Singapore gains liveable points

SINGAPORE, 18 August 2017: For the first time Singapore overhauled Hong Kong in the Economist Intelligence Unit 2017 Global Liveability Ranking released Wednesday.

Singapore jumped 11 places to 35th in the annual survey that assigns scores for 140 cities based on 30 criteria covering stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

Hong Kong slipped two places to 45th. Read more

Sports to support tourism

BANGKOK, 18 August 2017: Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports is confident that sports tourism will boom in eastern seaboard provinces to generate added revenue for local communities.

Tourism and Sports Minister, Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, said for the first half of this year tourism revenue for the so-called eastern seaboard cluster grew 9.1% generating over THB43,400 million i Chonburi, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat provinces.

“Local experiences through gastronomy and sports tourism such as the Bang Saen Grand Prix, triathlons, golf tournaments as well as marine tourism, which drew 39 cruises to Laem Chabang Port with 170,000 tourists, are elements to support tourism growth in the first half of this year.” Read more

Hotelier on the move

BANGKOK, 18 August 2017: Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has appointed Michel Checoury as its new chief financial officer (CFO).

He joins the Mövenpick leadership team from Aman Resorts where he was CFO since 2014, responsible for the finances at 31 properties in 19 countries.

He will be responsible for aligning strategic planning, the ongoing implementation of Mövenpick’s successful business model and supporting all finance-related decisions and functions.  Read more

China sales go tabletop

BANGKOK, 18 August 2017: Thai Hotels Association is inviting members to join a Hotels Meet Local Agents Chinese Speaking Marketplace, 1330 to 1930, 22 September.

The sales event will be held at Chaturathit and Parichart rooms, Golden Tulip Sovereign Hotel Bangkok.

THA is cooperating with the Association of Thai Travel Agents to organise the programme, which will provide opportunities for hotel and tour operators to negotiate business and exchange knowledge at tabletop sessions. Read more

Sofitel back in KL

KUALA LUMPUR, 18 August 2017: The doors of Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara, opened for business recently, the brand’s first hotel in Malaysia.

Located in the heart of affluent Damansara Heights, the 312-room Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara is part of an 8.5-acre integrated development by GuocoLand, comprising two luxury condominium blocks, two corporate office towers, the hotel and a lifestyle mall.

Designed by Wilson Associates, the hotel’s interior blends local heritage with a sophisticated feature wall depicting the country’s Wau Bulan otherwise known as the moon kite with French art vivre through an Eiffel Tower artwork. Read more

Emirates supports Haji travel

DUBAI, UAE, 18 August 2017 – Emirates will slot in extra flights to Jeddah to support thousands of pilgrims heading to and from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Hajj.

Emirates will offer 45 additional flights to Jeddah and 12 additional flights to Medina effective  17 August until 11 September to help serve the 2 million pilgrims expected to travel to the Holy City of Mecca during Hajj this year.

These services will run in parallel with Emirates’ scheduled services to Jeddah. The airline will also be operating a A380 to Medina, which will also support the increased demand during this period. Read more

Air Berlin on the brink

FRANKFURT, 18 August 2017: Air Berlin is in talks with three competitors about buying up its assets, the insolvent airline’s boss said, Thursday, warning that not all jobs would be saved.

“Aside from Lufthansa, we are in contact with two other interested parties from the aviation industry,” Air Berlin chief executive Thomas Winkelmann told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.

The negotiations have been going on for weeks, he said, and all three airlines were financially sound and large enough “to offer Air Berlin a secure future” while keeping Germany as an operations hub. Read more

Tourism: Too much of a good thing

BARCELONA, 18 August 2017: “Never again a summer like this”: Exasperated with the hordes of visitors they blame for making their city unliveable, Barcelona residents have risen in protest.

The hugely popular Catalan metropolis has become the latest European hotspot to eye tourism with hostility.

From the romantic canals of Venice to the walled mediaeval town of Dubrovnik via the wilderness of Scotland’s Isle of Skye, tourism is morphing into a nightmare for many locals, despite the jobs and income it undoubtedly generates. Read more

Terrorist attack in Barcelona

BARCELONA, 18 August 2017: Victims of a van rampage in Barcelona that left 13 people dead and around 100 others injured were of at least 18 different nationalities, Spain’s civil protection agency said Friday.

A spokesman said that among the victims in the popular seaside city were nationals from France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Argentina, Venezuela, Belgium, Australia, Hungary, Peru, Romania, Ireland, Greece, Cuba, Macedonia, China, Italy and Algeria — without detailing whether he was referring to those who died or were injured.

A van driver ploughed into crowds of pedestrians on Barcelona’s most popular street in broad daylight on Thursday, killing 13 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group. Read more

Saudis open border for pilgrims

RIYADH, 18 August 2017: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has ordered the reopening of the border with Qatar to Hajj pilgrims, state media said Thursday, despite a major diplomatic crisis roiling the region.

The Salwa border crossing has been closed since 5 June  when Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates severed diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar over accusations the emirate fostered Islamist extremists. Qatar has denied the allegation.

The announcement to reopen the frontier for Qatari pilgrims came after powerful Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, received an envoy from Doha, the official Saudi Press Agency said, in the first public high-level encounter between the nations since the crisis erupted. Read more

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