Asia Vacations - Travel, Tourism - Info & Review

Reddit Email Print Reprint LAS VEGAS, June 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Staying true to its mission of providing exciting and memorable experiences on each and every vacation, Diamond Resorts International® kicks off its second annual Vacations for Life® Summer Family Fun Program, throughout resorts in the United States, Mexico and Caribbean. The program runs through August 6.  In Europe, the program will run July 18 through August 28. All Diamond managed resorts worldwide from Santa Barbara Golf and Ocean Club in Tenerife, Spain to Ka'anapali Beach Club in Maui, Hawaii, will participate in the Vacations for Life® Family Summer Fun six-week program. Each week of the Summer Family Fun program begins with an Opening Ceremony celebration to engage guests with family-fun entertainment such as games, raffles, prizes, food and music. Weekly action-packed activities include the electric slide, scavenger hunts, limbo contests, water balloon contests, mini golf

PARIS: Thousands of European tourists are cancelling planned vacations to Tunisia in the wake of last week's massacre at a beach resort by a gunman whose attack was claimed by the Islamic State group. Tour operators said on Monday (Jun 29) that many clients were scrapping plans entirely or asking to go to other, safer destinations. Some of the travel companies had taken the initiative themselves to suspend travel to Tunisia. The trend began on Saturday, the day after 38 people - most of them British tourists - were killed at the Riu Imperial Marhaba hotel resort by the Tunisian gunman, who was then shot dead by police. The cancellations have grown since as perception spread of Tunisia as a risky holiday spot targeted by anti-Western jihadists. In March, the North African country suffered an attack at a museum in its capital that killed 21 tourists. TUI, the German group that is the biggest leisure and tourism company in the world, said Monday it had received 500 requests

Travel Jun. 29, 2015 - 05:59AM JST ( ) TOKYO — When it comes to traveling for leisure, Japanese travelers are appearing more eager than some others to plan and finalize their holiday plans. Even in this current digital age where online bookings can be made within minutes at just the click of a button, 79% of Japanese travelers surveyed said they have already booked their international travel at least two months in advance, and as many as over half (57%) even said they have completed their reservations more than three months ahead of their actual travel date. GfK recently conducted the Consumer Travel Tracker online survey in Japan among over 500 respondents on the process of booking they made for their own leisure international travel. According to the survey findings, 13% of respondents even said they made their reservations more than seven months ahead of their travel date. "The survey results yielded some interesting findings which helped characterized the purcha

PHOTO: Angkor Wat at sunset. The following was submitted by Michael Healy, General Manager for Khiri USA. Better tourism dispersal is a vital principle for the travel industry to embrace in Southeast Asia. It needs to be done properly to ensure the long-term prosperity of people, planet and profit in the destinations we visit in that wonderful part of the world.   At the moment too many resources are being funneled into iconic landmarks and places such as Phuket, Angkor Wat, Ha Long Bay and Bagan. These destinations are on top of traveler bucket lists for good reason. But we need to take into account the watered-down experience some visitors are currently receiving in these places. The partially negative impact that large visitors numbers are taking on these iconic sites could be mitigated by taking guests to equally impressive destinations that receive a fraction of the visitors. Both hosts and guests would be winners.  Take Cambodia. It concerns me that three million in

9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management's Discussion and Analysis or Plan of Operation Asia Travel Corporation (formerly "Realgold International, Inc.") (the "Company" or "Asia Travel") was incorporated under the laws of the State of Arizona on November 14, 1994. On November 22, 1996, the Company reincorporated under the laws of the State of Nevada and effected a forward split of its common stock on a basis of approximately 242 shares of the Nevada corporation for each share of the Arizona corporation. The Company ceased to actively pursue its business operations relating to the publishing of interactive media software in July, 1999. On December 15, 2011, the Company filed Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of Nevada changing its name from Piranha Ventures, Inc. to Asia Travel Corporation. During December 2011, the Company established a subsid

Motivation for those who do join is rooted in social and economic exclusion. Central Asia has not been an area of interest for ISIS and Central Asians haven't been overly interested in ISIS either, according to a recently released report from by the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM). The report's authors take a comparative approach, examining the region's five states against the Middle East and Europe, which currently supply the most foreign fighters to ISIS. "If poverty, political repression, political marginalisation, poor governance and corruption, undoubtedly present in Central Asia," the report notes, "are to pave the way for the appearance of ISIS in a given country then we should look at how these factors influence the decisions of Europeans and the inhabitants of MENA who are quite eager to travel to Iraq and Syria." "Central Asia seems not to be the world's preeminent place for recruits for terrorism—either dome

