BUSINESS BRIEFS
Tourism from top 4 declines
Advertiser Staff and News Services
The number of tourists to the United States from Britain, Japan, Germany and France dropped 5 percent last year, a development that alarms the U.S. tourism industry.
Those four nations typically supply almost half of the foreign tourists visiting the U.S. New Commerce Department figures show there were about 10 million visits to the U.S. last year from those four countries, 500,000 fewer than in 2005.
The decline, the first for any of those countries since 2003, worries U.S. tourism leaders because overseas visits continue to lag behind pre-9/11 levels.
Despite the falloff in the biggest markets, the number of international visits to the U.S. was up in 2006, nearly matching the record of 51.2 million in 2000. That's because visits from Canada and Mexico were up sharply.
CAR-POOL-READY HYBRIDS PRICEY
LOS ANGELES — Californians appear willing to pay $4,000 more for used gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles that have state-issued car pool stickers than for hybrids that don't, according to a sampling of prices by Kelley Blue Book for USA Today.
The stickers allow low-polluting hybrids to use less-crowded, faster-moving car pool lanes, even if the driver is alone in the car.
The state quit issuing stickers to hybrids last month after hitting a self-imposed cap of 85,000. Those already issued are valid through 2011 and stay with the car when it's sold, benefiting subsequent owners.
Other clean-air cars, such as those running on natural gas, batteries or hydrogen, still can get the stickers, but only a relative handful of such vehicles are available.
SOUTHWEST AIR MAY CHARGE FEES
Discount king Southwest Airlines, appreciated by fliers for not charging the kinds of fees common at other carriers, may start charging for extra services.
CEO Gary Kelly says the airline needs to generate more revenue without "nickel-and-diming our customers" or raising fares again. Kelly was mum on specifics.
Southwest's year-over-year revenue rose only 1 percent in January and February.
