The Cruise industry
generated $35.7 billion in gross U.S. economic output in 2006,
according to a report released in August by the Cruise Lines
International Association. Embarkations from U.S. ports increased 4
percent over 2005 to 9 million and accounted for 75 percent of
total global embarkations.
Loews Hotels will open
its first property in Atlanta in 2010. The 414-room Loews Atlanta
Hotel will anchor a $500 million mixed-use development and feature
24,000 square feet of meeting space.
The Lakeside Princeton
Conference Center & Hotel is now the Wyndham Princeton
Forrestal Hotel & Conference Center. The 364-room property,
which features a 400-seat auditorium and 62,000 square feet of
meeting space, is slated to undergo a makeover later this year.
The State of Tennessee rejected the proposal
for a $14 million Lighthouse Lodge & Convention Center at
Norris Dam State Park. Among officials’ objections was that the
facility would be publicly funded but privately operated.