Indonesia Travel 04: September 2012

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Latest Travel News Daily Email from ASIA Travel Tips.com

Monday, 1 October 2012. News from over the weekend and today Asia time.

The ASIA Travel Tips Team
http://www.asiatraveltips.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Notice: Due to unforeseen circumstances, we were unable to update the travel
news much of last week. Regular service resumes today, 1 October 2012. Thank
you for your understanding, and apologies for any inconvenience caused.

1/10/2012 Indonesia Tourism HD Video Interview with Director of Int.
Tourism Promotion.
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news12/110-IndonesiaTourism.shtml

1/10/2012 Centara Signs Second Hotel in Vietnam.
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news12/110-CentaraDanang.shtml

1/10/2012 Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals in August 2012.
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news12/110-HongKongVisitorArrivals.shtml

1/10/2012 Marriott Opens Executive Apartments in Beijing.
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news12/110-ExecutiveApartments.shtml

1/10/2012 Best Western Signs Hotel in Patong, Phuket.
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news12/110-BestWestern.shtml

1/10/2012 Alila Ubud Prepares to Open Terrace Tree Villas.
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news12/110-AlilaUbud.shtml

1/10/2012 ATR Delivers First 72-600 in Livery of an Asian Carrier.
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news12/110-UniAir.shtml

1/10/2012 M&C Signs its First Resort Hotel in China.
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news12/110-MillenniumCopthorne.shtml

1/10/2012 Kenji Shiojima Wins Worldhotels' 2012 Leadership Award.
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news12/110-KenjiShiojima.shtml

1/10/2012 Brand Management and Reliability Valued in Upscale Chinese
Hotels.
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news12/110-Brands.shtml

1/10/2012 Lin Chiling Becomes Latest Mandarin Oriental 'Fan'.
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news12/110-LinChiling.shtml

1/10/2012 Etihad Airways to Increase Flights to Istanbul.
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news12/110-EtihadAirways.shtml

1/10/2012 Ras Al Khaimah Int. Airport Awards ARINC Major 10-Year Contract.
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news12/110-RasAlKhaimah.shtml

1/10/2012 New COO/EVP @ Air Canada.
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news12/110-AirCanada.shtml

1/10/2012 JAL and BA Begin to Share Revenue on Flights.
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news12/110-JapanAirlines.shtml

1/10/2012 Thai Airways Takes Delivery of First Airbus A380.
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news12/110-ThaiAirways.shtml

- Prefer the convenience of an RSS Feed? The ASIA Travel Tips daily travel
news RSS Feed is at:
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/travelnews.xml
____________________________________
Advertise here contact: webmaster@asiatraveltips.com

END

Established in 1998, ASIA Travel Tips was the first online daily travel news
service in Asia. If you know of any colleagues or friends who may be
interested in receiving our daily travel news email, please do ask them to
subscribe. Thank you.

To unsubscribe, simply reply to this email and place "unsubscribe" (in
English) as the subject. To change your email simply reply to this email and
place "change email" (in English as the subject, be sure to let us know both
the old email address as well as the one you wish to change to.

If you receive an error trying to connect to any of the above pages, please
go to http://www.asiatraveltips.com/LatestTravelNews.htm and use the links
there. If that fails please feel free to contact us:
webmaster@asiatraveltips.com

All editorial comments should be sent to the Editor - Steven Howard -
editor@asiatraveltips.com

Special Travel Trade and Media Rates -
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/TravelTradeRates.shtml

Calendar of Travel Trade Shows and Exhibitions -
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/TravelTradeShows.shtml

Latest Travel News - FAQ -
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/TravelNewsFAQ.shtml

Travel News Archives (since 2000) -
http://www.asiatraveltips.com/TravelNewsArchivesMenu1.shtml

To enquire about sponsorship opportunities please send an email to:
webmaster@asiatraveltips.com

http://www.asiatraveltips.com
____________________________________

Asia Travel Blog

Cathay Pacific Regional Business Class Unveiled

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 05:26 PM PDT

Cathay Pacific Regional Business Class Unveiled

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Asia Travel Blog

Sheraton Macao Hotel Landmark Opening Celebrated by Starwood Hotels

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 07:38 PM PDT

Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central, Landmark Opening Celebrated by Starwood Hotels

Friday, September 28, 2012

CNNGo.com

What's the big deal about mooncakes?
British Airways starts automatic check-in service. But is this new?
World to tourists: 'Stop stealing everything!'
'Asia's largest art museum' set to open in Shanghai
World's 10 best golf resorts

What's the big deal about mooncakes?

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 02:13 AM PDT

by Zoe Li

Mooncakes: can't avoid 'em, can't eat 'em. The traditional pastry eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival can have up to 1,000 calories per piece and most Chinese people admit that they don't even like the flavor.

According to Green Power, each Hong Kong family bought three boxes of mooncakes on average last year, but they discarded a total of 2.5 million mooncakes.

As our China editor Tracy You puts it: "It's just something I do because I'm Chinese, not because I like them."

So why is Hong Kong and mainland China caught up in mooncake madness every year during the Mid-Autumn Festival?

Come the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, bakeries set up their special mooncake counters just to service customers seeking a box of the pastries.

British Airways starts automatic check-in service. But is this new?

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 01:38 AM PDT

by CNNGo Staff

Waiting in line at the airport to check-in is a nuisance for everyone, and British Airways (BA) is claiming that by the end of next year, this will come to an end.

According to various media outlets, the airline is trialing a new service that will automatically check in passengers ahead of their flight -- part of a £5 billion (US$8.12 billion) investment program that BA is rolling out to improve passenger experience.

Selected BA passengers departing from French airports from this month will be checked in 24 hours prior to their flight, assigned a seat and allocated electronic boarding passes. All without having to wait.

