October 16, 2001

Bush Travels To Shanghai To Promote International Business

China Internet Barter International Conference Scheduled

On Wednesday, October 17, President George Bush will be attending the annual gathering of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, whose members include a total of 21 nations, to show that the world's business goes on undeterred.

It's expected that a final "Shanghai Accord" will recommit members to the group's non-binding zero-tariff free trade by 2020, and call for policies to increase business transparency and promote information technology.

International Barter Conference Aims To Promote Barter Throughout China

Frank Sang of the Finance and Trade Net Center announced that six China agencies and associations are jointly serving as hosts in the newly organized "China Internet Barter International Conference," which will be held in Beijing, December 1- 4. For more information see web site www.ChinaIBIC.org.

---

Hoteliers Suggest Actions That Could Move Travel & Tourism Industry Forward

Hotel chief executives including Bill Marriott of Marriott International, Barry Sternlicht of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, and Jonathan Tisch of the private Loews Hotels, have made some suggestions to congress to move their industry and the U.S. economy forward.

First, reinstitute a 100% tax deduction for business meal and entertainment expenses. Then, make the travel expenses of spouses, accompanying an employee on a business trip, deductible.

Given the hundreds of thousands of travel and tourism jobs lost since September 11, such measures would help the industry stay afloat until the current ailments see improvement, most likely around November--Thanksgiving time.

---

Frequent Flier Currency Will Lure Customers Back!

In addition to lowering both business and leisure fares, the airlines are turning to what has always been the single most powerful weapon to attract and retain business travelers--their frequent flier programs.

We recently saw an interesting story on how a frequent flier mileage devotee, who now flies more than 200,000 miles a year plans to take full advantage of the low fares and bonus miles recently announced by the airlines.

It consists of a "mileage run" where travelers take a quick trip solely to accumulate miles. This trip took the person across the country four times in two days: Baltimore to Houston to San Diego to Newark, then to Orlando to Newark to San Diego to Los Angeles and back to Baltimore.

The entire trip cost $250 and generated more than 24,000 frequent flier miles. More importantly, it qualifies the flyer for Gold status on Continental Airlines. As an elite-level passenger one has more chances to upgrade to first class, and is able to use a dedicated quick check-in line at the ticket counter.

As the major alternative currency in the world today, an estimated four trillion frequent flier miles are valued at over $80 billion!

---

Barter Boom Ahead? Meharg Thinks So

New England Trade, located in Boston, recently received valuable publicity on Boston's WHDH-TV and additional commentary on its web site, whdh.com, under "Investing in America."

Several members were enthusiastic about the services provided by Ken Meharg and Gary Oshry's trade exchange. One, Marshall Mazzarella of Windsor Architectural Woodworking, declared that New England Trade "is like an invisible salesman for us."

Meharg summed up his feeling on the future of barter quite succinctly, "I think as times get a little bit tougher out there, with the economy and what's going on, more and more businesses will tend to barter."

---