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 HERE<strong>to</strong> downloaded Adobe Reader 10.1.3 for free.No plans <strong>to</strong> buy SpiceJet – EmiratesEmirates has said it has noplans <strong>to</strong> 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 in<strong>to</strong> the Indian market with a tieupof its own. But the UAE's WAMnews agency reported the airline asquashing the speculation.“In response <strong>to</strong> recent inaccurates<strong>to</strong>ries in the media, Emiratescan confi rm it has no plans <strong>to</strong>BYZookeepers baffled by baboonsacquire a stake in any airline inIndia or elsewhere,” an Emiratesspokesperson was quoted saying,adding that the airline was “focusedon its own <strong>growth</strong>”.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 regula<strong>to</strong>ryapproval <strong>to</strong> take a 24% stake inMumbai-based Jet.WAYA troop of baboons has caused a stir in theNetherlands, after they appeared <strong>to</strong> enter acollective state of shock. According <strong>to</strong> a BBC report,more than 100 baboons at Emmen Zoo, close <strong>to</strong>the border with Germany, have been frozen in thetree<strong>to</strong>ps for days, huddling <strong>to</strong>gether in fear andhardly eating. No-one is quite sure what spookedthe baboons, with speculation ranging from the sensible <strong>to</strong> 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 <strong>to</strong>ld 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 preda<strong>to</strong>r, but the 15-30kg baboonsare unlikely <strong>to</strong> 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 <strong>to</strong> play with live tigers.According <strong>to</strong> an Orange News report, the YunnanWild Animal Park in Kunming, has launched aspecial area that allows kids <strong>to</strong> get up-close withthe big cats, which it says are as domesticated as house cats.Perhaps understandably however, some visi<strong>to</strong>rs expressed concernover the new attraction."Tigers are always tigers. The zoo should not pose kids <strong>to</strong> potentialdangers by doing this," one person reported saying."They let children get right up close <strong>to</strong> 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 mo<strong>to</strong>rised street sweeper.The Lowther Hotel in Goole, which the Hull <strong>Daily</strong>Mail reported had survived World War II bombingraids, was accidentally rammed when the <strong>drive</strong>r ofthe street sweeper lost control of the vehicle. Themachine crashed in<strong>to</strong> the one of the columns at the front of the hotel, nearlycausing the entrance <strong>to</strong> collapse.Fortunately for the <strong>drive</strong>r, 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 the<strong>drive</strong>r - it was just an accident," Duckworth said. "I wouldn't want <strong>to</strong> see himdisciplined any further. He is already very embarrassed and that's enough. "And the hotelier’s attitude is lucky for the <strong>drive</strong>r, as the damage <strong>to</strong> the hotelwill cost approximately GBP20,000 (US$30,300) <strong>to</strong> fix.Busiest first-half for DubaiDubai welcomed 5.58 millioninternational visi<strong>to</strong>rs 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 <strong>to</strong>p visi<strong>to</strong>r sourcemarket, with arrivals increasing31.6% <strong>to</strong> 710,472 in the first half. India, the UK, US, Russia,Germany, Kuwait, Oman, China and Iran made up the <strong>to</strong>p10. Meanwhile, Dubai’s Department of Tourism & CommerceMarketing (DTCM) has unveiled plans <strong>to</strong> double its annual visi<strong>to</strong>rnumbers <strong>to</strong> 20m by 2020.Emirates boosts European capacityEmirates has announced plans <strong>to</strong>increase capacity <strong>to</strong> two Europeancities - Amsterdam and Lyon.From 4 December 2013, theDubai-based carrier will launch asecond daily flight <strong>to</strong> 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 <strong>to</strong> alarger Boeing 777-200LR aircraft. The aircraft would replace theAirbus A340 