Benikea chain opens hotel in Japan

The Korean hotel chain brand Benikea has welcomed a Japanese Carlton Hotel in Fukuoka, the first overseas hotel to join the brand run by the Korea Tourism Organization, Korea’s state tourism agency. The hotel with 130 guestrooms is one or two hours’ drive away from tourist attractions such as Beppu hot spring, Yufuin and street food vendors in Nakasu. The KTO expects the new Benikea brand hotel in Japan will be a trusted accommodation choice for Korean tourists and business travelers. “The KTO p

Dec. 6, 2013

JW Marriott opens new hotel in Hanoi

JW Marriott International has opened a new hotel in Hanoi following two openings in the past two months in Bangalore and New Delhi in India. The hotel, built on a 75,000-square-meter site in a new central business district in Hanoi, features 450 rooms, six restaurants and a bar, all designed by the acclaimed Carlos Zapata Studio. The hotel also offers a total of 17 meeting rooms, including two ballrooms of 1,000 square meters each and an extensive public foyer to cater to MICE (meetings, incenti

Dec. 6, 2013

Russian tourists become big spenders in world tourism

Russian tourists are one of the fastest-growing groups of tourists, with a record 35.7 million going on overseas trips and spending a total of $43 million in 2012, according to the Russian International Travel Monitor, published by Hotels.com. The Russians are the fifth-largest spenders in the world tourism market, with spending driven by travelers from the rising middle class. The number of Russian tourists to Korea has also increased at a record rate of 7.7 percent, with 167,000 visitors in 20

Nov. 29, 2013

Louis Vuitton releases Seoul City Guide

Louis Vuitton published a new city guide for Seoul on Thursday, which offers unique perspectives on Asia’s emerging tourist destination for the 15th anniversary edition of the City Guide. The new collection includes 15 major cities around the world, including New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Tokyo and Venice. Seoul, Beijing and Cape Town have been added in the anniversary edition. Louis Vuitton has published city guides since 1998, offering fresh insights on fashion, contemporary art, popular cultu

Nov. 29, 2013

More than 10 million visit Korea by October

The number of foreign tourists to Korea reached the 10 million mark as of the end of October, a month earlier than last year, despite the continued fall in the number of Japanese tourists and the slow down in the increase of Chinese tourists in October. According to the monthly tourist figures for October, about 10.34 million foreign tourists visited Korea in the first 10 months of the year, a 9.3 percent increase from the same period last year. In 2012, the number of foreign tourists surpassed

Nov. 26, 2013

Soon, hotel signs may glow underfoot

AMSTERDAM (AP) ― Ever wish your hotel room could be marked “Do Not Disturb” in glowing lights, to drive the message home? That option is on its way. Two European companies have developed a system in which colored LEDs are combined with specialized carpets to make tailored hotel signs that appear underfoot instead of on walls. Obvious uses include having glowing red arrows direct guests to the nearest escape or exit in case of emergency. Or displaying guests’ names outside their doors. Ed Huibers

Nov. 22, 2013

Tee off in luxury at Honolulu, Hawaii

Embassy Suites Waikiki Beach Walk located in Honolulu, Hawaii is offering a Bring Your Swing travel package for a chance at a hole-in-one. The package includes rounds of golf at Oahu’s premium Pacific Links Hawaii courses, Royal Hawaiian Golf Club and Kapolei Golf Club. Guests can choose to play two rounds at either course, or play both with an extended consecutive seven-night stay with the Oahu Golf Experience Package. Rates begin at $349 per night for a one-bedroom suite complete with living r

Nov. 22, 2013

London’s black cabs voted best in the world

London’s iconic black cabs were voted best in the world for the sixth year in a row in the annual “Taxi Survey” conducted by Hotels.com. Twenty-two percent of the 2,500 voters from around 30 countries selected London as having the best taxis in the world. The black cabs topped the list in five categories out of seven, including safety, cleanliness, knowledge of area, and quality of driving. The majority of voters selected safety as their highest priority. New York nabbed the top spot for availab

Nov. 22, 2013

Malaysia launches year-end sale

A year-end sale will be held in Malaysia from Saturday to Jan. 5, 2014, offering discounts, bargains and promotions at major shopping malls. The annual shopping event will be centered in Kuala Lumpur, home to popular shopping malls such as Suria KLCC, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur and Bukit Bintang. CNN Travel has listed Malaysia as the fourth-biggest shopping destination, followed by New York, Tokyo and London. The Malaysian tourism office said luxury items will be offered at 20 percent off on average

Nov. 15, 2013

Vivaldi Park opens for 2013-14 winter ski season

Vivaldi Park opens for the 2013-14 winter season on Nov. 22. The ski resort said it has increased its ski and snowboard inventory available for rent to 7,000 ski sets, 4,000 snowboards and 7,000 snowboard boots for the new season. They also installed more depository posts capable of accommodating more than 6,700 skis and snowboards. For safety, the resort expanded the width of two slopes to prevent the bottleneck that usually occurs in the middle. The price for the all-day seasonal pass is 410,0

Nov. 15, 2013

KTO picks three regions as food hot spots

The Korea Tourism Organization has started promoting new culinary destinations in Korea: Yeongdeok for snow crab, Chuncheon for stir-fried marinated chicken dakgalbi, and Damyang for bamboo sprouts. The three food destinations have been added to the KTO’s list of famous food spots in Korea that include the popular tteokbokki street in Sindang-dong, Seoul, Chodang tofu village in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, and the mudfish soup street in Namwon, North Jeolla Province. The food streets selected b

Nov. 15, 2013

Air Busan launches Busan-Siem Reap service

Air Busan launched a new flight service between Busan and Siem Reap on Nov. 6. The new service operates four times a week on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. The flight from Busan to Siem Reap leaves Gimhae Airport at 8:05 p.m. while the flight from Siem Reap to Busan leaves Siem Reap International Airport at 12:30 a.m. Siem Reap province, located in central Cambodia, is a major tourist attraction, being the closest city to the famous temples of Angkor. (wylee@heraldcorp.com)

Nov. 8, 2013

London taxis voted best in global taxi survey

London taxis have been voted the best taxis in the world for the sixth year in a row, according to the annual global taxi survey by Hotels.com. London topped the list of seven categories, including cleanliness, knowledge of the area, and quality of driving, followed by New York and Tokyo. The survey revealed that global travelers picked safety (23 percent), fare (20 percent) and knowledge of area (17 percent) as the most important criteria for taxis. More than 53 percent of global travelers pref

Nov. 8, 2013