Royal wedding a business boom or drag?

NORTHAMPTON, England (AP) ― Surrounded by boxes in a rickety old warehouse above the family shop, Joe Church hurries to wrap plates adorned with the faces of Prince William and his bride Kate Middleton for a customer in Australia.The Church’s business, a 152-year old china and ornament seller specializing in memorabilia, has plenty of reason to celebrate the upcoming royal nuptials as its cash reg

March 16, 2011

College course offers entry into home-brewing

CAPITOLA, California ― Four years ago handyman Mark Taylor sent proposals to four community colleges for a beer home-brewing course he wished to teach.The colleges’ reaction was as flat as a glass of beer left out overnight. While they did not believe Taylor would find that much interest in a home-brewing course, he remained confident. Cabrillo College offered to let him try it out, and the first

March 16, 2011

SKAL Seoul Club chief urges ...‘consistent message’ in branding Korea

Swanson plans to donate books on Korea dating from 1800sPresident of SKAL Seoul Club for 2011 and Millennium Seoul Hilton general manager Eric Swanson said Korean policymakers should send a “consistent” message to the outside world to make Korean tourism sustainable in the long term.Swanson is currently busy making preparations for the 2012 SKAL World Congress to take place in Seoul on Oct. 7-12,

March 14, 2011

Waterford: The city sparkles like its crystal

WATERFORD, Ireland (AP) ― Waterford Crystal is renowned for its sparkle, and lately the city it is named for lives up to that description.Still, Waterford, in Ireland’s sunny southeast (sunny being a relative concept in Ireland), has not always had it easy. The city often is passed over by tourists in favor of Dublin’s nightlife or the emerald-green seaside hills of Kerry. And two years ago, the c

March 4, 2011

Around the hotels

JW Marriott SeoulFrom March 4 to June 26, the hotel is offering a spring picnic package for families. The package includes a one night stay in a superior room, a picnic lunch box for two people consisting of two ham & cheese sandwiches with two bottles of vitamin water, a Seoripul Park walkway map around the hotel and free access to the swimming pool and the gym. The package is available on Friday

March 4, 2011

Click! Online gateways to Korea

The Korea Herald guide to the nation’s most useful websitesIf you want to do a bit of research before taking a trip in South Korea, don’t settle for the standard Google search or hastily read travel books. Here are 21 cyber destinations covering Korean travel, history, society and language, targeting both tourists and expats. Non-Korean visitors ― and possibly many Koreans, too ― could find these

Feb. 27, 2011

Romantic moments in the world’s most exciting city

NEW YORK ― What’s romantic? Taking your sweetheart to New York City.The most exciting metropolis in the world packs a lot of living into every hour.Here, even hicks from the sticks feel like they’re Somebody from Somewhere.It all starts with your hotel.My advice is to cut your stay by a night ― and pay a little more for the room each night. Two of the most romantic hotels in New York are diametric

Feb. 25, 2011

Egyptian tourism struggles to revive

CAIRO (AP) ― The wind-swept pyramids of Giza were virtually deserted Sunday, symbols not just of the might and culture of the pharaohs but also the damage that Egypt’s upheaval has inflicted on tourism, a pillar of the economy.Just two dozen foreign tourists were seen by midday at the wondrous monuments, where thousands flocked daily before protesters launched an uprising in late January that topp

Feb. 21, 2011

More than just ski slopes

Chilling out in Gangwon’s unique tourist spotsPYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province ― The problem with a winter holiday is that some people don’t like being stuck on the ski slopes all day. So when PyeongChang, the country’s best winter resort town, was hit by a record snowfall of 77 centimeters in one day, there was a desperate urge to get away from the slopes. Deciding on a day trip away from the city,

Feb. 18, 2011

Hong Kong’s unexpected face: wetlands

Mai Po and Wetland Park, one of best bird-watching destinations in winterHONG KONG ― The air was gratifying at Mai Po Inner Deep Bay, totally different from the dry, fume-filled atmosphere of the central city. It was refreshing and moist, just to the point where your skin feels comfortable and your lungs feel detoxified, finally having taken in a satisfying amount of pure oxygen. Who could have im

Feb. 18, 2011

Winter activities to spice up Daegwallyeong Snow Festival

Snow festivals in Korea heavily depend on the weather and it seems that the Daegwallyeong Snow Festival will offer a full chance to enjoy white snow before the “kkotsaem chuwi,” or a cold snap in the flowering season, comes late February.Taking place for nine days from Saturday through Feb. 20 at Hoenggye-ri in Daegwallyeong-myeon in PyeongChang County, the festival will feature a variety of winte

Feb. 11, 2011

Old Quarter connects to past in bustling Hanoi

HANOI (AP) ― Close your eyes in the streets of Hanoi’s Old Quarter and you will experience two sensations. The first is the earsplitting cacophony of conversation, cars, clamor and chaos. The second is the realization that closing your eyes for very long in such a crowded place can be unwise, unless you enjoy being jostled, bumped, hustled, shouted at, or maybe even knocked down.Such is the Vietna

Feb. 11, 2011

Neon makes a comeback in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS ― One of the hottest tickets in Las Vegas isn’t Cher or Celine, Blue Man Group or Cirque de Soleil. It’s a day trip to a gravel lot filled with scrap metal, miles from the Strip.There, on North Las Vegas Boulevard, surrounded by a chain-link fence, is the latest incarnation of the legendary Las Vegas neon “boneyard.” It’s the kind of place where great signs of long-gone casinos and bars,

Feb. 11, 2011

Around the hotels

Grand Hyatt SeoulThe hotel kicked off a series of events titled “The Wine Club” on Feb. 10. The events offer unlimited wine and a Spanish Tapas-style dinner buffet. The second event “Shiraz around the world” is to be held on March 3, followed by “Pinot Noir at its best” on May 12, “Summer Wines” on June 2, “Made for Japan” on Sept. 1 and “Big Reds” on Nov. 2. Entrance fee is 75,000 won per person

Feb. 11, 2011

1330 call service still soaring in popularity

The use of travel call service number 1330, a 24-hour help line for local and international travelers, has jumped 27 percent in 2010 from the previous year, the Korea Tourism Organization said Wednesday.According to the KTO, the number of 1330 calls dialed by both foreigners and Koreans soared to nearly 170,000 in 2010 from 133,000 in 2009, following an increase of 32 percent year-on-year growth i

Jan. 30, 2011

The anti-cruise: No bingo, no karaoke, just fjords

TROMSOE, Norway (AP) ― In the arms race now gripping the travel industry, there is almost nothing cruise ships will not do to tempt new customers.Some boast of climbing walls, ice skating rinks and water parks.Others offer endless bingo, salsa, yoga or gambling. Travelers can go clubbing all night, have their bodies scrubbed with precious oils, or attend culture and history lectures by Ivy League

Jan. 28, 2011

Botanical gardens on Kauai, the anything-grows Hawaiian island

At home in soggy Seattle I’m a lackadaisical gardener, yet visiting Kauai has turned me into a garden-loving tourist.Kauai, like its sister Hawaiian islands, is a botanical bonanza. Bathed in the island’s natural steroids of endless sunshine and warm-rain cloudbursts, plants flourish. Wandering through one botanical garden I gaped at a croton, a broad-leaved tropical plant, that towered over my he

Jan. 28, 2011