"Customers have so much to think about prior to a trip, be that finishing up in the office or getting the kids' suitcases packed," said Frank van der Post, the airline's managing director of brands and customer experience.

"We're aiming to give them one less thing to think about by giving them the choice to be checked in automatically and sent their boarding pass electronically. Then they just need to drop off any bags and make their way to the plane."

World to tourists: 'Stop stealing everything!'

Posted: 27 Sep 2012 09:06 PM PDT

by CNNGo staff

Travel guides and websites are filled with advice for tourists on how not to get ripped off when visiting the world's great attractions.

But maybe it's the attractions that need tips on not getting pilfered by tourists.

From pieces of the Great Wall to live penguins, travelers looking for unique souvenirs will stuff almost anything they can into their luggage.

The latest uproar over theft of a public attraction comes from Boracay Island in the Philippines, where the magnificent white beach sands are suffering "blatant extraction" at the hands of the kinds of tourists that give the rest of us a bad name.

Responding to the threat to its most valuable natural resource, local officials passed an ordinance last week that greatly toughens the existing law for being caught carting off sand or pebbles from the Philippines' top tourist destination.

'Asia's largest art museum' set to open in Shanghai

Posted: 27 Sep 2012 03:20 PM PDT

by CNNGo staff

China's commercial heart Shanghai hopes to boost its international art profile by opening a ginormous exhibition space which is more than twice the size of Buckingham Palace (77,000 square meters), one of the world's largest palaces.

The city is banking on its new art landmark, the China Art Museum, to rival internationally renowned museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Musée d'Orsay in Paris in the near future.

Colossal culture center

The new China Art Museum (中华艺术宫) covers 166,000 square meters with 64,000 square meters of display space.

It is sited in the former China Pavilion, a legacy of the Shanghai 2010 Expo, and will open its doors to the public on October 1.

"Speaking of the size, China Art Museum is the largest art museum in China or even Asia," said Teng Junjie (滕俊杰), an official who was involved in the planning of the museum, as reported by China's state news agency Xinhua.

World's 10 best golf resorts

Posted: 27 Sep 2012 11:50 AM PDT

by Tony Smart

This weekend the 39th Ryder Cup tees off at the Medinah Country Club in Chicago, pitching the best golfers from the United States against the best from Europe. It's the third most watched TV sports event in the world after the soccer World Cup and the Olympics.

More importantly, it often gives golfing wannabes the fillip they need to finally book that week-long golfing break.

My criteria for choosing the world's top 10 golf resorts have been first, golf -- quality, condition and history of the courses; second, quality and luxury of the accommodation; third, the quality of the food and drink available; and finally the quality and variety of the other facilities available.

My list begins with what is, in my opinion, the best golf resort in the world and runs down to what I think is the 10th best, although there's very little difference between them.

I make no apologies for the fact that the first four are all in the United States. They simply do things bigger and better.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

CNNGo.com

AirAsia X launches child-free seating zones
Britain counts cost of Summer Olympics
Tokyo's best high-tech kids' activities
Pocket guide to Hanoi's Old Quarter

AirAsia X launches child-free seating zones

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 11:47 PM PDT

by Zoe Li

AirAsia is the latest carrier to offer child-free seating areas on its aircraft.

"We know that sometimes all you need is some peace and quiet for a more pleasant journey with us,'' the Malaysia-based airline said on its website.

The first seven rows of economy class on all AirAsia X flights, AirAsia's international operation, will ban under-12s, starting February 2013.

Also on CNN: The world's best airline for 2012 is ...

Click to enlarge -- AirAsia X flights now come with child-free areas. Passengers booked on AirAsia X flights next year can opt for the seats for an additional cost of RM 35 (US$11) or RM 110 -- the standard fee charged for picking specific seats in economy class and in the "hot seats" section, which provide more leg room.

Britain counts cost of Summer Olympics

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 09:30 PM PDT

by CNNGo Staff

The London Olympics may have earned Britain plenty of bronze, silver and gold, but the hoped-for record-breaking hordes of overseas visitors failed to show up, according to official figures.

The United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics says a total of 3.18 million foreign travelers visited in July -- 180,000 fewer than last year.

Around 2.12 million came from European countries, although Chinese and North American travelers made strong showings.

Total visitor spending of £2.01 billion (US$3.25 billion) also fell short of expectations as it was £120 million lower than the previous year.

More on CNN: London's Olympic legacy: Are the Games good for tourism?

Tokyo's best high-tech kids' activities

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 03:05 PM PDT

by Jason Jenkins

From its gleaming skyscrapers to its cuddly robots, Tokyo is no stranger to technological achievement.

For children interested in science and technology -- or for parents eager to spark that interest -- Japan's capital is the place for kids to get neck-deep in high-tech.

Here's our selection of six of the best nerdy, educational and, much of the time, astonishing venues to thrill even the most jaded of 21st-century children.

Gas Science Museum

High-tech kids Never before has a gas museum been so much fun.

The science and utility of natural gas: boring, right? You'd be surprised.

Pocket guide to Hanoi's Old Quarter

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 09:35 AM PDT

by Gemma Price

Hanoi Old Quarter The Green Tangerine in Hanoi's Old Quarter meets all expectations of colonial Asian seductiveness.

When you think of Hanoi, you're really thinking of the 36 meandering 13th-century streets of the city's storied Old Quarter.

Here are some of the best in-the-know addresses to call at in the Old Quarter.

Contemporary quarter

Hanoi Old Quarter Modern Vietnamese style lights up the interiors of Tan My Design.Hanoi's designers choose the antiquated setting of the Old Quarter to showcase their work.

See the best of Vietnamese style in clothes, jewelry and homewares on the streets of Nha Tho and Ly Quoc Su on the western fringe of the Hoan Keim Lake.