Top Stories
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Tokyo is the world’s most dynamic food city, even without the Michelin stars
DestinationsIn 2007, Michelin published its first-ever restaurant guide to Tokyo and awarded the city more stars than even Paris. Jean-Luc Naret, Michelin’s editorial director at the time, was emphatic: Tokyo, he said, was “by far the world’s capital of gastronomy,” a comment that seemed as much an indictment of Paris, and of France, as it [...]
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Plane-leasing company Aircastle aims to double its assets with help from Asia
TransportAircastle Ltd. aims to double its aircraft leasing assets to $10 billion over the next five years as rising travel in Asia spurs demand for planes. The jet-leasing company, which owns 159 aircraft, plans to invest $850 million this year, Chief Executive Officer Ron Wainshal said in an interview in Tokyo yesterday. Aircastle, based at [...]
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Expedia: AirAsia joint venture falls short but brand-building continues
TransportExpedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi concedes its AirAsia-Expedia joint venture is “not where we want it to be yet,” but he’s confident the new leadership, which combines AirAsia’s marketing know-how and local expertise and Expedia’s technology and product expertise, will propel it forward. “We have a strong service in Japan that’s driving the rest of the [...]
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Airbus could snatch up Boeing’s Japanese customers after Dreamliner chaos
TransportAirbus SAS is in discussions with Japan’s two biggest carriers about an order for its A350-1000, a long-range plane aimed at eroding Boeing Co.’s dominance in wide-body aircraft, three people familiar with the talks said. Negotiations with ANA Holdings Inc. and Japan Airlines Co. are advanced, and JAL may place an order by September to [...]
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Philippines tourism on the rise, but tough competition from region: report
DestinationsThe Philippine needs to be more competitive when it comes to its tourism industry, according to the latest report from the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB). In the report titled “Boosting Our Economy and Sustaining Economic Growth Through Tourism,” NSCB Secretary-General Jose Ramon Albert said that based on the latest statistics of the Department of [...]
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Mumbai’s Parsi cafe culture is a blend of people and cuisines
DestinationsI eat the best creme caramel of my life in 26C heat, with life-sized cutouts of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge smiling down at me from the dining room’s slightly slanting balcony. A pigeon snoozes on the lone chandelier, dusty beneath peeling turquoise paintwork, and ceiling fans whirr above crowded, chattering tables. I’m sitting [...]
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Japan mulls a trusted traveler program, sound familiar?
DestinationsThe government may simplify the immigration process to make it easier for foreign tourists to enter Japan and achieve its goal of bringing in 25 million visitors a year by 2020. A panel under the Justice Ministry that has discussed the topic since October 2011 is “in the process of finalizing its proposal,” an official [...]
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Singapore will fill its tallest building with a luxury hotel, apartments and offices
DestinationsSkidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, the 75-year-old American architecture, interior design and urban-planning firm better known as SOM, has revealed its design for Tanjong Pagar Centre, set to become Singapore’s tallest building upon its completion in 2016. Reaching 951ft (290m), the 64-storey, mixed-use tower will house offices and high-end apartments, a luxury hotel, retail units [...]
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Yokohama brands itself as “Japan’s First Port of Call” to get events business
DestinationsYokohama Convention & Visitors Bureau recently announced the new branding of Yokohama as Japan’s premier international convention city. “Japan’s First Port of Call” was designated as the selling message for Yokohama. The idea behind it comes from the City’s history, when 154 years ago, Yokohama was the first port that opened up to the world, [...]
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Changi Airport confirms plans for new mega-terminal to open in coming decade
TransportSingapore’s sprawling Changi Airport is set to get bigger – much bigger – with the opening of a new T5 terminal built to handle as many as 50 million passengers per year. The city-state’s Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew confirmed plans for the new super-sized T5 facility overnight, although the terminal won’t open until sometime in [...]
