STORY:
Partying On The International Date Line

Tour operators are taking advantage of the close proximity of Fiji to the west and the Cook Islands to the east by offering plans to celebrate New Year's Eve twice. The islands straddle the International Date Line and are four hours apart by flight but 22 hours apart in real time.

The Los Angeles Times did a review of travel agencies offering this type of packages. It found TCS Expeditions in Seattle is offering its "Around the World Millennium Expedition, a Global Celebration of Time and Ritual by Private Jet." It is booked with a 50-person waiting list. Having paid $44,950 per person, 88 passengers will board a private jet in LA on Dec. 27 and head for Tonga, a Polynesian island in the South Pacific that will be among the first areas to experience Jan. 1, 2000. After a traditional tribal celebration, the travelers will reboard the plane for Western Samoa, one of the last places on the planet to usher in the new year, where they will celebrate a second time.

The Times reports traditional carriers aren't posting any flight schedules that would allow a double celebration on the ground, leaving tour operators free to exploit this marketing opportunity.

Cruise Lines have it easy. The big ships just have to navigate a few feet back and forth over the International Date Line. Silversea Cruises offers a Millennium 2000 trip. Two of its ships will cross the date line simultaneously as the new year turns, and will link up so crew and passengers can party all night. The price tag - $30,195.

Source: Los Angeles Times

DATE: 6/30/99

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