WEST JET/SOUTHWEST DANCE

I didn't hear about from WestJet folks, which is kinda surprising, but I did get word that WestJet and Southwest Airlines in the U.S. are forming some kind of alliance.

Seems that Southwest, a cheap and reliable outfit south of the border with great deals out of Buffalo and other airports, on Tuesday began offering a link on its site that allows customers to buy tickets on WestJet. The two airlines earlier this year said they'd eventually sell seats on each other's flights as if they were a single airline, Associated Press reports. Southwest also is working on a similar deal with Volaris in Mexico and hopes to find partners for Caribbean travel and perhaps Europe.

WestJet doesn't fly to Europe now, but perhaps if there's some sort of deal down the road with Southwest it could provide some competition in the marketplace, which should benefit Canadian travellers.

SCARY TIMES

There was a report out of the Denver the other day that hotel staff was being trained in anti-terrorist activities, which in a way is heartening but also a little weird and spooky. Still, better they know a little about how to respond to an emergency than being totally in the dark.

Of course, the issue of terrorism and travellers' safety is paramount in many parts of the world today. The recent riots in Athens have tourism folks in Greece plenty worried. Apparently more than 2,000 bookings were canceled in the last week for Thessaloniki.

Over in India, tourism folks are talking about declaring 2009 as the year to "Visit India." Incentives from the government and individual hotels are likely in the wake of the recent terrorist attack on Mumbai.

The number of foreign tourist arrivals dropped by 2.1 per cent in November, according to a story posted on the web site travelmole.com.