Mon 1 Feb 2010
A municipal standard was recently drafted to bring courtyard homestay families in the ancient city center in Beijing under regulation and provide standardized services to foreign guests who relish the idea of staying in traditional Chinese homes.
The Beijing Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision published a series of criteria to assess homestay family services and is soliciting for public opinion.
Only if a courtyard meets the standards (more…)
Mon 1 Feb 2010
IN Gore, a town of 12,500 on the South Island of New Zealand , street signs proclaim that the visitor has arrived in the world capital of brown trout. To reinforce the point, town officials have erected a huge sculpture of the fish in a grassy park halfway between the town’s bustling main business street and the Mataura River, a world-famous brown trout stream a quarter-mile away.
The wide street’s nondescript 1950s buildings contain dozens of stores, fruit and vegetable stands and (more…)
Sun 27 Dec 2009
On the thread of its history are Caesar, kings, Moors, great wealth, and long influence
ÉVORA - “Where should we go for lunch,’’ a Lisboan will ask, and invariably, “Évora’’ is the reply. An hour and a half south of Lisbon, this UNESCO World Heritage site has been a favorite for millennia. Julius Caesar showered Évora with privileges. Portuguese kings made it their summer address. For a brief time, Évora was even a candidate to become the (more…)
Sun 27 Dec 2009
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed for the development of a new tourism-leisure complex in the Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone, South Korea. According to a Korea Herald report, the complex will be built on approximately 2.25km² of reclaimed land in the Ungdong district. Facilities will include a 30-hole golf course, waterpark and marina, as well as hotels, a casino and hospitals. The first phase of the project is scheduled to be complete in 2013.
Sun 27 Dec 2009
Grecian earner for the Malmaison brand
By Sophie Lam
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Sun 27 Dec 2009
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) announced Monday that China will hold the 2010 Global Travel& Tourism Summit in Beijing.
The summit will take place in Beijing on May 25-27, 2010. “Our members are all delighted that we will be going to Beijing, capital of the world’s most dynamic travel and tourism economy and one of the most interesting and exciting new tourism destinations,” said Jean-Claude Baumgarten, WTTC president & CEO, while announcing the summit (more…)
Sun 27 Dec 2009
SINGAPORE, December 22, 2009 - Upmarket cruise line Azamara Club Cruises is marking its presence in Asia again with the return of its ship Azamara Quest to Singapore today to kick-start her second consecutive Asian season. The ship arrived at the Singapore Cruise Centre early this morning following a 24-night voyage from Athens. She will be homeported in both Singapore and Hong Kong offering new itineraries and destinations through to April 2010.
Upmarket cruising experience on Azamara Quest
Azamara (more…)
Sun 27 Dec 2009
IN the wet season, the roads through the northwestern region of Cambodia turn into an undulating sea of muck, with potholes the size of cars and ruts as deep as truck axles. To figure out which routes were least likely to leave me wet, muddy and stranded, I buttonholed a dozen long-distance taxi drivers before settling on the toll road from Dam Dek, which had the added attraction of passing by two out-of-the-way Angkorian temples, Beng Mealea and Koh Ker.
My destination was an even more remote (more…)
Sun 27 Dec 2009
The company that operates China’s National Stadium, or “Bird’s Nest”, says on Sunday designs for its mascot and logo should combine regional characteristics and Chinese cultural elements.
The stadium, which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, has started on Friday to solicit designs of its mascot and logo to “provide better environment and a better mode for the operation activities and public participation”, according to a company (more…)
Sun 27 Dec 2009
The Gold Coast council planning committee revealed on Tuesday that development had been approved for the largest apartment complex in Surfer’s Paradise on the famous tourist strip of Queensland’s Gold Coast.
The 700 million Australian dollar (639 million U.S. dollar) development will cover nearly 11,500 square meters of land.
The Planning committee chair, Ted Shepherd, said the development would deliver a major economic boost and add significantly (more…)