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Resorts World Sentosa opening first four hotels on January 20th »

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 to start direct flights between Taipei and Toronto »

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 losing, AirAsia gaining »

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 Awarded Green Globe »

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

Marina Bay Sands in Singapore planned opening by February 15, 2010 »

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

Hotel Ukraina in Moscow to become Radisson Royal Hotel »

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 opens two Mercure resorts on Koh Samui »

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 to Launch Flights to Toronto »

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

AirAsia Drops Admin Fees to Stimulate Travel »

With the aim of further stimulating travel and tourism in Malaysia and the region, AirAsia is abolishing the administration fee from its fare structure. This presents further real savings to AirAsia guests as they now only have to fork out the seat fare and airport tax.

‘No Admin Fee’ as it is aptly called, will come into effect for bookings made for all AirAsia and AirAsia X flights from 24th June 2009. From this date, AirAsia.com will display All-In Fares (fare + airport tax) throughout the booking process. This ensures transparency from the advertised price to selecting your flight and paying for it on AirAsia.com Read the rest

Russia’s S7 Airlines to join oneworld alliance »

Russia’s leading domestic airline, S7 Airlines, is to join oneworld airline alliance. After being unanimously elected on board by the grouping’s existing ten member airlines, which include some of the best and biggest names in the industry, S7 will become part of oneworld, offering the alliance’s full range of services, benefits and fares, during 2010. Read the rest