Author: Shawon Hannan
People of all ages love ice cream and there’s no better refreshment during the summer time. Especially people who were lucky enough to have tasted original Italian ice cream know that the Italians have perfected the art of making ice cream. Since Italian ice cream has become a seal of quality, Italy will soon open the doors to the first museum in the world that is dedicated totally to ice cream. The museum itself is located in Anzola Dell’Emilia near Bologna in Northern Italy. If you are planning to spend a vacation in Italy, paying the museum for ice cream…
Tourists have been welcomed back to Huangshan Mountain in China by the authorities who had closed the site for safety reasons. The mountain site had been closed due to typhoon Haikui and has now re-opened. The site, a UNESCO World Heritage site in east China’s Anhui Province, had been closed for a short time as typhoon Haikui made her presence felt in the region. Authorities had evacuated 19,000 people before the typhoon arrived on Wednesday. The typhoon had lashed the area with heavy winds and rains and some damage was inflicted on structures in the area. Tourism activities had to…
Israel is becoming a popular destination for its rich wine-making tradition. The nation has a thriving wine industry and tour operators are now promoting conducted tours that seek to link the culture, history and politics of the nation with the equally important wine industry. Wine tourism is important to Israel’s wine industry to increase consumption and to encourage more people to enjoy its wines, and wine tourism from overseas clients is particularly valued. For the tourist, Israel offers 5,000 years of winemaking history, and those trying to get a grasp of the industry will also interact with the nation’s agriculture,…
The whole world is looking on London at the moment. The XXX Olympic Games fascinate people all over the world – whether they are in front of their TVs at home or were lucky enough to get tickets for the Games to watch the participants perform live. The only downside to attending the Games live is that it is a very expensive pleasure. Whereas visitors from the UK may very well either live in London or have relatives or friends there, people from other countries or even continents have to pay a lot more. The costs for flights, hotels, food etc.…
US cities, Portland and Seattle, have been attracting the attention of tourists who are visiting them following their depiction in the novel, Fifty Shades of Grey. The novel, which is being hailed as an erotic best seller, is expected to increase tourist flows into the two cities. Many of the ‘important’ scenes in the novel take place in Seattle and Portland, and with plans afoot for a film version of the book, the cities are attracting more tourists who are keen to soak up the novel’s ambience. Hotels and service companies have reported higher bookings, supposedly due to inquisitive customers…
TUI Travel PLC (LSE: TT), a UK-based travel company, has reported that travel bookings in the UK market have increased in the third quarter of 2012, ended June 30, 2012. The company, considered to be one of the major players in the travel sector in the UK, has reported that 63 percent of its bookings are from the UK for the summer of 2012, up by 7 percent from last year. Peter Long, the chief executive officer of the company, said, ‘We are pleased with our performance, driven by our strategy of differentiated and exclusive product with a focus on…
ScotRail, the railway network in Scotland, has announced the commencement of a half-hourly Sunday service for its Edinburgh to Glasgow via Falkirk route, which will commence from September 9, 2012. The expansion of the services means the addition of around 12 more trains on the route, with the provision of an extra 2,250 seats every Sunday. Steve Montgomery, the company managing director, said, ‘These improvements to Sunday services between Edinburgh and Glasgow are a real boost for rail users. We recognise that people’s travelling patterns continue to change and these new, more frequent services offer even more opportunities for people…
UK-based InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced a boost in the sales of its Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands in the UK due, to the 2012 Olympic games. IHG has reported that its brand images for Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express have increased with business travellers, owing to its role as the official hospitality partner for the games. As part of its Olympic programme, Holiday Inn is also the brand operating the athletes’ village, which is located close to the main stadium in Stratford, London. The occupancy rates for the brands’ 51 properties in and around London…
Hong Kong Airlines, an airline based in Hong Kong, China, has announced the cancellation of flights between Hong Kong and London Gatwick Airport in the UK. The airline is terminating its all-business class flights from September 10, 2012, and will focus on the Asia-Pacific region, after reporting that the ongoing fragile economic conditions in Europe, as well as strengthening of economic conditions in Asia, had influenced its decision. Yang Jian Hong, the airline president, said, ‘We believe that a regional model focused on Asia Pacific is most appropriate for Hong Kong Airlines at this stage of our growth. Our key…
Hilton Worldwide hotels in the UK have been awarded the Carbon Saver Gold Standard in recognition of their carbon management practices. All of the company’s UK properties have been on a mission for the last three years to lower their carbon emissions. The company uses a proprietary sustainability measurement system, LightStay, which examines around 200 operational practices, and suggests sustainable measures for adoption. The system has helped to control carbon emissions in several of the hotels’ operational areas, including housekeeping, the use of paper, food wastage, chemical storage, the quality of air, and transportation. Darren Cook, the senior director of…