal as people start thinking in advance

about their summer vacations.

-- The 2001 holiday season garnered longer advance purchase periods

than other times of the year.

-- The current advance purchase time averages are slightly lower than

last April's.

-- April 2001 = 34 days

-- Dec. 2001 = 44 days

-- April 2002 = 31 days

About the Travelocity.com Summer Travel Poll

Travelocity.com distributed surveys via e-mail to members between May 9 - 16, 2002. Seven million Travelocity.com members were solicited via its Real Deals newsletter e-mail of which 6,013 surveys were completed and used for analysis. To ensure data quality, duplicated responses were omitted from final findings. Findings are significant at a 95 percent confidence level with +/- 1.3 percent margin of error.

About Travelocity.com

Travelocity.com, a database-driven travel marketing and transaction company, provides Internet and wireless reservations information for more than 700 airlines, more than 55,000 hotels and more than 50 car rental companies. In addition, Travelocity.com offers more than 6,500 vacation packages, tour and cruise departures and a vast database of destination and interest information. Travelocity.com employs more than 1,000 customer service professionals, has sold more than 22 million airline tickets and has registered more than 34 million members.

Travelocity.com is wholly owned by Sabre Holdings Corporation (NYSE: TSG), the leading provider of technology and marketing services for the travel industry. More information on Sabre can be found at www.sabre.com . Additional information about Travelocity.com can be found on the Web at www.travelocity.com .

CONTACT:

Judy Haveson (judy@vollmerpr.com)

212/554-7425

Janelle O'Haugherty (janelle@vollmerpr.com)

972/488-4790

MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT - Click Here

http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X15233656

SOURCE Travelocity.com

THAILAND TO CONTINUE “AMAZING THAILAND” CAMPAIGN NEXT YEAR

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will maintain the theme "Amazing Thailand" just like the previous year to promote tourism but will focus on cultural diversities and genuine Thai's unique culture, according to a report of the TAT available here Monday.

Auggaphol Brickshavana, TAT Director of Planning Department revealed that TAT and tourism related agencies from government and private sectors held talk to draw the tourism strategies for 2003. The meeting, he said, has come up with an idea to position Thailand the same as last year under the theme "Amazing Thailand" Experience Variety.

But next year campaign will highlight the unique aspects of Thai culture, Thai way of life, delicate living, willingness to serve, said Auggaphol, adding that the new strategies will also stress the diversities of tourist sites and the distinctive Thai products. TAT will define Thailand as the country of safety and serenity derived from Buddhist philosophy contrasting the world's anxiety resulting from terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, he said

Auggaphol said tourism products for 2003 are including cultural cities, seaside cities, neighboring country linkages, adventurous and eco-tourism activities, etc. The proposals will be submitted to the annual meeting of TAT later this month and the official press conference will be held on June 24.  

HOTEL EXEC URGES COMMON FRONT TO BOOST PANAMANIAN TOURISM

The Latin America president of the Hoteles Barcelo group, Simon Barcelo Tous, is urging the Panamanian tourist industry to form a "common front" to revive that sector of the country's economy, in a slump since the terrorist attacks on the United States.

Barcelo, who arrived in Panama this week as part of a tour to inspect the chain's Central America operations, on Thursday spoke at a press conference for foreign correspondents. Though some countries seem to have recovered quickly from the worldwide travel recession that followed the attacks, Panama has not, witness the low occupancy rates at the group's four local hotels, he said. Tourism plays a major role in Panama's economy as an important source of employment and foreign currency, he added.

The promotion plans call for the Panamanian Tourism Institute (IPAT) to join area hotels, travel agents and tour operators in conducting joint promotions and selling travel packages that include visits to Panama. The Barcelo group is betting on Panama's tourist potential because of the country's many attractions on both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, including mountains, islands and volcanoes. Panama has to build the necessary infrastructure and enact legislation that provides incentives to the tourist industry to promote itself abroad, especially in major markets like Canada and in neighboring countries, such as Venezuela, Colombia and the Central American nations, Barcelo insisted. The Barcelo chain, the largest in the region, has plans to expand its Central American operations by adding five hotels to its current 15, including one each in Guatemala, Belize and El Salvador, where it currently has none

The chain built its first hotel in Panama two years ago. It now has four, and a fifth is slated to be completed late this year or in early 2003. Of the group's 210 hotels, 50 percent are in Latin America, distributed among 11 countries, while the rest are in the United States, Spain, Cape Verde, the Philippines and the Czech Republic, Barcelo noted. The first Barcelo hotel built in Central America opened in Costa Rica in 1990 under the name Hotel Barcelo San Jose Palacio. Costa Rica is also the site of the chain's Central American headquarters. The company's main headquarters are in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Barcelo plans to bring his inspection tour to an end in the Dominican Republic on Friday. 

KOREAN HOTELS, BROKERS, STORES WEEPING

Korea Times  -  As reported, hotel rooms are even emptier than usual. There are many more sales people at department stores than shoppers and streets are much less congested than usual.

The inflow of Japanese tourists, who numbered 225,000 in June last year, has dwindled by 30-40 percent to 135,000-157,000 and only 60,000-70,000 of Chinese visitors will have toured here by the end of the World Cup, less than the 100,000 previously forecast.

Contrary to the lack of success these figures indicate, Korea is seen to be reaping the benefits that comes from co-hosting the world's most televised event.

The promotional effects of exposing the ''KT'' name on A-boards along the side of soccer fields for an average of 15 minutes per match is estimated to be worth 1.9 trillion won.

According to calculations by the Hyundai Research Institute, Korea's first-ever win in the World Cup against Poland could have raised the brand recognition of Korea's top 100 companies by 1 percentage point.

Since it is estimated to cost about $100 million in advertising and marketing programs to achieve the same result, that golden win carries a financial reward of a whopping $10 billion, Hyundai researchers said.

''For a country which is still dependent on exports, such promotional effects are actually immeasurable in value and will show their value long after the World Cup is over,'' one researcher said.

In addition, the hosting of the World Cup, which is watched by a vast majority of the global population of 6.2 billion, is an excellent opportunity to show the world that Korea is strong, alive and kicking, despite the financial crisis having been here just five years ago.

In more tangible terms, the Korea Development Institute estimates that the co-hosting of the World Cup required an upfront outlay of 3.5 trillion won, but is expected to receive a return of 5.3 trillion won.

Along the way, some 350,000 jobs had been created, contributing to increased consumption of about 1.1 trillion won during the World Cup period, in addition to the 700 billion won brought in with overseas visitors.

Rosy figures like these are good reasons why countries around the world are so determined to attract global events like the World Cup, nations that enthusiastically support their national economies.

However some sectors, like the hotel and travel businesses and even the stock market, cannot wait for the World Cup to be over.

Hotels had in effect seen a down turn coming, as had travel agencies, because they normally operate on reservations in advance, and flight bookings warn of a slow month for June.

Hotels are seeing their room occupancy rates fall by 10-20 percent over June of last year to 75-80 percent, ''thanks'' largely to FIFA and its agent Byrom which returned three quarters of the rooms at international hotels they had been sitting on for two years empty.

As for travel agencies, they have all but given up trying to attract more tourists, as the average daily number of arrivals has fallen to 9,500 since the beginning of the World Cup May 31, less than the 12,400 average for May.

They were hoping to fill some of the vacuum created by the lack of Japanese tourists with Chinese soccer enthusiasts but with the Chinese team virtually out of contention, arrivals have dipped even further.