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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Crowded airports, busy airline desks and long delays for security checks are all in a day's travel for the executive during the upcoming holiday season.
The fourth financial quarter sees the bulk of overnight trips as company executives attempt to meet year-end goals and introduce new commercial products for 2005.
Business and first class seats on many airlines are packed full of passengers until mid-December, with carriers providing extra capacity during Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year.
If you thought it was busy in the airport lounge or hotel lobby -- it is probably true. According to an initial projection by the World Travel Organization (WTO), the number of international arrivals is heading for a record.
The WTO estimates growth for the entire year to reach around 10 percent. "It is already clear that 2004 will go into history as a very strong year for tourism," says Dawid de Villiers of the WTO. (Full Story)
Aside from the growing raft of cheap vacation deals, prices are now starting to creep up.
The recovery in business travel and an increase in oil prices are the main factors now pushing up hotel rates (Full Story) and air tickets -- with carriers slapping on additional fuel surcharges.
"We have seen a massive increase in fuel prices," says Martin George of British Airways.
"This year's fuel bill will be something like 45 percent higher than a year ago, that is a phenomenal increase for any business to take." (Full Story)
And demand over the festive period and beyond for business travel looks set to continue, according to the WTO. The organization also believes the global geopolitical situation is no longer perceived as a problem for executives.
"This year there has been a pent up demand for travel. The economy is obviously bouncing back," Marina Nicola from the Las Vegas Visitors Authority told CNN.
Early signs already show that hotel rooms could be pricey for the holiday period, with business travelers filling up rooms that otherwise would be destined for holiday shoppers and vacationers.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide is charging about 10 percent more this December for rooms at its Manhattan hotels.
Yet the World Wide Web still remains the traveler's No. 1 tool in the bid to seek out, compare and purchase airline tickets and hotel rooms that are competitively priced.
"The Internet makes the pricing very transparent," David Kong, CEO of Best Western International hotels told CNN. He suggests checking into a hotel in China, if you want a reasonably priced hotel room with good service this season -- there competition is mounting. (Full Story)
And if you are taking time out from business travel and considering a vacation this season, Paul Eisenberg of Fodor's travel guides and Amy Ziff of Travelocity suggest buying tickets and flying early, checking in electronically, as well as researching alternate dates, times and airports. (Full Story)
