Asia Vacations - Travel, Tourism - Info & Review

TORONTO – A Korean Air cargo plane landed at Pearson airport Saturday with an unusual cargo: 11 rescue dogs escaping a potentially gruesome fate in South Korea. Listowel, Ont.-based group Angel Arms Rescue and Korean partner group Team Osan brought the canines to Canada this weekend, sparing them a future on a restaurant menu. "They rescue them and do the vetting, they fly them over to us and we meet them, get them into good foster homes and get them adopted," Angel Arms co-head Kathy Dunn-Melito explained. Korea has a long cultural tradition of eating dog meat, although the practice is increasingly controversial in part because the farming process is lightly regulated and animals suffer due to those lax standards. Dunn-Melito says Team Osan recently rescued 27 dogs from a meat farmer who was feeding them garbage and restaurant scraps. She says the rescue operation aims not just to save dogs, but give Ontarians another ethical option for getting a dog.

© CAPA United Airlines is bolstering its presence in the Singapore market with the Jun-2016 launch of non-stop flights to San Francisco with 787-9s. It will be the longest route in United's network and the longest route in the world for the 787, resulting in limited payload restrictions on the westbound leg. The new San Francisco flight will give Singapore a non-stop option to the US for the first time since Singapore Airlines (SIA) dropped non-stops to Los Angeles and Newark in 2013. SIA is planning to resume Los Angeles and New York non-stops in 2018, and has also has been evaluating San Francisco non-stops, but United will beat SIA by two years with its own Singapore-US service. SIA and United are both members of the Star Alliance but have never codeshared, and have no intentions of partnering on Singapore-US non-stops. United has a joint venture with Star member All Nippon Airways (ANA) that already includes one-stop services between Singapore and the US. The new Si

Union Tourism Minister visits J&K pavilion Rising Kashmir News New Delhi: : Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department participated in the South Asia's leading travel show South Asian Tourism and Travel Exchange (SATTE) which started today and is culminating on Jan 31, 2016. Union Minister of Tourism Dr. Mahesh Sharma inaugurated the show and he later visited the J&K Pavilion where he was received by the officers of J&K Tourism including Special Secretary Tourism Mohammad Hussain Mir, Director Tourism Kashmir Mahmood A Shah, Deputy Director Tourism Publicity Kashmir Peerzada Zahoor and other officers of the department. The Union Minister appreciated J&K Tourism Department for printing best publicity material about different tourism products of the State. J&K Tourism Department has printed separate brochures of heritage, golf, MICE, leisure, off-beat destinations, wild life besides releasing festival calendar of the tourism department. Tourism department

Ever dream of traveling from Asia to Europe on a grand adventure? Now's your chance to get a taste of what that might be like thanks to Daniel and Gina, two travel bloggers from Sunrise Odyssey. According to their website, this couple is "ravenous for adventure and endlessly excited about discovering the world through travel. Determined to not lead a typical Singaporean life, we've decided to take a step out of our comfort zone and to seek off-the-beaten-path destinations to experience life to the fullest." This traveling twosome has created a series of videos on their trip, hoping to keep connected with family and inspire other travelers to follow their own passion. However, Daniel and Gina just completed their 279-day journey from Asia to Europe and compiled the event into a video that's super cute and less than three minutes long. Here's how they describe it on YouTube: Highlights of our memorable 1 year adventure travelling overland from As

Walking back to our B&B on a dark night on the quiet streets of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, we spotted something we hadn't seen in over two weeks in the country: another Asian family with young children. It was as if we were seeing aliens from another planet, something we never expected to see in the middle of this sleepy beach town: people like us, a young family with two small children, Asian, and from America. A few days later, we serendipitously bumped into them at the town's only open market. They were from New York. We were from California. We immediately hit it off. We became friends and kindred spirits, quietly supporting each other during our extended stays in Nicaragua with all of our kids under the age of four. Call it beginner's luck, as we were able to meet another traveling Asian-American family on our first family trip outside of the United States. Since then, however, through over three years and eighteen countries on four continents of travel

REUTERS: Airlines, hotels and cruise operators serving Latin America and the Caribbean are facing growing concern among travelers who had planned to visit countries potentially affected by Zika after the World Health Organization warned the virus is likely to spread to most of the Americas. The outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus, which has been linked to brain damage in thousands of babies in Brazil, comes as a record percentage of Americans plan a vacation in coming months and a near-record proportion of them look to travel abroad with a strong U.S. dollar making overseas destinations more affordable. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (@CDCgov), which has used Twitter as a platform to discuss the virus, warned travelers to "consider postponing travel to areas w/ ongoing Zika transmission." Canada and Chile are the only countries in the Americas the virus is not expected to reach, the WHO said on Monday. United Airlines said it was allowing customers

