Author: News Team

North Korea’s notorious pyramid-shaped hotel, dubbed the ‘Hotel of Doom’, is still incomplete, even though work was begun on it 25 years ago. Details of the strange-shaped hotel were not available to the outside world until now. Some details, and perhaps the first views of its interior, have now become accessible to the world through a Chinese media company that has been allowed access to it. Beijing-based Koryo Tours was given the chance of viewing the interior of the 105-storey Ryugyong Hotel, which is located in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. Work on the hotel started in the 1980s,…

Butlins, a chain of UK-based holiday camps, has announced an increase in profits with its latest accounts. The holiday company, now owned and run by Butlins Skyline Ltd, a subsidiary of Bourne Leisure, has announced that its 2011 profits have increased by 4.3 percent to GBP97.4m. Butlins’ annual turnover showed an increase of 1.4 percent over the same period in 2010, to GBP813.7 million, enabling the company to distribute a USD43.9 million dividend to its shareholders. The rise in the company’s fortunes is said to be due to two positive factors, a programme of modernisation and refurbishment that has been…

Easyjet, one of the UK’s major airlines, is offering two new routes from Manchester and Edinburgh, in the UK, to Reykjavik, Iceland. The airline will be flying a new service from Manchester Airport in England, to Reykjavik, twice weekly, on Thursdays and Saturdays, and from Edinburgh Airport in Scotland, to Reykjavik, on Mondays and Thursdays. Both of the routes commence from March 2013. Paul Simmons, the airline’s director in the UK, said, ‘We’re delighted to be expanding our flights from the UK to Reykjavik in response to the route’s growing popularity. The destination is proving popular for leisure and business…

Ryanair, an Ireland-based low cost airline, is offering a daily return flight to Brussels Charleroi airport in Belgium, from Dublin, Ireland. The new route between Brussels and Dublin is priced at €19 one way, with a morning and evening flight leaving daily, compared to a single daily flight that left previously. The extended route will be effective from November 7, 2012. The airline head of communications, Stephen McNamara, said, ‘Ryanair is delighted to announce an additional daily return flight (from November 7, 2012) between Brussels and Dublin to mark Ireland’s upcoming Presidency of the EU. European and Irish politicians can…

The city of London has triumphed at the World Travel Awards Europe, by taking the title for ‘Europe’s Leading City Breaks Destination.’ Undoubtedly aided by its impressive handling of this summer’s Olympic Games, the UK’s capital city beat off competition from Venice in Italy; St. Petersburg in Russia; Madrid in Spain; Prague in the Czech Republic; and Paris, France, to take the coveted title. The awards, which were held at Conrad, Algarve, Portugal, drew tourism VIP’s and media from 35 countries, and London’s award was only one of several that were bestowed across the industry at the Gala Ceremony. Paris-based…

The Japanese, who are known to have a penchant for luxury, are now welcoming cheap flights to their nation. Three low-cost airlines have started operating in the country and are offering different flight options for customers who are yet to grasp the concept of low-cost airlines. AirAsia Japan, Peach Aviation and Jetstar Japan have started offering services, and it is expected that the move could change the lifestyles of citizens in the country. It is expected that the cheap flights will encourage more travel among the Japanese and break their habit of confining air travel to business trips. Luxury vacations…

Egencia, a US-based online travel company, is reporting that average airfares from London are expected to fall in 2013. The company research predicts that airfares will decrease, following the expected stagnation in hotel rates in 2013. The airfares are likely to fall by around 3 percent from London area airports in 2013, although airfares may increase by around 3 percent in Europe, and up to 5 percent in North America, and the Asia-Pacific region. Rob Greyber, the company president, said, ‘The global economy is volatile, and we’ve seen some deterioration in CEO (chief executive officer) sentiment in recent months. But…

Qantas Airways, the national airline of Australia, has released its new schedule for flights from the UK. The new timetable will be effective from April 1, 2013, when its joint operations with UK based British Airways comes to an end after 17 years. The new timetable will reflect the new 10-year global partnership with Emirates Airlines, a UAE-based airline company. The airline has reported that its daily flights to London Heathrow airport, from Melbourne and Sydney, will be rerouted through Dubai airport in the UAE, instead of its previous stop at Singapore. The airline has announced that ‘Dubai will become…

Virgin America has been named the ‘Best Premium Class’ airline among domestic airlines in the US, in the Conde Nast Traveller’s 2012 Business Travel Poll. The survey is an annual, independent event that polls the magazine’s business travellers. This year, the poll ranked Virgin America as the top US airline for Premium Class service, and this is the fifth year that the company has achieved the award. The ranking has been reported in the October issue of Conde Nast Traveller, which should be available now. An independent firm that conducted the survey asked over 46,000 Conde Nast Traveller readers to…

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc has announced that it has launched a campaign to make travel agents aware of its portfolio of hotels and services. The company said that its new resorts campaign has been designed to educate travel professionals on more than 200 resorts in its global portfolio. The campaign started this week and the company said that the opportunity could be used by travel agents to ‘Explore Destinations, Experience Luxury, Earn Rewards’ at www.starwoodpro.com. To begin with, travel professionals are briefed with a visual, a four-minute video that focuses on the company’s resort portfolio. The video will…