TTGWeb | Travel News

Koh Lanta has long been one of Thailand’s best kept secrets as a laid back island paradise to get away from the crowds in Phuket and Krabi. Now AmazingLanta.com has launched a new service to make it easy to find and rent holiday villas on Koh Lanta. Unlike the burgeoning villa rental market in Phuket, it’s only comparatively recently that holiday villas for rent have begun appearing on Koh Lanta because development has been deliberately slow on the island. Located only a couple of hours journey from Krabi or Phuket airport, Koh Lanta is popular with families, backpackers and scuba divers alike as a place to find some peace and quiet, but still be near great beachside bars and restaurants. Read the rest

Accor the largest international operator of hotels in Indonesia today announced further growth of its hotel network, with eight new projects throughout the country. The eight new projects which will all open before the end of 2012 include hotels in Padang, Surabaya, Manado, Balikpapan, Kuta, Denpasar, Jakarta and Bangka.

Commenting on the progress to date and the prospects of Accor’s development and growth in Indonesia Michael Issenberg – Accor Asia Pacific Chairman and Chief Operating Officer said “Indonesia with its strong economy and strengthening domestic travel volumes offers significant opportunity for development. This development is leveraged off Accor’s already strong network, diverse brand presence and significant in country infrastructure supporting organic growth of our managed hotel portfolio throughout the archipelago.”

Accor currently operates 39 hotels throughout Indonesia, which will increase to 40 hotels by years end. Thereafter, 10 new hotels will be added in 2011 and 5 more in 2012 taking the network to 55 hotels and 9,500 rooms by 2012. Read the rest

Resorts World Sentosa, the first integrated resort in Singapore, will start a phased opening on January 20th, 2010 with four of its hotels opening on the same day. Resorts World Sentosa’s four hotels – Festive Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel Singapore, Crockfords Tower and Hotel Michael – offer a combined inventory of 1,350 rooms and 10 restaurant outlets at their opening. Another two hotels at the Resort, Equarius Hotel and Spa Villas, will add another 500 rooms when they launch after 2010. Room and restaurant reservations will begin on Monday, January 11th, 2010 Read the rest

EVA Air will start direct passenger flights between Taipei, Taiwan and Toronto, Canada on Monday, March 29, 2010. For countless residents of Toronto and Eastern Canada who fly back and forth to Asia for family, business and leisure, the new service will shave hours off of travel time and make trip planning significantly more convenient. EVA is introducing the service with three flights a week. Read the rest

Singapore Airlines (SIA) – arguably among the world’s best-run, most profitable major airlines in the past – has announced a whopping loss for the April-June quarter of this year, blaming the world economic crisis, the H1N1 pandemic and losses on fuel hedging.

Not mentioned by the airline, but possibly another factor, is an ongoing boycott by Indian travel agents furious at having had their 5% commission on ticket sales cancelled. The boycott has been going on since the end of last year, and means that anyone in India wishing to travel by SIA can now book only at the SIA offices there, or online. Lufthansa and British Airways, too, are being boycotted for the same reason. Read the rest

Crowne Plaza Changi Airport has been awarded “Green Globe” by the non-profit environmental organization EC3. In its first annual ‘Earthcheck’ assessment against benchmarking indicators and checklists to track performance in key areas of environmental and social impact, the 320-room hotel outperformed baseline levels in seven areas including water savings, use of paper products, cleaning products and pesticides. Read the rest

Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon G. Adelson and other senior executives celebrated the topping off of the three hotel towers at the company’s Marina Bay Sands property in Singapore. To clarify any ambiguities concerning the property’s opening date the company issued the following statement:

“The company has said on previous occasions that it is targeting an early 2010 opening for its Marina Bay Sands integrated resort in Singapore. That plan remains the same, and although we do not have an exact date, we are making every effort to open the property by February 15, 2010. Read the rest

Presently known as Hotel Ukraina, Rezidor’s new flagship Radisson Royal Hotel, Moscow is one of the city’s most famous landmarks. Currently under extensive renovation, the new Radisson Royal Hotel featuring 507 guest rooms and 38 serviced apartments is scheduled to open its doors on December 1st 2009. Read the rest

Accor, the largest international hotel operator in Thailand, opened of two beachfront Mercure resorts on Southern Thailand Island – Samui (Koh Samui) – Mercure Samui Buri and Mercure Samui Fenix.

Mercure Samui Buri Resort marks Accor’s first mid-scale hotel on the island. The hotel is situated on the secluded northern Maenam Beach, a beach that remains a secret paradise. The waters are calm and shallow for most of the year, the sandy beach is long, and has stunning vistas of Pha Ngan Island. The location is perfect for couples on a honeymoon or those in need of a relaxing break. Read the rest

Turkish Airlines will launch flights from Istanbul to Toronto – the cultural capital of Canada on 11th July 2009. The flights to Toronto will be operated 3 times a week on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Istanbul-Toronto flight will depart at 11:30 and arrive at 15:40. Toronto-Istanbul flight will depart at 23:50 and arrive at 17:30. Read the rest