Sustainable tourism the way forward - Aer Lingus says it is closely monitoring developments in relation to international oil prices, saying high prices are a major area of concern. This follows decisions by BA and KLM yesterday to increase surcharges on their long-haul routes. Aer Lingus and Ryanair do not impose fuel surcharges on passengers yet. Ryanair says it never will. Latest CSO figures show that Irish people made a record 5.4 million trips abroad last year, and more than 6.5 million overseas visitors came here - more than half of these were holiday makers. Like with all economic shocks - 9/11, SARS, foot and mouth - tourism is one of the first sectors to suffer, especially air travel. Should there be a sustained high oil price, cheap airfares are likely to disappear.
Workshops taking place for the rest of the week can teach us how to live with less fossil fuel. Today's topic at the 11th Sustainable Living Festival in Dublin's Temple Bar is tourism, and how holidaying differently can make a difference. Davie Philips, from the Cultivate Sustainable Living and Learning Centre, says that the oil prices increases are here for the foreseeable future, especially as the issue of peak oil becomes more important. He says that businesses - and individuals - can carry out an energy audit and see where they can make improvements. These range in scale from changing to more energy efficient light bulbs from putting in improved insulation.
Mr Philips says that companies should support their local economies, especially when it comes to food produce. He says that Italy is particularly good at this and has developed an agri-tourism industry with walking trips around vineyards and cheese factories promoted. Ireland has also started its own sustainable tourism industry, with a Green Box developed in the Leitrim-Borders area. This scheme is about to the replicated in the Shannon River basis area.
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Morning briefs - AIM-listed exploration company Island Oil & Gas has reported a narrowing of losses for the six months to the end of January. Losses for the six months came to £33,000 sterling, compared to £545,000 the same time the previous year. The company is planning to drill wells at the Seven Heads field and the Old Head of Kinsale in the Celtic Sea, as well as the Inishbeg prospect in the Donegal Basin.
*** The US Federal Reserve has hinted that its policy of raising interest rates could be coming to an end. Minutes of its meetings revealed that most members believed 'the end of the tightening process' was near. The Federal Reserve raised rates in March for the 15th time in a row to 4.75%, the highest level since April 2001. The minutes were eagerly awaited because they are the first covering a meeting held by new Fed chairman Ben Bernanke. The prospect of an end to interest rate rises helped push the Dow Jones index up by almost 2% in late US trade yesterday.
*** Oil prices have eased this morning having hit another record high of $71.60 a barrel overnight. US light, sweet crude rose by more than $1 in New York trade overnight, passing last year's previous high of $70.85, reached after Hurricane Katrina. Prices have risen 16% in the past month as Iran's nuclear row has worsened and Nigerian supplies have been disrupted. Brent crude also hit a new record of $72.64 a barrel in London trade. US crude eventually settled up at $71.35, an increase of 95 cents from Monday's closing price.
*** Aer Lingus says it is closely monitoring developments in relation to international prices, saying high prices are a major area of concern. This follows decisions by BA and KLM to increase surcharges on their long-haul routes. Aer Lingus and Ryanair do not impose fuel surcharges on passengers.
*** Overnight Yahoo said quarterly net profit fell because of higher stock option expenses, but that strength in online display advertising offset weakness in paid search ads and its stock rose 5%. The world's biggest internet media firm said net income for the first three months of the year fell to $160m from $204m a year earlier.
*** IBM, the world's biggest computer-services company, said last night that quarterly profit rose because of lower costs and strong sales of microprocessors for video game machines. Net income was $1.71 billion in the quarter, up 21%, while revenue fell by $2 billion.