Bengaluru, June 24, 2015, DHNS: Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has sought apology from the department of Tourism and minister R V Deshpande for posting wrong map of India in its advertisement. "I would like to apologise for the inclusion of wrong image used. It was used in good faith to highlight where the state of Karnataka is in relation to the country of Indi a for those who are not familiar with the country. The image was supposed to be a general representation of India and not be taken as the actual map. However upon learning the issue, we took immediate steps to rectify the mistake done and have the map replaced with more appropriate images on all our media partners where the advertisement was placed," PATA Chief Executive Officer, Mario Hardy stated in his written apology. As part of the upcoming 'International Travel Mart', the country's premier travel and tourism exhibition to be held in the city on September 6 and 7, the Association had

"Are we there yet?" Imagine how many times your kids could whine that during a 13,000-mile road trip. The Kirkby family took a 96-day journey with their sons, 7 and 4. They left their Kimberley, B.C., home for a remote monastery in Ladakh, India, and never boarded a plane. They traveled by canoe, cargo ship, ferry, bullet train, riverboat, taxis, pony, elephant and rickshaw. Their odyssey, chronicled in "Big Crazy Family Adventure," debuted Sunday on the Travel Channel, and has been streaming on TravelChannel.com, available on the channel's app and on VOD platforms for more than two weeks. The project marks the first time the station is releasing a season of a show before it premieres on air. "We wanted to see everything in between," Bruce Kirkby says of the adventure. "An airplane is like a time machine. It diminishes time and space. You take off from North America and you land in the morning and you are in Asia." Kirkby, who

If a modern scene with a touch of nature is what you are after, Bengaluru (formerly known as Bangalore) is a can't-miss city on your Asian vacation. Bengaluru is the country's cosmopolitan, technology hub located in southern India. Unlike most of the cities in the region, Bengaluru has a cool, temperate climate throughout the year, making it an oasis for visitors and residents alike. Referred to as India's "Garden City," you can take a break from the buzz of the city at many of Bengaluru's lush parks, such as the famous Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens where people go to see gorgeous flower exhibitions. You will find it easy to make your way around while you explore this busy city's diverse art, culture and cuisine since many residents speak and understand English. Brigade Road and MG Road offer amazing restaurants and pubs, but the area's attractions aren't all concentrated in the city center. Head to the outskirts of Bengaluru to the Forum Mall a

Published: Jun 20, 2015 By Christina Shenvi MD, PhD Along with summer comes travel, and with travel comes traveler's diarrhea (TD). Here is a look at ciprofloxacin, particularly as it pertains to this troublesome summertime ailment. Traveler's diarrhea occursin up to 40% to 50% of travelers. The risk of acquiring it depends on the travel destination, the history, and immune status of the traveler, and the style of travel. Travelers to the Middle East, southern Asia, Africa, Central America, and South America have the highest risk. Individuals who stay at resorts have a lower risk of TD than backpackers or those who are more adventuresome in their sampling of the local cuisine from street vendors. Patients who are on acid-suppressing medications are also at higher risk of acquiring TD, as the acidic stomach environment provides a natural mechanism for reducing infection from ingested bacteria. The majority of TD (50% to 80% of cases) is attributable t

China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Ltd., Asia's only listed lessor, said Chief Executive Officer Poon Ho Man resigned during his vacation and the company has since been unable to contact him. The stock plunged a record 19 percent. Poon went on annual leave from May 18 to June 26 and on June 17, the company received his letter saying he would resign with immediate effect, the aircraft lessor said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange Friday. The board has since tried to contact Poon and hasn't been successful, it said. China and Hong Kong media have reported Poon might be under investigation by the Chinese government relating to its customer China Southern Airlines Co., the lessor said. Poon's resignation comes amid an anti-corruption crusade by President Xi Jinping. The Communist Party warned in December that political cliques and their corrupt business ties wouldn't be tolerated. "No one and no industry can be exempt from disciplinary scrutin

