More gambling than golf

KUNMING, CHINA, 26 October 2012: Southeast Asian golfers might be interested in a new game, the eagle hole, the latest challenge at Sky Oasis Golf Resort 100 km north of Kunming.

It is mimicking the success of a South African golf resort that opened what it called an extreme mountain hole in 2009.

The eagle hole is a creation of  US golf architect, Cindy Dye, built in in the shape of an eagle.

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Casino resort taps Yangon market

MYEIK, MYANMAR, 23 August 2012: A casino resort in Myeik archipelago close to Ranong province, Thailand, has introduced a discount package to attract domestic tourists and expatriates living in Yangon to compensate for rising domestic air fares.

Andaman Club Resort in the Myeik Archipelago will introduce two packages this November open to the end of April 2013. All packages feature a two-night stay and transfer from Kawthoung Airport in Tanintharyi region.

One package offers waters sports and the other combines a visit to Thailand’s Ranong province just across the straits from the resort. They are priced at US$230 and US$200.

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Laos hosts tourism fair

VIENTIANE, 8 August 2012: Savannakhet province, in central Laos will host the Trade Exhibition and Tourism Fair 2012, 27 to 31 October, at Savan-ITECC in the Kaysone Phomvihane district.

Savan-ITECC is part of a casino and hotel located just outside Savannakhet town.

The event will promote tourism and trade in Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar.

The fair is just one of many activities supporting Visit Laos Year 2012 that lead up to hosting the Asean Tourism Forum in Vientiane next January.

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Sands slows plans in Spain

BARCELONA, 26 June 2012: Las Vegas Sands said Monday it will hold off until September before deciding whether to build a jobs-rich mega casino development in Madrid or Barcelona.

Less than three months after the firm promised a decision in April or May, Las Vegas Sands president and chief operating officer, Mike Leven, told a news conference here that its verdict would now come early September.

The two cities were running neck and neck, he said, in the contest to host a development that reportedly will have six casinos, 12 hotels, nine theatres and three golf courses.

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Casino sells bus tour package.

BANGKOK, 25 May 2012: NagaWorld, Cambodia’s casino and entertainment complex has launched a tour package using a bus service from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam to its property in Phnom Penh to attract Vietnamese gamblers.

Supported by Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism, a so-called ‘Luxury Bus Programme’ features a three-day/two-night package with a roundtrip bus service with snack and drink on board, two nights’ standard accommodation at NagaWorld, six meals (two breakfast, lunches and dinners) and a half-day city tour to Royal Palace, National Museum, Watphnom, Sisowath Way, Independence Monument, Monivong Street and Central Market.

The price is US$125 per person for double occupancy and US$180 for single stay.

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Casino king mulls Eurovegas

MADRID, 28 March 2012: Las Vegas Sands will decide in April or May whether it will build a casino strip in Madrid or Barcelona, the company’s president said in an interview published Tuesday in Spain.

The company, owned by US gambling tycoon, Sheldon Adelson, is in talks with officials from Spain’s two biggest cities to build the complex which reportedly will have six casinos, 12 hotels, nine theatres and three golf courses.

The project — dubbed “Eurovegas” — will create 261,000 direct and indirect jobs in a country with a jobless rate of just under 23% and it has been welcomed by politicians in both cities.

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Thai AirAsia adds Macau flight

CHIANG MAI, 26 March 2012: Thai AirAsia will launch new regional flights to Macau from Chiang Mai, 22 May, to replace a service to Singapore that will be axed 21 May.

The service will encourage Chiang Mai residents to travel to the gambling destination where casino revenue and visits exceeds even the iconic Las Vegas.

Dragon Air will also start a service from Hong Kong to Chiang Mai, but only during the territory’s school holiday season, July to September.

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Sands expands to Vietnam

HO CHI MINH CITY, 20 December 2011: Las Vegas Sands Corporation plans to build an US$2 billion tourism complex in Vietnam’s commercial capital Ho Chi Minh City.

Las Vegas Sands’ chief executive officer, Sheldon Adelson, revealed his plans at a meeting with Ho Chi Minh City’s Party Committee secretary, Le Thanh Hai, earlier this month.

The project will be on a similar scale to Marina Bay Sands resort also owned byLas Vegas Sands Corporation in Singapore. It will give Vietnam its first mega casino, hotels, restaurants, exhibition hall, shopping centre, spa, threatres and even so-called museums.

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Vietnam opens door for island casino

HANOI, 4 AUGUST 2011 – Vietnam plans to award a concession to foreign investors to build a tourism complex that will include a casino, five-star hotels and convention centres on the country’s largest island, Phu Quoc Island in the Gulf of Thailand.

Viet Nam News reported, Wednesday, authorities in southern Kien Giang province approved the project a week earlier, at meetings between the provincial administration and a working team led by Planning and Investment deputy minister, Dang Huy Dong and the Kien Giang People’s Committee deputy chairman, Dang Cong Huan.

The tourism complex will be built on 135 hectares in Phu Quoc Island district’s Bai Thom Commune. Read more

Singapore incentives on a roll

BANGKOK, 7 October 2010 – Four new attractions and facilities will draw more incentive groups from Thailand, Singapore Tourism Board conventions and meetings director, Oliver Chong Wee Meng, reported Wednesday.

Mr Chong said business tourism was at the core of the city state’s tourism strategy and a new international cruise terminal, the Garden by the Bay; Mandai River Safari and National Arts Gallery would play key roles in attracting regional incentives groups.

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