Asia Pacific airports to drive global growth - Travel Daily Media

TRAVEL DAILY INDIA TRAVEL DAILY UK TRAVEL DAILY ME CRUISE NEWS UKwww.traveldailymedia.com/asia 5 Aug 2013 ▶ P 4Read TDA withAdobe Reader 10.1.3Having trouble downloading TDA?Read our daily e-news magazine with the latest version of Adobe Reader – CLICK HEREto downloaded Adobe Reader 10.1.3 for free.No plans to buy SpiceJet – EmiratesEmirates has said it has noplans to take a stake in Indianlow-cost carrier, SpiceJet. FollowingEtihad Airways' recent investment inJet Airways, several media outletshad reported that Dubai-basedEmirates would follow its Abu Dhabirival into the Indian market with a tieupof its own. But the UAE's WAMnews agency reported the airline asquashing the speculation.“In response to recent inaccuratestories in the media, Emiratescan confi rm it has no plans toBYZookeepers baffled by baboonsacquire a stake in any airline inIndia or elsewhere,” an Emiratesspokesperson was quoted saying,adding that the airline was “focusedon its own growth”.Indian airlines are nowconsidered attractive investmentssince the country's governmentremoved restrictions on thepurchase of equity stakes in Indiancarriers by foreign airlines. Just lastweek, Etihad received regulatoryapproval to take a 24% stake inMumbai-based Jet.WAYA troop of baboons has caused a stir in theNetherlands, after they appeared to enter acollective state of shock. According to a BBC report,more than 100 baboons at Emmen Zoo, close tothe border with Germany, have been frozen in thetreetops for days, huddling together in fear andhardly eating. No-one is quite sure what spookedthe baboons, with speculation ranging from the sensible to the bizarre."What frightened them? We don't know, it's a mystery. There have beenmany suggestions - an earthquake, escaped snakes, aliens, thunder,"biologist Wijbren Landman told BBC News. "The other animals here areOK - they have lemurs, elephants and kangaroos as neighbours, andthey show no sign of panic."The most likely cause would be a predator, but the 15-30kg baboonsare unlikely to have been scared by a native species, such as a fox. Sothe mystery of the Emmen baboons continues...Chinese petting zoo offers tigersAn unusual new petting zoo has opened in China,allowing young children to play with live tigers.According to an Orange News report, the YunnanWild Animal Park in Kunming, has launched aspecial area that allows kids to get up-close withthe big cats, which it says are as domesticated as house cats.Perhaps understandably however, some visitors expressed concernover the new attraction."Tigers are always tigers. The zoo should not pose kids to potentialdangers by doing this," one person reported saying."They let children get right up close to the animals and stroke them. Ifor one am worried, the animals could turn at any moment and eat thechildren. It is after all their hunting instinct," said another.Hotel hit by street sweeperA hotel in the UK has been badly damaged after itwas struck by a motorised street sweeper.The Lowther Hotel in Goole, which the Hull DailyMail reported had survived World War II bombingraids, was accidentally rammed when the driver ofthe street sweeper lost control of the vehicle. Themachine crashed into the one of the columns at the front of the hotel, nearlycausing the entrance to collapse.Fortunately for the driver, the hotel's owner Howard Duckworth could see thefunny side."Nobody got hurt, which is the main thing and I think it is funny. I feel for thedriver - it was just an accident," Duckworth said. "I wouldn't want to see himdisciplined any further. He is already very embarrassed and that's enough. "And the hotelier’s attitude is lucky for the driver, as the damage to the hotelwill cost approximately GBP20,000 (US$30,300) to fix.Busiest first-half for DubaiDubai welcomed 5.58 millioninternational visitors in the firsthalf of 2013 - 11.1% more thanthe same period last year and anew record for the first six monthsof a year. Saudi Arabia remainsthe emirate's top visitor sourcemarket, with arrivals increasing31.6% to 710,472 in the first half. India, the UK, US, Russia,Germany, Kuwait, Oman, China and Iran made up the top10. Meanwhile, Dubai’s Department of Tourism & CommerceMarketing (DTCM) has unveiled plans to double its annual visitornumbers to 20m by 2020.Emirates boosts European capacityEmirates has announced plans toincrease capacity to two Europeancities - Amsterdam and Lyon.From 4 December 2013, theDubai-based carrier will launch asecond daily flight to Amsterdam'sSchiphol airport. The new dailyflight using a Boeing 777-300ERaircraft will complement its existing Airbus A380 flight. Then from1 February 2014 Emirates will upgrade its Dubai-Lyon route to alarger Boeing 777-200LR aircraft. The aircraft would replace theAirbus A340 Emirates currently operates on the route.SpiceJet adds Muscat flightsSpiceJet has announced plans tolaunch a new service to Muscatlater this month. From 29 August2013, the Indian low-cost carrier willcommence a new route connectingthe Omani capital to Ahmedabad,in the Indian state of Gujarat. Flightswill operate three times a week(Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays) using a 189-seat, all-economyBoeing 737-800. Muscat will be the ninth international destination tobe served by SpiceJet, and the fourth in the Middle East followingRiyadh, Sharjah and Dubai.Revamp planned for Sheraton DubaiThe Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel willundergo a complete refurbishmentthis year, closing to guests for eightto 10 months before relaunching witha new look in 2014. The hotel's 262rooms and suites will all be updated,with the new decoration featuring"Arabic-infl uenced patterns", whilepublic areas including the Vivaldi restaurant will also be refurbished.As part of the renovation, Sheraton Dubai Creek will also introducethe brand's 'Link@Sheraton' facility, which offers Microsoft workstations and business services.Rotana Jet connects to Sir BaniYas IslandRotana Jet has launched a new airservice connecting Dubai with SirBani Yas Island, just off the coastof Abu Dhabi. The new commuterservice will offer passengers thechance to take a 50-seat EmbraerE145 aircraft to the island from DubaiInternational Airport's Terminal 2,on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The new air connection willprovide a tourism boost for Sir Bani Yas Island, which is now home totwo Anantara resorts - Desert Islands Resort & Spa and the AnantaraAl Yamm Villa Resort.Second Asiatique planned for BangkokBangkok will become home toa second Asiatique shoppingcomplex, following the success of theoriginal riverside development. TheBangkok Post reported on Saturdaythat the Thai company responsiblefor the first Asiatique, which openedin April 2012, will now extend the siteacross the Chao Praya River. Thesecond project, which is reportedto be worth up to THB3 billion(US$96m), will be a high-rise projectincluding a shopping mall, residentialunits and a hotel.Advertise with TDA today! Email us atManaging Editor: Gary Marshall * | Editor-in-Chief: Mark Elliott *advertising@traveldailymedia.com 101A Upper Cross Street, #11-16 People’s Park Centre, Singapore, 058358