Research has shown that for international tourists, Hong Kong is Asia's most visited city, followed by Singapore in second place and Beijing coming in third. The data has now been compiled to reveal the most visited cities in Asia. Using data taken from Euromonitor International, a map has been created which highlights the 47 most visited cities in Asia with Hong Kong, a major shopping mecca, coming in top as number one of the best destinations in Asia. Singapore, Malaysia Second place goes to Singapore in Malaysia followed by Beijing, capital of China, in third place. Macau, a gambling mecca across the river from Hong Kong and considered to be "Asia's Las Vegas," came fourth in the list. A comprehensive map, put together by Ampersand Trave, shows the top 10 most visited cities in Asia, followed by the most visited cities by country and the 47 most visited cities in Asia, giving numbers of international tourists arriving each year. The map gives a fa

Relaxnews Jun 17, 2015 , Last Updated: 9:29 AM ET Asia has become one of the most expensive regions for people working abroad, according to a new survey, with its major cities accounting for half of the top 10 costliest expat destinations. Hong Kong climbed one place from last year to become the world's second most expensive place for expats, Mercer said in its annual Cost of Living Survey on Tuesday, with Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing and Seoul also making the shortlist. Much of the change in rankings is down to currency fluctuations, with the appreciation of the yuan against the dollar pushing up the cost of living in China, which now accounts for nine of the top 30 most expensive expat cities in the world. "Chinese cities jumped in the ranking due to the strengthening of the Chinese yuan along with the high costs of expatriate consumer goods," said Mercer executive Nathalie Constantin-Metral in a statement. By contrast Tokyo, ranked the most expensive c

Fairs Theodore Koumelis - 17 June 2015, 00:28 The new WTM connect events will offer a unique one-to-one format targeted at the booming Asian and Chinese leisure travel markets, allowing exhibitors to exclusively meet with elite hosted buyers. The WTM Portfolio, part of Reed Travel Exhibitions, is to enter Asia and China in 2016 with the launch of two events under the new WTM connect brand.  The new WTM connect events will offer a unique one-to-one format targeted at the booming Asian and Chinese leisure travel markets, allowing exhibitors to exclusively meet with elite hosted buyers.  South East Asia's tourism numbers continue to grow with 102 million inbound tourists and 59 million outbound tourists in 2014, with further growth of +5.9% and +3.8% a year respectively until 2018.  China leads the way, as the single largest outbound leisure travel market in the world with 102 million tourists in 2014 with the largest expenditure in the world of $165 billion,

© CAPA The much-celebrated growth of Chinese tourism is not occurring evenly. An additional 3.8 million Chinese visitors travelled to core Northeast and Southeast Asia in 2014 compared to 2013, representing 19% growth. But this growth was concentrated exclusively in Northeast Asia while Southeast Asia actually contracted. This excludes Thailand, which is earning its "Teflon Thailand" reputation: after flat performance over much of 2014 due to political uncertainty, Chinese visitors have sprung back up to all time highs. Its neighbouring countries are far less fortunate. It is little wonder Korea, Thailand and Japan are the largest growth markets for Chinese airlines. Despite weakness in Southeast Asia, foreign airlines are typically not planning to further reduce capacity. As one example, Singapore Airlines instead plans to link outbound China traffic with other markets, such as Australia. Rapid growth within Northeast Asia now means that Chinese visitors have com

This year's version of the annual Wonderful Indonesia event, hosted by the local consulate in late May at Simon Fraser's downtown campus, focused exclusively on tourism. For it is through tourism, southeast Asian officials believe, that their region can build a higher profile in Canada and eventually, better trade ties. Last year's Wonderful Indonesia event was far more a trade show — there were pitches for infrastructure investment, merchandise trade and other economic partnership like the one through Jakarta-based Asia Pulp & Paper. This year, the focus was one what a tourist from Canada would experience, from orangutans to sandy beaches, on the thousands of islands across the South Pacific that make up Indonesia. Last week, representatives from the five nations of Southeast Asia with diplomatic missions in Vancouver sat down with The Sun editorial board. Consuls for the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia said they are concentrating on

SUZHOU, China, Jun 12, 2015 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. HOT, -0.92% today announced the debut of its eco-conscious Element® brand in Asia Pacific with the opening of Element Suzhou Science and Technology Town in Suzhou, China. Owned by Suzhou Science and Technology Town Kexin Cultural Tourism Development Co., LTD., the new Element hotel is set to offer healthy, active travelers a smart and sustainable stay, designed to fuel a balanced life while on the road. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150612005308/en/ "As Starwood's eco-innovation lab, the Element® brand has redefined the category with its light-filled atmosphere, eco-minded design and commitment to innovation." said Brian McGuinness, Senior Vice President of Specialty Select Brands for Starwood. "On track to triple its global portfolio by the end of 2017, Element is experiencing tremendous