Travel Roundup: Delta Drops Gates, Cincinnati Conventions Rise, Alaska Cites Cruise Ships and More

(MoneyWatch)  Delta drops 170 gates -- Delta Air Lines Inc. will drop about 170 gates nationwide, including one in St. Louis, as one of the final steps towards integrating its operations with the former Northwest Airlines Corp. At Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, Delta plans to give up one of the Northwest gates at the airport, leaving four. Delta expects merging gates will save hundreds of millions of dollars in airport lease costs. [Source: St. Louis Business Journal]

Cincinnati's convention business rose in 2008 -- Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors Bureau showed that convention business grew about 6.7 percent from 2007. The figures, based on total room nights, are also expected to grow another 3 percent in 2009. Officials believe it was the combination of an expanded downtown convention center and increased marketing that caused the rise. [Source: Cincinnati Enquirer]

Alaska tickets cruise ships for pollution -- Alaska regulators cited eight cruise ships for air quality violations last year. After taking 224 readings, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation issued notices to ships owned by Celebrity Cruises, International Shipping Partners, Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Holland America and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. [Source: Associated Press]

Palo Alto, Calif. mulls new hotel tax -- The City of Palo Alto is studying a new ordinance that would tax hotel guests staying longer than 30 days. Currently hotel customers pay a 12 percent transient-occupancy tax on stays 30 days or less, which totals about $8 million annually for the city. [Source: Palo Alto Online]