Author: Shawon Hannan

China-based BeijingFeeling.com, a travel service company in Beijing, is offering a novel travel service to Beijing. The company has announced its Beijing Feeling Tour Service, which includes Old and New Beijing tour packages. The firm said that under the Old Beijing Feeling Tour package, tourists would be taken to visit the old Hutongs in Beijing and the ancient Great Wall of China. The tours would highlight the structures that were characteristic of old Beijing, and which added to its historical splendour. In contrast to the Old Beijing Feeling Tour is the New Beijing Tour, which essentially highlights the modern aspects…

Holiday Inn Express, a hotel brand from UK based InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), has announced the opening of three new Holiday Inn Express hotels in the UK. The new Holiday Inn Express hotels have opened in Braintree, Shrewsbury and Birmingham, after being converted from Hampton by Hilton hotel properties. Kew Green Hotels will operate the properties. The chief development officer for IHG Europe, Robert Shepherd, said, ‘Holiday Inn Express is one of the fastest growing mid-scale hotel brands in the industry, opening on average two hotels per week around the world. They’re a great hotel choice for guests on the…

New Year is a magical holiday all over the world, and we in the UK definitely know how to mark the occasion in style. Wherever you are and however you see it in, there’s nothing quite like hearing the chimes of Big Ben announcing the start of another year, indulging in a collective off-key sing-along of Auld Lang Syne, and embracing your loved ones in celebration. Whether for you, New Year is the perfect time to go wild and indulge before the January resolutions begin, or if you’d much rather just take the time to truly relax and kick back,…

Aer Lingus Regional, a service operated by Irish regional airline, Aer Arann, under a franchise agreement with Aer Lingus, an Ireland-based airline, is set to withdraw its base at Waterford Airport in Ireland, from 2013. The airline will be terminating its routes from Waterford Airport to Manchester, London Luton and London Southend airports in England, from New Year 2013. The airline chief executive officer, Graham Doyle, said, ‘We have been aware of Aer Arann’s difficulties since before their examinership in 2010 and continued to work with them through these challenges. Regrettably, however, the airline has limited its capacity on the…

Dublin, Ireland, will be hosting next year’s TBEX Europe travel bloggers conference, one of the largest conferences, worldwide, for travel bloggers. Rick Calvert, the chief executive of TBEX, a community of travel bloggers, said, ‘We are very excited to have chosen as the destination for our event in October, 2013. We’ll be hosting hundreds of travel bloggers and travel industry professionals from all over the world for two days of comprehensive educational programming and engaging networking events. Our delegates will be sharing their unique Dublin discoveries and experiences with the world online. We couldn’t have chosen a better destination, as…

The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), the central agency for passenger rail operators in the UK, has reported that most rail passengers will be unaffected by a series of planned improvement works that are expected to be carried out between the Christmas and New Year holiday period. As the upcoming holiday period is going to see a slow down in passenger traffic, new statistics from the agency show that number of replacement buses will be much less than the same period last year. The majority of rail routes in the UK will stay open despite the planned improvement work.…

Hyatt Hotels, the US-based hospitality company that owns brands such as Hyatt, Park Hyatt, Andaz, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency and others, is reporting that a company affiliate has acquired the Hyatt Regency Birmingham hotel in the UK. The hotel, which was only partly owned by the company affiliate, will now be fully owned for a price of GBP27 million. Tim Flodin, the general manager at Hyatt Regency Birmingham, said, ‘The team at the hotel is delighted at the news that a Hyatt affiliate has purchased the hotel, and as one of the most popular hotels in the city amongst both…

Air New Zealand, a New Zealand-based airline company, has announced the withdrawal of services between Hong Kong and London Heathrow Airport in the UK. The services will be terminated, effective from March 4, 2013. The airline has confirmed that there will be no changes to its daily London Heathrow to Auckland service, via Los Angeles, in the US. The airline, which has conducted a comprehensive review of the Hong Kong to London service, has reported that the route has become unprofitable to operate. The termination of the service will lead to job losses for around 70 of the airline’s London-based…

The DoubleTree by Hilton hotel brand is to open its new DoubleTree by Hilton Dundee hotel in Scotland, after Hilton Worldwide, the brand owner, entered into a franchise agreement with BDL Select Operations Limited. The new hotel will be converted from the previous Landmark Hotel, a 95-guestroom property, and is expected to open in spring of 2013. The hotel will be located in a 100-year-old listed mansion house, and its neighbouring gardens. Patrick Fitzgibbon, the Hilton Worldwide senior vice president of development, for Europe and Africa, said, ‘DoubleTree by Hilton is one of our most successful growth brands in the…

Megabus, a city-to-city express bus service operating in the UK, is offering complimentary seats as part of its winter promotion. The low cost transport operator is offering around 10,000 complimentary seats on its coach networks in England and Wales. The offer is available for travel on weekdays between January 14, and February 28, 2013, and may be booked online at the megabus.com website. The general manager of megabus.com, Ian Laing, said, ‘Everybody loves a bargain and we hope this huge seat giveaway will help our passengers beat the winter blues. We have a loyal customer base and we’re delighted to…