Saturday, August 6, 2011

Asia travel news

Asia travel news

Thai's regional subsidiary positioned as "light premium carrier"

Posted: 05 Aug 2011 09:53 PM PDT

Hongkong arrivals to Japan slowly recover

Posted: 05 Aug 2011 07:53 PM PDT

+ Click Image to Enlarge

JAPAN-Travellers from Hong Kong are regaining confidence in Japan after the string of disasters in March but the strong yen remains a deterrent.

Ken Ozaki, Director of the Japan National Tourism Organization's Hong Kong office, told that Hongkong visitor arrivals to Japan are showing signs of recovery after an 80% freefall in April, but remain 36% below 2010 levels. Ozaki says the recovery in hindered by the strong yen which travel agents say is raising the cost of travel.

Hue to invest USD2.3 billion for National Tourism Year 2012

Posted: 05 Aug 2011 07:25 PM PDT

+ Click Image to Enlarge

VIETNAM-The central Thua Thien Hue Province's People Committee hopes to get 43 projects completed to host National Tourism Year 2012.

The projects, costing a total VND49 trillion (USD2.3 billion), include 22 on which work has already started or the projects have been completed. Five hotels of the Mercure and Mondial groups are already in use while others are in progress.

Hue national tourism year 2012, themed "Hue ancient capital city, new experiences", is a major tourism event that is expected to be held all year round.

It aims to promote Vietnam's tourism products and cultural heritage to both international and domestic tourists.

Hue Festival 2012, a biennial event of Vietnamese cultural heritage, is expected to be a major cultural drawcard.

Lying on the north-south railway and the main road to Laos and north-eastern Thailand, and having Phu Bai international airport and the Chan May seaport, the province is a noted stopover for tourists.

It plans to reach an annual tourism turnover of more than VND3 trillion (USD145 million) with arrivals of at least 1.2 million international tourists a year by 2015.

PAL flight diverted to Japan

Posted: 05 Aug 2011 02:36 AM PDT

+ Click Image to Enlarge

PHILIPPINE-A Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight to Los Angeles was forced to divert to Sapporo this morning after an exhaust fan in the flight deck area malfunctioned.

The airline said in a statement that the fault meant that the Boeing 747-400 risked overheating, forcing crew to make the unscheduled landing.

A team of mechanics in Sapporo has been dispatched to perform repair work on the aircraft, and passengers have been accommodated in nearby hotels. The flight is expected to resume its journey to Los Angeles tomorrow.

Jet away to Malaysia this spring

Posted: 05 Aug 2011 02:07 AM PDT
at 1:59 AM