Snow, sleet and icy winds across Asia caused deaths, flight cancellations and chaos over the weekend as areas used to basking in balmier climates struggled with record-low temperatures. Unusually cold weather in eastern Asia has been blamed for more than 65 deaths, disrupted transportation and brought the first snow to a subtropical city in southern China in almost 50 years.  Temperatures in Taiwan's capital of Taipei plunged to a 16-year low of 4 degrees Celsius, killing 57 mostly elderly people, according to government officials. The semi-official Focus Taiwan news website reported that 85 people had died because of the cold. TORU HANAI/REUTERS NEWS1 NEWS1 KIM KYUNG-HOON/REUTERS ChinaFotoPress CHINA DAILY BILLY HC KWOK/GETTY IMAGES KIM HONG-JI/REUTERS A man clears snow from a walkway at Kanda Miyojin Shrine in Tokyo, Japan. Planes were blanketed in snow at Jeju International Airport on Jeju island, South Korea South Korean passenge

South Korea and Hong Kong shiver as snow disrupts travel 24 January 2016 From the section Asia Image copyright Reuters Image caption Flights have been cancelled for a second day at Jeju airport The South Korean island of Jeju has seen its biggest snowfall in three decades, causing hundreds of flights to be cancelled. Jeju is a popular holiday destination and thousands of visitors are reported to have been left stranded. All 517 flights scheduled for Sunday were cancelled, as well as about 60 on Monday, following 11cm (4.3in) of snow. In Hong Kong, residents shivered in three degrees Celsius, the lowest temperature there in nearly 60 years. "It

High-level negotiations over access to a Tokyo airport could cost Portland its only direct flight to Asia, cutting off Oregon's most direct route to Pacific Rim trading partners. Delta Air Lines, which operates Portland's daily flight to and from Tokyo, said proposed changes to the Japanese capital's unusual two-airport setup threatens the viability of its hub there and could force it to cut flights, including Portland's. The route has connected Portland International Airport with Asia for more than a decade, and Portland businesses have come to rely the link. "The Delta direct connection to Tokyo is critical," said Ryan Frank, a spokesman for Business Oregon, the state's economic development agency. "It supports our over-three-decade relationship with Japan as a trading partner and business partner." Narita International Airport is Tokyo's main stop for international flights, including Delta's to and from Portland.  But Jap

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Getting ten nations to agree on dinner is challenge enough. To carry out a plan to promote a consistent, common message is huge. — Jason Clampet Southeast Asian tourism ministers on Friday launched a 10-year plan to ramp up marketing of their region as a single destination to raise tourism's share of the regional economy to 15 percent by 2025. The ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations also announced that they will begin a "Visit ASEAN@50" campaign to mark the 50th anniversary of the regional group next year. The campaign, to be launched in March at a travel convention in Berlin, will showcase hundreds of ASEAN tourism products, events and experiences and target people within and outside the region. Tourism accounted for 12.3 percent of ASEAN's GDP in 2013 with 102.2 million tourist arrivals. ASEAN says the number of tourists rose to 105 million in 2014. ASEAN formally e

Delta says it'll save more than $3 billion this year from falling fuel prices. It'd be nice if some of that trickled down to travelers but we're not getting too optimistic. — Dan Peltier Delta Air Lines Inc. will rely on partnerships with China Eastern Airlines Corp. and Jet Airways India Ltd. to deepen its offerings and improve connectivity to two of the largest economies in Asia, a senior executive for the region said. "We want to remain very disciplined in the way we invest," Vinay Dube, Delta's senior vice president for Asia, said in an interview Wednesday on Bloomberg Television. "Just because we are turning over a lot of cash doesn't mean all of that's going to go into new planes and new routes." On Tuesday, Delta predicted that falling fuel prices will help it save more than $3 billion this year and said it expects to pay the lowest price for fuel since 2008. Plunging oil prices helped the company report a 43 percent

Well, 2015 has come and gone. The great news? 2016 is here! With each year comes new reasons to visit different countries around the world. Here's my take on which countries you need to visit in 2016. 1.  Bolivia The only land-locked country in South America, Bolivia is still considered the "third world" by many. But with more and more infrastructure being built in the Andean nation, visits to the world-famous desert of Uyuni or a trip to the silver mines of Sucre are getting easier and easier. La Paz is very high and cold, but cities like Cochabamba and Santa Cruz are much more tropical. You can find direct flights from the U.S. departing from Miami. 2.  Colombia This was also on my list of countries to visit in 2015, but if you didn't get there last year, the thought still stands: Colombia is awesome, and you should visit. From the beaches of San Andres and Cartagena, to the perfect weather of Medellin, to the bustling

Mobile enthusiasts: Asian travellers have emerged the biggest users of mobile devices in an international survey. — AFP Relaxnews Chinese, Taiwanese and Thai travellers are the most addicted to their smartphones, according to the results of a new international survey.  In a report that looks at the use of mobile devices in travel, results showed that smartphones have leapfrogged over long-standing necessities such as a toothbrush, deodorant and driver's license, to be considered the single most indispensable travel companion.  According to the report prepared by Expedia and Egencia, 60% of travellers around the world said they would be unwilling to go on vacation without their mobile device, while a full 35% said they use their phones more while on vacation, than they do at home.  The countries that are the most attached to their mobile devices are China and Taiwan, where 94% of respondents surveyed called it an important travel companion, followed by 91% of Thai responde

