Deborah L. Natansohn, the president and chief operating officer of
Seabourn Cruise Line, passed away on Oct. 24 in Fort Lauderdale,
Fla., after suffering a heart attack. Natansohn, 53, was a pioneer
in the cruise industry, as well as at Seabourn, where she held the
post of president since July 2004.
Natansohn began making news long before her tenure at Seabourn.
In 1998, she became the first woman to serve as president of a
cruise line in the United States, when she took over the helm of
Orient Lines. She also served in positions at Pearl Cruises and
Cunard Line.
“All of us are shocked and saddened by this tragic and untimely
event. Debbie was certainly taken from us long before her time. Her
accomplishments were many but a highlight of her career was leading
the sales and marketing effort for the incredibly successful launch
of the Queen Mary 2. And at Seabourn, Debbie’s excellent management
skills led to a strengthened brand that resulted in us placing a
half-a-billion-dollar order for two ships, something no one would
have ever envisioned three years ago,” said Micky Arison, chairman
and CEO, Carnival Corporation & plc.
Natansohn began her career as a journalist, and also served as
marketing director for Travellers International and Arthur Frommer
International. She was also quite active with the Cruise Lines
International Association (CLIA), serving on both the marketing and
executive committees. And, her professional activities earned her
numerous awards.
Natansohn held a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature
and Journalism from the State University of New York, Albany, and
had participated in the executive education program at Harvard
Business School. She was the president of The Commonwealth
Institute, South Florida, and a member of the International Women’s
Forum.
A native of New York, Natansohn is survived by her parents,
brother, two sisters, a niece and nephew.
Iran To Pay Incentives To Attract Westerners
According to the official Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran plans
to offer cash incentives to travel agencies to encourage Western
tourists to visit the country, offering a premium for Americans.
The proposal came at the same time that the United Nations Security
Council was deliberating a draft resolution to impose sanctions on
Iran for its nuclear activities.
The proposal (which includes a $20 per person payment for those
who attract Western tourists) is meant to demonstrate that the
Islamic Republic has no quarrel with U.S. citizens. On the
contrary, Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad earlier this year
proposed that direct flights between Iran and the United States be
resumed. Flights have been suspended for more than 25 years, and
the United States and Iran severed diplomatic relations in
1979.
Spa Finder Announces Spa Trends for 2007
Spa Finder, Inc., the global spa resource, has announced its fourth
annual prediction of spa industry trends that will shape the world
of spa in 2007. Based on widespread consumer input, extensive
travel by the company’s Luxury SpaFinder Magazine and Spafinder.com
editorial staff, below are some of Spa Finder’s “10 Spa Trends to
Watch for in 2007”:
Sleep A New Dawn in Spa Health.Look for hotels
and resorts to put even greater emphasis on creating ideal sleep
environments through minimal light and sound, aromatherapy,
ultra-relaxing spa treatments and more. At destination spas (some
of which already offer sleep programs) sleep specialists will help
educate, diagnose and treat sleep apnea, insomnia and other
disorders.
Medical Tourism In Search of Affordable Health.
Medical wellness and cosmetic med spas are doing booming business
by filling certain critical gaps in the traditional healthcare
system. In 2007 more and more people will travel to another city,
state or country for medical spa experiences, creating a new trend:
medical tourism.
Move Into a Spa Lifestyle Community and Bring
the Kids. Spa Finder identified the genesis of the spa real estate
trend at the end of 2004, and is currently tracking 200 such
properties in various stages of development. This growth will
continue in 2007 as spa residences move beyond the realm of aging
baby boomers to attract younger families with children.
How Green Is My Spa? Consumers are now
considering a spa’s committment to green principles. They are also
eager for education about local cultures and healing traditions and
looking for spas committed to sustainability concepts. In short,
spas and spa consumers are getting serious about terms like
natural, organic, holistic, green, eco-friendly and
sustainable.
