Author: Shawon Hannan
Any island resort of note usually has at least one golf course to its name, but some are better than others, valuing what an 18-hole course can do for its fortunes and prestige. Many small island nations who are worried about sinking below sea level as a consequence of global warming are thinking of innovative solutions to their problem. The Maldives is one such country, and to try and ensure that it remains a popular tourist destination for golf breaks with yourgolftravel.com, it has come up with a radical idea. In conjunction with a major architectural firm, the Maldivian government…
Network Rail, a company that operates the railway network in the UK, will be developing a new traffic management system for the entire rail network across the country. The new automated system will be able to control large parts of the network from a number of control points, allowing for better capability and performance across the entire network. The system will include real-time planning, resolution of conflicts, and the reprogramming of areas of control, all through a single operational information system. The network’s new traffic management system will consolidate around 800 signal boxes into 14 modern rail operating centres, and…
Midland Metro, a UK tram system operated by National Express, a subsidiary of Travel West Midlands, for Centro, the transport authority, has been given an award for its passenger safety measures. The Secured by Design organisation and the Association of Chief Police Officers have awarded Midland Metro with a Safer Tram Stop Award for its system. The award recognises a number of initiatives recently offered by the Safer Travel Partnership, including Centro, West Midlands Police, British Transport Police and National Express, for increased passenger safety on the networks. Councillor Roger Horton, the lead member for Transforming Rail in Centro, said,…
Accor SA, a France-based hotel company will be opening four new hotels in the UK by the end of this year. The company is opening a Novotel and ibis hotel in Blackfriars, London, a second ibis hotel in Shepherd’s Bush, in London, and a new Mercure brand property, in Greenwich, London, all scheduled to open in October 2012. In 2012, the company is opening a total of 1,000 additional guestrooms in the capital, with six new hotel openings in total, and extensions added to existing hotels. The company is also intending to completely refurbish around 12 of its London hotels…
Yosemite National Park in the USA has received a large number of cancellations after tourists were discouraged from visiting by the prospects of contacting the hantavirus. The national park’s visitor numbers are suffering after news spread that some tourists staying in the national park’s cabins contacted the rare and sometimes deadly hantavirus. It was reported that two visitors staying in cabins in the Boystown section of Curry Village, had been infected. On Thursday, the number of infections was reported to be six, triggering the consternation among potential visitors. It is believed that deer mice transmit the virus, and humans come…
The states of Taiwan and South Korea are to collaborate on building medical tourism facilities in the nation. The two nations have agreed to enhance cooperation and collaboration to improve medical tourism, after they identified their comparative strengths within the growing market and set about creating a cooperative to mutually maximise those strengths. Recently, a Taiwanese group visited South Korea to learn how to expand medical tourism, and in the interests of helping each other in the common initiative, health and travel professionals in both nations have agreed to expand such exchanges. The Taiwanese delegation visited local hospitals and learned…
Tourists visiting Vietnam could face problems with restrooms, as it is believed that the nation does not have enough to cater to the increasing number of visitors. It is believed that restrooms at tourist destinations in Vietnam only meet about 30 percent of demand, and that this could affect tourists’ perceptions of the country as well as affecting the environment. The issue has attracted the attention of the nation’s top tourism officials. During a videoconference that was held recently between tourism officials and experts from Ha Noi, HCM City and Da Nang, it was decided that the matter would receive…
Reports are claiming that a mystery consortium is assessing the feasibility of creating a new four-runway airport near to Heathrow. The consortium, comprising a group of unnamed businesses, us believed to have commissioned an infrastructure firm to assess possible locations on the outskirts of north and west London, according to reports in the Daily Mail and the Independent on Sunday. Financing has also reportedly been on the consortiums agenda, with claims that it is negotiating with Chinese sovereign wealth funds with regards to funding for the £40bn to £50bn project. The Independent on Sunday quoted an industry source as saying:…
Some of the best known hotel groups operating in the UK have been accused of excluding VAT from the headline prices on their on-line booking sites. The omission of the VAT element from the shown price has drawn accusations that the hotel chains are misleading their customers and breaching regulations, following an investigation by consumer watchdog and magazine publisher, Which?. According to Which?, 11 of the 24 hotel chains used by its readers did not initially show the tax in their pricing, an omission of 20 percent on the price of a room. By not showing VAT in their pricing,…
A UK based online cruise travel agent, www.cruise.co.uk has acquired the domain name www.cruises.co. The new domain has been acquired for a payment of around $80,000, and the company can use the new name from 2013. Seamus Conlon, the managing director of Cruise.co.uk, said, ‘People may have thought that we were crazy in spending so much money on the purchase of www.cruises.co.uk but it has certainly paid for itself as it is now the largest cruise community in the UK. As the Internet develops further, it’s becoming more and more important to have the right URLs and that’s why we…