COLOMBO: The Maldives on Saturday granted permission for jailed former leader Mohamed Nasheed to travel to Britain for surgery after pressure from the international community including human rights groups and his lawyer Amal Clooney. Nasheed, the Maldives' first democratically elected leader, is serving a 13-year sentence on terrorism charges after a rapid trial last March. The case drew international criticism. The decision by President Abdullah Yameen's government, which rejected the same request two months ago, comes after pressure by rights groups and the United Nations over the case. "Maldives has granted permission to former President Mohamed Nasheed to travel to the United Kingdom to undertake a surgery at his request," the Maldives foreign ministry said. "Nasheed was granted permission under the condition to serve the remainder of the sentence upon return to the Maldives after the surgery." Political colleagues say he is suffering from ba

HARARE — Some Zimbabweans have criticized President Robert Mugabe for spending thousands of dollars in the Far East saying the money should have been channeled towards catering for the needs of his people facing serious economic problems. State and ruling Zanu PF officials are tight-lipped over the president's current holiday resort in Asia even if local people are raising too many questions about the money he is spending on a daily basis. A large number of Zimbabweans are currently exchanging harsh words on various social media platforms about President Mugabe's holiday in the Far East while the country is gripped by a crippling drought. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The opposition is equally infuriated though Zanu PF supporters argue that there is no basis for being angry for a president who is on a personal vacation. For perspective, Studio 7 spoke with Obert Gutu, spokesperson of the Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai a

According to UNWTO's latest Visa Openess Report, the share of tourists requiring to obtain a visa prior to travelling continues to decline and is at its lowest level ever. In 2015, 39% of the world population could travel for tourism without obtaining a traditional visa prior to departure as compared to only 23% in 2008.  On average, 18% of the world's population was able to travel to a destination without a visa in 2015, while another 15% could receive a visa on arrival and 6% was able to obtain eVisas. Overall, emerging economies continue to be more open than advanced economies. At the regional level, Southeast Asia, East Africa, the Caribbean and Oceania remain the most open areas while Central Africa, North Africa and North America were in 2015 the most restrictive subregions. "Prioritizing travel facilitation is central to stimulating economic growth and job creation through tourism. We are pleased to see that a growing number of governments around the w

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) said passenger traffic continued to grow above average as lower fares lured travelers despite slowing economic growth and the overall industry was now on a path to "financial sustainability." Iata, citing its latest data as of November last year, said total revenue passenger kilometers, or RPK, was up 5.9 percent while average fares fell 5 percent around the world. The 10-year average growth rate stood at 5.6 percent, it said. For Asia-Pacific alone, passenger traffic climbed 7.9 percent in November. Iata said capacity was also up 5.7 percent and load factor rose to 76.2 percent. It noted that the weakness in emerging Asia trade activity as well as slower than expected growth in China appeared not to be impacting international RPKs for Asia-Pacific carriers, Iata said. Other regions also gained, according to data from Iata. This was led by Middle East carriers, which saw demand increase 9.8 percent in November whi

BANGKOK, Thailand — Asian travelers are planning to expand their horizons this year, according to findings in the latest TripBarometer study published by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). The study, conducted by independent research firm Ipsos, shows that 76 percent of Asian travelers want to 'try something new' this year (as against 69 percent of all those questioned globally). One in four Asian travelers will go solo while 21 percent will opt for a cruise and one in five will look for adventure travel experiences. Indonesian travelers are the biggest thrill-seekers, according to the TripBarometer study, with 30 percent planning to book an adventure travel holiday in 2016. Indian and Thai travelers (each 29%) are also set to take a more adventurous trip. These findings are contained in the latest PATA Connected Visitor Economy Bulletin that highlights six key travel trends for 2016. Global economic uncertainties appear to be having minimal impact upon trave

For all the hype the online travel world generates every time a new acquisition is announced it hasn't made the travel booking process as simple and transparent as it could be in some cases. We'll see if new entrants can help move this cause along in 2016. — Dan Peltier Online travel is poised to experience interesting, if not big, changes this year. A year ago the thought of TripAdvisor as an online booking threat wasn't taken as seriously as it is now. But more consolidation in online travel doesn't imply choices will become easier to understand or delineate. This week's five startups represent thematic shifts already happening or fast approaching the online travel agency space and consider how booking behavior has evolved during the past year. >>Biz Airlines is a business travel booking solution focused on providing executives with direct and cost-effective travel options. The mobile app mix and matches airline offerings, airport transfers

13,000 live sheep and cattle have been on board stranded ship in WA More than 30 animals on the Ocean Outback have died But the ship has been cleared to travel to South East Asia  The 7,500 sheep on board were offloaded in Australia before leaving The remaining 5,500 cattle will be sold to a buyer in South East Asia An engine problem prevented it from leaving for Israel, its original destination, over a week ago  By Australian Associated Press and Jennifer Russell For Daily Mail Australia Published: 05:37 EST, 10 January 2016 | Updated: 08:45 EST, 10 January 2016 8 View comments More than 30 livestock died on a ship while it was stranded in Perth for 10 days, but authorities gave the vessel the all-clear to travel to South East Asia with the cattle. The $40million MV Ocean Outback was originally des