Top Stories
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Dubai hotel goes overboard with iPads: Hands out $10,000, gold-plated tablets
DestinationsGuests at the self-proclaimed world’s most-luxurious hotel, the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, are being bestowed with a new privilege on arrival – a gold-plated iPad. As lesser hotels struggle to provide free wi-fi, guests at the Burj Al Arab, one the world’s tallest hotels, are being offered one of the 24-carat devices, worth £6,715, [...]
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Gatwick boss decries state of airport shuttle while ignoring state of airport
TransportRemember that time you took the Gatwick Express into town, only there weren’t any seats left, so you had to sit on the roof? Or the time you were delayed for two hours because a farmer was herding his cows across the line at East Croydon, and all the local traders popped up to sell [...]
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Where does the world’s largest aircraft A380 mostly fly? Asia, of course
TransportThere are 103 A380s in service as of early May-2013. Emirates has 33 and Singapore Airlines has 19, so when assessing network scheduling, these two and their hubs predominate: of the 1,048 weekly A380 flights, 402 are from Emirates alone. Dubai and Singapore airport see the most A380 flights. But there are some less predictable [...]
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Caribbean island’s tourism bleeds after Virgin Atlantic cuts capacity
TransportThere is a very fine line when writing a column like this. The risk of being branded as a pessimist is high. I only hope that readers will focus on the message that I am trying to convey and perhaps apply some of the content objectively to look at issues in a broader, more holistic [...]
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Asian hotel groups fight for their share of China’s growing tourism sector
DestinationsThe Carlyle hotel overlooking New York’s Central Park exudes glamour, history and, most of all, fabulous wealth. And for nearly two years, it has been owned and run by the Hong Kong family behind one of China’s most common high-street jewellery chains. The Cheng family, which runs New World Group, made its fortune with the Chow [...]
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Rhode Island beaches rush to finish Hurricane Sandy repairs before summer
DestinationsSeven months after Superstorm Sandy pummeled Rhode Island’s southern shore, the great mounds of sand are gone, and the twisted metal and splintered wood hauled away, replaced by workers and backhoes as beachfront businesses hurry to complete repairs before the arrival of another New England summer. Hammers and drills drown out the sound of the [...]
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Fashion brands flock to Hong Kong to greet shopaholic Chinese tourists
DestinationsArmed with empty suitcases and same-day return tickets, an army of mainland Chinese is descending on suburban outlet shopping malls and international fashion chains in Hong Kong, turning cheap into the new chic as luxury falls out of favor. Wealthy Chinese used to stop over in Hong Kong for a few days to pick up [...]
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Orlando theme parks brace themselves for SeaWorld’s new Antarctica attraction
DestinationsThree years ago, Harry Potter loosened Mickey Mouse’s grip on Orlando’s theme-park market. Now, Puck the Penguin is ready to try pulling Mickey’s fingers even farther apart. After more than a year of construction, SeaWorld Orlando this week will open Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin, a nearly 4-acre, multiattraction “land” built to look like the [...]
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Saudi Arabia’s tourism challenge: Strict religious principles dominate discussion
DestinationsLife has taken me to Saudi Arabia a lot this year. Together with my fellow Hotelier columnist, Martin Kubler, I was a judge on the Saudi Commission for Tourism & Antiquities’ third annual Saudi Excellence in Tourism Awards, which gave us a unique perspective on this archetypically introverted country. Outsiders could be pardoned for asking: [...]
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North America’s biggest casino thinks expansion will solve its problems
DestinationsConnecticut’s Foxwoods Resort Casino faces daunting hurdles as it joins a crowded race for the lucrative destination resort business in Massachusetts. It’s been grappling with falling revenue and significant debt at its eastern Connecticut site and now must face down organized local opposition and strong competition in Massachusetts as it tries to expand in southern [...]
