(Allure of the Seas) continued from page 20

coordinator that make having meetings here seamless.” Attendees learned that choosing

a Royal Caribbean cruise ship as their destination could save them up to 30 percent compared to most resorts. “There is no charge for meeting rooms, gym, meals, or AV,” Kressley said, “and we have a generous attrition policy.” Group packages can be tailored with beverages, complimentary ameni- ties, and a free welcome cocktail party, and custom events are easily arranged. Options include the rock-climbing wall and onshore scavenger hunts on Royal Carib- bean’s two private islands — Cocoa Kay in the Bahamas, and Labadee off the coast of Haiti. “We can arrange for a buyout of

RESEARCH The Waiting Game

Last April, in response to widespread passenger outrage over a particularly bad spate of long tarmac delays during the summer of 2009, the U.S. Depart- ment of Transportation instituted a three-hour tarmac rule, which stipulates that airlines must allow passengers to deplane if their flight is stuck on the runway for more than three hours. Any airline violating this rule could be subject to a maximum fine of $27,500 per passenger. How have airlines done in the tarmac-delay department since then? The numbers are mixed. While delays of more than three hours have plum- meted (including exactly zero three-hour delays in October, the latest month for which data was available), two-hour delays are prevalent — and flight cancellations have risen slightly. — Hunter R. Slaton

Number of flights delayed for three or more hours May–Oct. 2009

May–Oct. 2010

565 12

Number of flights delayed for two or more hours May–Oct. 2010

2,083

Number of flights canceled May–Oct. 2009

May–Oct. 2010

33,737 (1.0 percent of capacity) 38,807 (1.2 percent of capacity)

SOURCE: U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Reports, May–Oct. 2009 and May–Oct. 2010, available at http://airconsumer.dot.gov

www.pcma.org

all the restaurants on board, do a private golf tournament in port, or buy out a neighborhood,” said Lori Cassidy, director of corporate incentive and charter sales. “If we can do it, we’ll make it happen.” The majority of Royal Carib-

bean’s meetings business comes from the medical and health-care, financial, and insurance sectors. “There is no other cruise line that has purpose-built conference centers,” Cassidy said. “We can do small groups, or large groups of around 1,500 to 1,800 people. No matter what size your group is, you’ll get the attention you need.” When Allure of the Seas returned

to port on Sunday morning, the disembarking process was quick and efficient. Getting back to reality on shore took a little longer. n — Maureen LIttlejohn

(Arizona) continued from page 13

there,” Marshall Fitz and Angela Kelley, the report’s authors, write. “It is highly likely that decisions not to book conventions in Arizona will continue for some time. … Large conven- tion bookings typically occur several years in advance, and many organizations and associa- tions will be making booking decisions over the course of the next year.”

How do the people who handle those bookings feel about CAP’s findings? Decidedly mixed. Jonathan Walker, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau, sees the report as an attempt “at least to put some quantification to the issue we’ve been facing, so there’s some value in that.” Likewise, Steve Moore, president and CEO of

the Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bu- reau, said: “What’s news is news. We don’t have a problem with anybody talking about travel being used in a political scenario, because we hope that people will learn that when they’re considering policy, they’ll understand that this industry is quite diverse.” That said, Moore added, “We must understand that the organiza- tion that sponsored this — and it doesn’t matter what side of the picture you’re on — had a posi- tion [against the new immigration law]. I would not agree that it is a balanced report.” Nor does Moore think the report is accu-

rate. For one thing, he thinks there needs to be a longer “cycle of decision-making” before “any long-term impact on anything” can be mea- sured. “[CAP] made some assumptions,” Moore said, “that I’m not sure every economist would have made.” Plus, he said, reaction to the law has “subsided substantially” since last spring, when U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) called for an economic boycott of his state, and last sum- mer, when the law actually went into effect — minus a controversial provision that would have allowed police to question a person’s immigration status in certain situations, which was enjoined by a federal judge. For now, it’s left to the Greater Phoenix CVB

and other DMOs across the state to keep at their mission. “Our organization was opposed to this bill,” Moore said. “That being said, our job is to convey the real Arizona and to embrace our customers and our clients and continue to share information. On the other hand, we have not had a cancellation in quite a while.” n

— Christopher Durso pcma convene January 2011 21