04/11/2011 issue : 14025

Sri Lankan online visa scheme to start in 2012

Sri Lanka's online visa application system for visitors will go into operation from beginning of next year. According to Immigration and Emigration Department controller general, Chulananda Perera, the new Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) system will enable travellers to obtain online visa approval within 24 hours of submitting an application for short-term stays. Read More>

14/09/2011 issue : 13749

Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar get Visa-Free Entry to Indonesia

Indonesia extends its 30-day visa-free entry to Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar passport holders. This new development allows all ASEAN member countries to avail of the visa-free travel arrangements to the country. Read More>

07/07/2011 issue : 13314

Delta Amends Various Baggage Fees and Allowances Beginning July 1, 2011

Delta Air Lines is amending various baggage fees and allowances for Delta and Delta Connection flights. These amendments are in addition to previously-announced amendments to policies that began on June 1, 2011. The changes, which are effective for tickets issued on or after July 1, 2011 for all applicable travel dates, are being implemented to provide fee simplification and harmonization for international travel regions. For complete and detailed information on all of Delta's baggage policies and fees, visit http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/baggage/index.jsp

27/06/2011 issue : 13253

GovHK: Registration of Outbound Travel Information 'ROTI'

Before you travel outside Hong Kong, you can use this online service to register your contact details and itinerary. The information you provided allows the Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit of the Hong Kong Immigration Department to contact and assist you in an emergency outside Hong Kong. You will also receive updates on Outbound Travel Alert (OTA) and related public information via SMS to your mobile phone if your registered destination is covered by the OTA System of the HKSAR Government. Read More>

19/04/2011 issue : 12955

Information of Visa on arrival into Bangkok, effective 01APR2011

Thai Airways International has issue a newsletter of Visa on arrival in BKK effective 01APR2011. Read more>

18/04/2011 issue : 12945

Kenya brings back US$50 per person visa fee

Kenya will reinstate the US$50 per person visa fee starting July 1 of this year. Read More>

16/04/2011 issue : 12908

Yellow Fever Requirement for Travellers to Tanzania

Please be informed that according to directive issued by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Tanzania recently, ALL international travellers will be required to show proof of yellow fever vaccination before gaining entry into the country. This requirement takes effect immediately. Read More>

30/03/2011 issue : 12854

Macau SAR Visa on Arrival updates

Holders of Macau SAR Passports can now obtain visas of tourist and business purposes upon their arrival at the international check points of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

18/03/2011 issue : 12785

Visa waiver agreements with Brazil

The European Council concluded two agreements between the EU and Brazil which allow their citizens to travel to the other territory without a visa for stays of up to three months during a six-month period.

31/01/2012 issue : 14306

Myanmar to introduce e-visas

The online visa system would be tested before being officially introduced. Myanmar's government introduced a visa on arrival (VOA) system on May 1, 2010 that allowed foreign visitors from any country avail of a VOA at Yangon and Mandalay international airports without having to make prior arrangements with a travel management company but was suspended just four months later by the Department of Immigration and National Registration. VOAs are currently permitted for passengers on Myanmar Airways International flights arriving from Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in Cambodia and China's Guangzhou.

31/01/2012 issue : 14305

Qatar Airways to open new premium lounge at London Heathrow

Qatar Airways is set to open its new Premium Lounge at London Heathrow in Terminal 4 dedicated to First and Business Class passengers outside its Doha hub. Designed to resemble a boutique hotel or private member's club rather than a conventional airport lounge to provide the ultimate in luxury and Five-Star service. Qatar Airways recruited lounge staff from Five Star hotels and restaurants to work in the theatre-style Global Brasserie kitchen, innovative Delicatessen, and elegant Signature Martini bar. The lounge also includes private shower facilities, with heated floors and mirrors, hotel-style towels and luxury brand toiletries and amenities. Business and leisure travellers can stay connected with free Wi-Fi throughout the lounge, discreet power sockets at every seat and a business centre that includes PCs and printers.

28/01/2012 issue : 14296

Hilton Maldives launches Maldives first champagne bar

Hilton Maldives Iru Fushi has now opened the first dedicated champagne bar in the Maldives. The aptly titled 'Bubble Lounge' will complete the resorts outstanding range of innovative food and beverage offering, and guests will be presented with the champagne list on an Apple iPad. Featuring only the finest selection of champagne and sparkling wines, the Bubble Lounge will stock a minimum of 50 varieties at any time, ten of which - including Dom Perrignon - will be available by the glass. The extensive champagne list will include Grande Marque champagnes amongst other fashionable brands and limited edition vintages.