Unprecedented Revenue Expected for Hilton’S Web
sites
Hilton Hotels Corporation expects more than $2.5 billion in
revenues to be generated from bookings on its proprietary Web sites
for the year 2006, compared to $709 million five years ago. The
company further reports that bookings through its Web sites have
increased at a steady 30 percent per year since 2002, and
accelerated to a 39 percent increase in the third quarter of 2006
versus the third quarter of 2005. This represents a 60 percent
increase in revenues and a 43 percent increase in room nights for
the third quarter 2006 compared to the prior year.
www.hiltonworldwide.com
OSSN Voices Concerns About ‘super Web site’
The Outside Sales Support Network (OSSN) has asked the Caribbean
Tourism Organization (CTO) not to bypass traditional home-based
travel agents with its new “super Web site” planned with
Travelocity. In a letter to the CTO, the president and founder of
OSSN, Gary M. Fee, asks for a “full, complete, detailed and public
explanation of this project and the degree to which U.S. travel
agents will be involved before the site’s announced debut in
mid-November.”
Fee also noted in his letter that the timing of the site’s debut
is unfortunate, given the current battle being waged by Caribbean
leaders with U.S. officials over the new U.S. passport requirements
that could hurt Caribbean tourism levels in 2007 and beyond. OSSN
plans to follow up by determining how the site’s functions will
affect home-based agents in North America who book the
Caribbean.
In response to the concerns of OSSN, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace,
CTO’s secretary general, noted that the CTO has had a booking
engine on its site for several years, so this is not a new
feature.
“Travel agents have been, are, and will continue be very
important to the Caribbean even while the unrelenting march of
technology makes more information, more products and more pricing
more accessible to consumers,” he stated.
Vanderpool-Wallace also noted that Travelocity’s TripTailer
travel agent booking tool allows travel agents to book packages to
earn commissions as well as their own service fees.
OSSN is the largest trade association in North America dedicated
to serving the needs of home-based travel agents.
www.ossn.com
Enterprise Rent-A-Car To Plant 50 Million Trees in National
Forests
Enterprise Rent-A-Car has made an unprecedented gift to The
National Arbor Day Foundation to commemorate the company’s 50th
Anniversary. Enterprise will underwrite the planting of 50 million
trees over the next 50 years at a total cost of $50 million in
today’s dollars. The Enterprise Rent-A-Car 50 Million Tree Pledge
partners The National Arbor Day Foundation and the U.S. Forest
Service with Enterprise in a long-term commitment to help restore
public lands that are badly in need of reforestation. The
ceremonial first trees of the Pledge several small white pines were
planted by First Lady Laura Bush. The trees will be planted
permanently in the Mark Twain National Forest in southern Missouri.
“This gift couldn’t come at time of greater need,” said John
Rosenow, president of The National Arbor Day Foundation. “Last year
was the worst forest-fire season in history. And, unfortunately,
2006 is on pace to be even worse. This gift from Enterprise the
largest gift we’ve ever received gives us the flexibility to
respond quickly to forests damaged not only by fire, but also by
storms, disease and other causes.”
Each year for the next 50 years, with funding provided by the
Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation, The National Arbor Day Foundation
will work with the U.S. Forest Service to plant 1 million trees in
National Forests around the country. These trees will help forests
affected by natural disasters and disease, as well as rebuild and
preserve habitats for endangered species. The grant also will fund
tree-planting initiatives in international locations where
Enterprise does business, including Europe and Canada.
www.arborday.org/enterprise
www.arborday.org
Air Consolidator Offers Online Booking Engine
Fare Buzz, the leading provider of consolidated airfares available
exclusively to travel agents and corporate travel planners, is
offering travel agents the opportunity to integrate the company’s
popular booking engine into the agent’s own Web site for an initial
set-up fee of only $350 (regularly $650). The Fare Buzz
reservations system provides 24/7 access to low consolidator air
fares and GDS rates, as well as hotel and car rental rates, and
trip insurance. Fare Buzz is waving standard set-up fees for the
hotel and car modules, and is also reducing the monthly maintenance
charge for agents who join by Jan. 31. Agents preset (and retain)
their own markups on air tickets. Fare Buzz splits commissions on
hotel and car rentals 50/50 with the agents, and also offers 10
percent commission on travel insurance sales.
888-808-4123
www.farebuzz.com
