Travel Roundup: South America or Bust, United and Carson Wagonlit Make Up, and More

South America or Bust? – An international trade organization says that travel to South America will rise as the region has shrugged off a “reputation as a backpacker destination,” having undergone “an elegant transformation into a modern up and coming destination for the luxury traveler.” The new elitism and cheaper accommodations and activities are also attractive in a struggling economy. Brazil, Puerto Rico and Mexico are the most popular destinations in the past year. [Source: 4Hoteliers.com] 

Horizon Air Thinks Seattle Suburbs – Horizon Air is thinking of creating two flights a day from Everett — specifically, Washington State’s county-run Paine Field — to Spokane and Portland. An official with the airline said the company believes there’s enough demand in Seattle’s suburbs to justify the flights without reducing service from nearby Sea-Tac International Airport. [Source: The Herald (Everett, Wash.]

United Airlines and Carlson Wagonlit Agree — United Airlines and Carlson Wagonlit Travel agreed last week to end a feud that had the travel agency steering customers elsewhere, according to BTNOnline. None of the details of the deal were disclosed and a CWT e-mail said, “No further comment or detail regarding this agreement is or will be available.”[Source: BTNOnline]

Mandarin Oriental  Opens in Boston to Possibility of Financial Ruin  – The Hong Kong company-owned Mandarin Oriental hotel opened in Boston’s Back Bay in one of the worst financial markets of the past few decades. Skeptics wonder if the luxury brand with ”mother-of-pearl ceiling tiles and museum-quality artwork, and 42-inch flat screens” can succeed. [Source: Boston Globe]

Peggy Noonan: At the Airport, We Are All Guilty Until Proven Innocent– Writer Peggy Noonan waxes about America in a metaphoric diatribe on airport security: “America is on line at the airport. America has its shoes off, is carrying a rubberized bin . . . America is worried there is fungus on the floor after a million stockinged feet have walked on it. But America knows not to ask. America is guilty until proven innocent, and no one wants to draw undue attention.” [Source: Wall Street Journal]