18/01/2012 issue : 14279

No more shark fin, blue fin tuna, chilean sea bass @ Shangri-La

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has launched a Sustainable Seafood Policy, which includes the commitment to cease serving shark fin in all of its operated restaurants, as well as accepting new orders for shark fin products in banqueting, is with immediate effect. The hotel company has confirmed however, that future banquet bookings made prior to this new policy will still be honoured as per the signed contractual agreement. Shangri-La also has plans to phase out blue fin tuna and Chilean sea bass in all its operated restaurants within the year.

16/01/2012 issue : 14278

Qantas flies A380 to Hong Kong

Qantas has launched Airbus A380 services to Hong Kong. The city becomes the fourth A380 destination in the Qantas network, and will be served four times a week from Sydney, on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The Qantas A380 seats 450 passengers in a four-class configuration, with 14 seats in first class, 72 seats in business class, 32 in premium economy and 332 in economy.

16/01/2012 issue : 14276

Malaysia Airlines moves to paperless cockpits

Malaysia Airlines is introducing new technology which will lead to the removal of all paper from cockpits. The new software suite includes all flight information stored in applications on a tablet, including an e-document viewer, e-charts viewer, airport moving map, performance calculation, e-flight folder and e-forms. It will also include cellular communications for transferring data back to the ground. The application will be rolled out on the airline's brand new Airbus A330 fleet aircraft by July 2012, before being introduced to the rest of the airline's A330 fleet.

14/01/2012 issue : 14275

Accor takes over Nikko Hotel in Jakarta

Accor is set to take over management of the Nikko Hotel in Jakarta and will be rebranded as the Hotel Pullman Jakarta Indonesia on Thursday. Refurbishment programme will begin after the rebranding on hotel rooms, the lobby and restaurants, as well as the establishment of meeting rooms and a ballroom that can host up to 1,000 guests for meetings, conventions and other major events. The hotel will be the second Pullman hotel in Jakarta and the third one in Indonesia after the launch of Pullman Jakarta Central Park in November and Pullman Legian Nirwana in Bali in February last year.

12/01/2012 issue : 14272

Park Hyatt opens in Ningbo

The Park Hyatt Ningbo Resort and Spa is set to open in the eastern coastal city of Ningbo and will be the first Park Hyatt-branded resort in China. The property offers 236 guestrooms, including 17 suites and 10 free-standing villas. Guests can dine in the main dining room, outdoors, or in one of ten private pavilions catering to parties between six and 16 guests, with a majority of the pavilions offering a private entrance, lounge, washroom and dedicated butler.

11/01/2012 issue : 14264

IHG to open Holiday Inn Express in Kuala Lumpur

The 200 rooms Holiday Inn Express Bukit Bintang is slated to open in 2015. The hotel will offer guests complimentary breakfast and complimentary WiFi throughout the hotel, a self-service business centre and gym as well as a lounge and bar. Globally, there are currently 2,103 Holiday Inn Express hotels located across major cities, with nearly 470 hotels under development. In Asia Pacific, the brand is expanding rapidly from its current 31 hotels and will open new hotels in Singapore, India, Thailand and Indonesia within the next few years. The first Holiday Inn Express in Southeast Asia is set to open in Bangkok early next year.

10/01/2012 issue : 14257

Galaxy Macau adds cinema complex and multi-purpose facility

Galaxy Macau integrated resort, offering more entertainment and event venue options to leisure and MICE clients with two new attractions. The UA Galaxy Cinemas, a nine-screen cinema complex, includes a Grand Theatre with balcony boxes and four VIP Directors' Clubs offering an exclusive five-star dining and service experience. All nine theatres are equipped with 3D-enabled screens, state-of-the-art projection and digital sound systems with a seating capacity of a 1,000 people. The other new addition to the integrated resort is East Square, a multi-purpose leisure and entertainment facility with a 19m-high atrium, multiple LED walls, a broadcast studio and a limousine drop-off area at the main entrance, making it an ideal venue for red carpet and special events.

10/01/2012 issue : 14255

Hong Kong Airlines announce Taipei and Kaohsiung routes

Hong Kong Airlines has been granted traffic rights between Hong Kong and Taiwan and will launch four daily passenger flights and all-cargo services with 650 tonnes per week on Taipei or Kaohsiung routes, commencing in the first quarter of 2012. The addition of these two cities further extends Hong Kong Airlines extensive network of onward connections, including Shanghai and Tokyo, from the daily all Club Class service launching from London Gatwick on 8 March 2012.

10/01/2012 issue : 14254

Anantara opens first Vietnamese resort

Anantara will have its first resort in Vietnam, the Anantara Mui Ne Resort & Spa. Located in Bin Thuan province, 198km northeast of Ho Chi Minh City, the new resort offers 89 rooms, suites and villas, each including 32-inch plasma screen TVs, Wi-Fi and iPod docking stations. Other resort facilities include five restaurants and bars, a swimming pool, an Anantara Spa, fitness centre, a private wine cellar, and four conference rooms catering for up to 250 people.