Melaka grows closer to Indonesia
One of the laments of Melaka, Malaysia’s historical city, is that it has an international airport but no big airlines servicing it as neither national carrier, Malaysia Airlines, nor low-cost carrier, AirAsia, shows any interest in basing any of its aircraft there.The only air link Melaka's Batu [...]
Melbourne Cup, from flash to trash in six hours
I didn't even know what the Melbourne Cup was till one faithful July evening, when we were invited to a gala dinner at the St. Regis in Singapore, which was in honour of the 150th anniversary of the Melbourne Cup.As the evening progressed, and they showed us videos of the horse racing and all the ho [...]
Melbourne sees big jump in international meetings
Victoria’s capital city hosted 92 international meetings in 2010 compared to 39 the previous year, a 136% increase, according to the latest report by Union of International Associations (UIA).Melbourne jumped 21 places in international association meeting city rankings to reach the18th position in [...]
More bucks for Asia as new East-West boss ramps up market drive
In line with its objective of growing the Asian market, identified as the future growth region, Tourism Australia is creating a new position, Head of Asia Development, and is looking for a suitable candidate.Frances Anne Keeler, who is the new executive general manager, market operationsl, looking a [...]
My first day in Tokyo and the quirkiness of it all
Walking through Narita airport yesterday, I had a strange feeling of déjà vu.It felt like the time I arrived in Hong Kong at the height of the SARS scare. The airport was eerily quiet and people were walking around with masks on – there wasn’t the usual buzz one associated with Hong Kong airpo [...]
New China-ASEAN railroad link opens up tourism potential
A new project that will see a railroad linking China to Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore will open up tourism opportunities, according to an assessment by Asian Trails Thailand. The entire route will be 5,000km long and have three lines – east, central and west. [...]
WIT Australia: Nothing ventured, nothing gained for travel.jp founder
Timing is everything to Kei Shibata (left). That, and luck plus hard work.He started his company, Venture Republic, in January 2001, a few months before the dot.com bubble burst. He then launched travel.jp in June 2001, a few months before September 11.Then in 2008, a month before the Lehman Broth [...]
I found the promised Golden Land – Myanmar (Burma)
I've always dreamt of going to Myanmar. The name itself exudes exoticism and mystery. And it doesn't disappoint. From the magical landscape, beautiful people and temples scattered all over the vast land, Myanmar is truly the Golden Land.And contrary to what I had heard before, the food was surprisin [...]
India, Indonesia – lands of opportunities for online travel
Two countries, so similar yet so different - one maturing, yet still seeing explosive growth, the other emerging and about to see explosive growth.Indonesia may not have strong online travel brands but awareness is growing, said Danny Oei Wirianto, CEO of Mindtalk, Indonesia (pictured left). The p [...]
Internet users in Greater China spend most time on portals and entertainment sites
comScore Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, recently released a report on how Internet users spend their time online in Greater China, which covers mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.The report found that portals commanded the largest share of online minutes, followed by entertainment, [...]
