Marketing Review — Summer 2008 - (Page 51) TREND #46 More entrepreneurs start new businesses every year. pass and enforce the regulations needed to ensure a stable, fair business environment. IMPLICATIONS FOR HOSPITALITY AND TRAVEL: Airlines regulations will focus on safety and customer convenience. The most costly would be installation of an effective bombdetection system for checked luggage. It will be required only if an American flight is bombed. (It is far from impossible. Officials at the U.S. Transportation Safety Administration worry that a bomb could still be smuggled aboard as tiny parts, then assembled for use.) Other rules are likely to demand installation of more crashworthy seating, new user fees, and switching schedules to relieve peak-hour congestion. A regulation proposed in February would require foreignflagged cruise ships leaving from the U.S. to spend at least two days in a foreign port before returning, and at least one day in a foreign port for every two in an American port. The rule, proposed to limit competition for two American-flagged ships operated out of Hawaii by Norwegian Cruise Lines, would change itineraries for thousands of cruises. It might also devastate profits at American home ports. Juneau, Alaska, alone would lose an estimated $68 million in one summer. Forecast: This regulation is unlikely to pass scrutiny. If enacted, it will be rescinded quickly. Hotels already are so well regulated that this sector should be relatively immune to new government-mandated complications. Relatively. Of course, any new rules that apply to restaurants will apply to hotel-based eating establishments just as they do to free-standing outlets. Restaurant operators trying to avoid cluttering their menus with nutrition information are fighting a losing battle. Calorie SUMMER 2008 • 55 TRENDS FOR TRAVEL & HOSPITALITY counts, fat content, and other unpleasant details soon will be there for patrons to see when choosing their meals. And that sausage and pepperoni pizza will have a warning label that could scare the customer into a heart attack. This could easily sink the market for some traditionally popular—but unhealthy—dishes and raise demand for fish (omega-3 fatty acids), cruciferous vegetables (cancer fighters), and other “healthy” alternatives. We can expect significant menu revisions in the next few years. The biggest regulatory changes ahead for travel are the global move to biometric passports, prompted largely by Washington’s fear of another major terrorist attack, and—within the U.S.—the REAL ID program. According to plan, anyone seeking to enter the United States—including American citizens who have been out of the country—will need a biometric passport to get in. Countries from Switzerland to Singapore have adopted them in recent years. However, delays in pulling the American program together have forced Washington to waive the scheme for some travelers. Under REAL ID, before granting a driver’s license, states must carry out extensive checks to confirm the applicant’s identity. By 2014, anyone under 50 living in a state that does not provide compliant licenses will be unable to board an airliner or enter a federal building. Those over 50 can fly until 2017. Several states have said they will not comply with the program, and their citizens now face being unable to travel by air. Thus far, the Department of Homeland Security has backed down from a possible confrontation with these states, but we believe the REAL ID program eventually will be enforced. 51
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