Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Asia travel news

Asia travel news

Shark scare at Vietnam resort

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 07:58 PM PDT

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VIETNAM-Vietnam warned tourists and residents to beware of white sharks after one was caught in fishing nets in Qui Nhon bay in Binh Dinh province recently.A report of white shark in Qui Nhon bay surfaced 12 June after 1.6 metre-long shark was tangled in fishing nets about 300 metresandnbsp; off the Qui Nhon shore in Binh Dinh province.

According to localan authorities, it was very likely there were larger white sharks in bay .Sharks were last sighted in Qui Nhon bay last February and medical records indicated sharks had attacked local fishermen causing minor injuries. However, records had failed to identify the shark specie.

Authorities in Binh Dinh province offered a reward for anybody who could catch a large fish believed to be a shark in Qui Nhon bay, but there were no reports of successful catches other than the small shark snarled in fishing nets.

Fish and shrimp rafts or traps have been moved away from the bay as authorities assume the sharks maybe feeding near the rafts or are attracted by the scent from the shrimp farms located in shallow water. However, local fishermen have objected to the order to shift their shrimp farms elsewhere.

Qui Nhon is a coastal city in Binh Dinh province in central Vietnam noted for its agriculture and fishing. However, in recent years there has been significant surge in tourism.The city's nearest airport is at Phu Cat located 35km away, served by Vietnam Airlines which operates daily flights to Ho Chi Minh (692km) and to Danang (283km).

Singapore outbound hit by overseas troubles

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 07:44 PM PDT

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The string of natural disasters in New Zealand, Australia and Japan, coupled with unrest in the Middle East, put a dampener on Singapore outbound travel in the first half of 2011.

Expectations were high among local travel agents that bookings would increase in 2011, due to the relative buoyancy of 2010. However, agents whom TTG Asia e-daily recently spoke to reported a 10 to 40 per cent decline in bookings over the first six months of 2011, compared to the same period last year.

Stella Chow, manager, Outbound Tours, Hong Thai Travel Services, said: Singaporeans were hit by an avalanche of uncertainty in the first six months of 2011, and as a result, many decided to scrap their travel plans.
Business in April and May, traditionally busy months for the travel trade, was "sluggish and slow", according to Mike Chan, managing director, Global Holidays.Alicia Seah, senior vice president (marketing PR), CTC Travel, added: Bookings for the June holiday period were a huge disappointment.

It is not all doom and gloom though, as pointed out by Robin Yap, managing director, Insight Vacations. We are seeing a remarkable surge in bookings out of Singapore to Europe because of the weakening euro, he said.Yap said the strengthening Singapore dollar was also stimulating travel to the US, albeit from a small base.

SOURE: TTG Asia

Accor has opened the Sofitel Guangzhou Sunrich.

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 02:43 AM PDT

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Located in the heart of Tianhe, Guangzhou’s most dynamic financial and business district, the Sofitel Guangzhou Sunrich is less than one kilometer from the emblematic skyscraper CITIC Plaza and a few minutes from the East Railway Station that connects Guangzhou to Dongguan, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

The hotel offers 493 rooms and suites all of which feature MyBed Sofitel signature bedding.

Among the five bars and restaurants, the fine dining-restaurant Robata Grill & Bar, which combines a classy steakhouse with modern Japanese Izakaya, features an authentic Robatayaki, a sushi bar with an extensive elegant walk-through wine cellar. Le Chinois highlights famous Cantonese gastronomy, while a gourmet all day dining restaurant 2 on 988 features five open kitchens, raw stations, wood fire oven, authentic French rotisserie, traditional Chinese kitchen, western kitchen, pastries and bakeries. The 8 Faubourg reproduces around an elegant bar the décor typical of a Parisian apartment. The Mar-Tea-Ni lounge bar is the place to savour fine French pastries accompanied by rare teas.

The Sofitel Guangzhou Sunrich has 17 meeting rooms that can be adapted and personalized as well as a 900 sqm conference room.

At So SPA with L’Occitane guests can enjoy a wide range of treatments designed to create a sense of total well being, for a harmony of the body and mind.

The fitness area, So FIT, offers fitness and well-being equipment at the leading edge of technology and design, and the indoor pool boasts a sub-aquatic music broadcaster.

THAI launches direct flights from Copenhagen-Phuket

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 02:26 AM PDT

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Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) announces the launch of direct flights from Copenhagen to Phuket as well as additional flights from Bangkok to Copenhagen. Flights on these sectors will operate three times per week respectively, utilizing the Boeing 747-400 aircraft, with service commencing on 11 November 2011. These flights may be reserved immediately.

Mr. Pandit Chanapai, THAI Executive Vice President of Commercial, said, “THAI is pleased to offer the first-ever direct flights from Copenhagen to Phuket giving passengers more choices and making it easier than ever to travel from Scandinavia straight into Phuket.”

THAI’s flight TG953 is a 10-hour, 35-minute flight, departing Copenhagen on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 20.45 hours and arriving in Phuket at 13.20 hours the following day. On the return, passengers may take any of THAI’s daily flights from Phuket to Bangkok and connect on flights to Copenhagen. THAI will operate three additional flights per week on the route Bangkok to Copenhagen, with flight TG952 departing Bangkok on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 13.00 hours and arriving in Copenhagen on the same day at 18.45 hours.

THAI already operates daily flights on the routes Bangkok-Copenhagen v.v. utilizing the Boeing 747-400 and also offers several flights per day on the route Bangkok-Phuket v.v.

Macao proposes to ban bars in residential buildings

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 01:41 AM PDT

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MACAO - Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO) has launched a public consultation for the administrative regulation that regulates hotels, restaurants and bars, in which bars will not be permitted to operate in residential buildings, the Macao Daily Times reported on Monday.

The newspaper quoted a document by MGTO as reporting that the move was in response to complaints by residents of the noise and disturbance caused by the night time business activities.

In addition, people at or below 16 years old will be prohibited from entering a bar, which is consistent with the current rules in karaoke lounges and game centers, according to the proposed regulation.

However, the transitional arrangements stated in the draft did not mention the fate of the many existing bars already established in residential buildings and how they would be affected under the new rules.

The administrative regulation, which was drafted to meet the " development needs of the tourism industry", also proposed that all hotels will be rated as between one-star and five-star, instead of "two-star to five-star hotels, tourist complexes or two-star and three-star apartments".

The hotel ratings will also be required to be reviewed by a special committee every six years, according to the regulation.

at 1:53 AM