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TAHOE’S RITZ-CARLTON HIGHLANDS DEBUTS
Luxury rooms along a snowy mountain are being touted as part of a brand-new 5-star hotel on the north side of Lake Tahoe. The ribbon-cutting event at Ritz-Carlton Highlands at Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort on Wednesday was marked with champagne toasts and tours of the new building. (MSNBC)
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IT’S THE PERFECT TIME FOR A SIGHTSEEING TRIP
With many youngsters about to start their Christmas vacations, now is a great time to take them on a wildlife sightseeing trip. Northern California has dozens of opportunities to view wildlife close up and most are within a short drive of Lake County. Not only will it be an educational experience, but enjoyable as well. (Lake County Record-Bee)
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DESPITE ALL THE DIALING DIGITS, BORREGO’S AN EASY CALL
In this little desert town, with a max population of 5,000 when the weather is comfortably warm in the winter, one can find a local phone book and discover something that none of us would ever think we’d see again: Only four digits are listed for every resident, place of business and well-to-do coyote. (San Diego Union-Tribune)         
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THE HOTTEST NEW BAY AREA NIGHT SPOT? A SCIENCE MUSEUM
Most office parties feature a bar, maybe some light jazz, some nuts to snack on and a few streamers for background ambience. But lately a growing number of Silicon Valley companies are holding their parties backed by a 40-foot Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, a coral reef teeming with 4,000 Philippine day-glo fish and a domed planetarium showing how super novae explode. (Oroville Mercury-Register)    
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NAPA HOTELS, INNS MAY ORGANIZE TO PROMOTE TOURISM
Napa Valley tourism industry leaders want hotels and bed & breakfast inns to contribute toward the cost of promoting tourism for the area. The Napa Valley Destination Council is pushing to create a tourism business improvement district, which would have hotels and inns help pay for promotions. The extra costs would be passed on to visitors. (Associated Press via The Napa Valley Register)  
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RELIVE AMERICA’S HISTORY ALONG ROUTE 66, STARTING IN L.A.
Nat King Cole sang about Americans getting their kicks on the best highway in the United States – Route 66. In some places the highway no longer is labeled on maps, but song and movie mentions keep Route 66 "from Chicago to L.A." alive in American minds. Consider getting your kicks on your next vacation touring parts of this historic route, starting at what is considered the end of Route 66 in Santa Monica, Calif. Los Angeles cheap flights can get you into the city, and once you arrive, just drive north to the Santa Monica Pier. (The Powdersville Post)
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ECONOMY THRIVES ON CORPORATE TRAVEL
Although misinformed anti-corporate travel rhetoric is starting to subside in Washington, D.C., the media is still bent on keeping the controversy alive. Months of damaging negative press — often inaccurate — continues to haunt the meetings segment of the hospitality industry, which employs 2.4 million Americans and generates $240 billion in spending and $39 billion in tax revenue annually. (Sacramento Business Journal)
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U.S. TRAVEL ASSOCIATION DRAFTS SEVEN-POINT PLAN FOR JOB CREATION
In advance of a recent White House Jobs Summit, the U.S. Travel Association sent open letters to the president and Congress urging them to utilize travel as a vehicle for job creation, it announced last week. In the open letter, U.S. Travel President and CEO Roger Dow presented several "immediate impact job proposals" for consideration by government leaders. (Incentive Magazine)
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REGISTERED TRAVELER LANES TO RESTART IN JANUARY
Flo Corp.'s plans to reopen Registered Traveler lanes at a couple of airports in October have been pushed back to January, the company says. The Chantilly, Va.-based company, which had operated Registered Traveler lanes at Reno-Tahoe, was one of three companies that competed for the RT service, which gives customers front-of-the-line privileges at airport security checkpoints for about $200 a year. The RT program was suspended on June 22 after the financial failure of its largest operator, Verified Identity Pass's Clear. (USA Today)
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TRADE GROUP PREDICTS ANOTHER YEAR OF LOSSES FOR AIRLINES
Demand for air travel is expected to rebound next year as the global economy recovers, but airlines will continue to report significant losses as excess capacity forces them to keep ticket prices low, an industry trade group said Tuesday. The International Air Transport Association said industry-wide losses would reach $5.6 billion in 2010, larger than a previous forecast of $3.8 billion. Still, the projected losses are half the record $11 billion expected for 2009.  (The New York Times)
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CUT IN CARBON EMISSIONS MAY HAVE DIRE CONSEQUENCES ON VACATION PLANS
If the U.S. fulfills its pledge to shrink greenhouse gas emission, the CO2 reductions will force a host of unintended consequences on a major sector of the U.S. economy – the travel and tourism industries. Ken Green, an environmental scientist with the American Enterprise Institute, said airplanes face a particular challenge when it comes to reducing carbon dioxide emissions. (Fox News)
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