Emirates currently operates on the route.SpiceJet adds Muscat flightsSpiceJet has announced plans <strong>to</strong>launch a new service <strong>to</strong> Muscatlater this month. From 29 August2013, the Indian low-cost carrier willcommence a new route connectingthe Omani capital <strong>to</strong> 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 <strong>to</strong>be served by SpiceJet, and the fourth in the Middle East followingRiyadh, Sharjah and Dubai.Revamp planned for Shera<strong>to</strong>n DubaiThe Shera<strong>to</strong>n Dubai Creek Hotel willundergo a complete refurbishmentthis year, closing <strong>to</strong> guests for eight<strong>to</strong> 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, Shera<strong>to</strong>n Dubai Creek will also introducethe brand's 'Link@Shera<strong>to</strong>n' facility, which offers Microsoft workstations and business services.Rotana Jet connects <strong>to</strong> Sir BaniYas IslandRotana Jet has launched a new airservice connecting Dubai with SirBani Yas Island, just off the coas<strong>to</strong>f Abu Dhabi. The new commuterservice will offer passengers thechance <strong>to</strong> take a 50-seat EmbraerE145 aircraft <strong>to</strong> the island from DubaiInternational Airport's Terminal 2,on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The new air connection willprovide a <strong>to</strong>urism boost for Sir Bani Yas Island, which is now home <strong>to</strong>two Anantara resorts - Desert Islands Resort & Spa and the AnantaraAl Yamm Villa Resort.Second <strong>Asia</strong>tique planned for BangkokBangkok will become home <strong>to</strong>a second <strong>Asia</strong>tique shoppingcomplex, following the success of theoriginal riverside development. TheBangkok Post reported on Saturdaythat the Thai company responsiblefor the first <strong>Asia</strong>tique, which openedin April 2012, will now extend the siteacross the Chao Praya River. Thesecond project, which is reported<strong>to</strong> be worth up <strong>to</strong> THB3 billion(US$96m), will be a high-rise projectincluding a shopping mall, residentialunits and a hotel.Advertise with TDA <strong>to</strong>day! Email us atManaging Edi<strong>to</strong>r: Gary Marshall * | Edi<strong>to</strong>r-in-Chief: Mark Elliott *advertising@traveldailymedia.com 101A Upper Cross Street, #11-16 People’s Park Centre, Singapore, 058358
TRAVEL DAILY INDIA TRAVEL DAILY UK TRAVEL DAILY ME CRUISE NEWS UKwww.traveldailymedia.com/asia 5 Aug 2013 ▶ P 5Read TDA withAdobe Reader 10.1.3Having trouble downloading TDA?Read our daily e-news magazine with the latest version of Adobe Reader – CLICK HERE<strong>to</strong> downloaded Adobe Reader 10.1.3 for free.THE DAYIN NUMBERS2A second <strong>Asia</strong>tiqueretail complex is beingplanned for Bangkok4ArchipelagoInternational hassigned four newfavehotels in Indonesia5By 2016, fi ve of theworld’s 10 busiest<strong>airports</strong> will be in <strong>Asia</strong>Pacifi c35Mount Fuji has seena 35% rise in climberssince it was inscribedon the UNESCOWorld Heritage list462,700,000Amadeus’ profi ts, inUS dollars, in the fi rsthalf of 2013Mandarin Oriental profits surgeMandarin Oriental has reporteda strong rise in profits forthe first half of the year. FromJanuary-June 2013, the luxuryhotel company generated profitsof US$56.8 million - 91% higherthan the US$29.7m achieved inthe same period last year. Thecompany said its hotels "benefitedfrom positive trading conditions"in the first half of the year, with"pleasing performances achievedacross the majority of the portfolio".Overall company revenues climbed7% <strong>to</strong> US$661.1m.Mandarin Oriental openedtwo new hotels in the fi rst halfof the year, in Guangzhou andShanghai, taking its overallportfolio <strong>to</strong> 45 hotels in 27countries. In the next 18 months, afurther four hotels are scheduled<strong>to</strong> open in Taipei, Marrakech,Bodrum and Beijing.Hertz adds Adrenaline in AustraliaHertz hasexpanded itscollection of rentalcars in Australia withthe addition of theToyota 86. The arrivalof the new vehicle alsomarks the launch ofHertz's 'AdrenalineCollection' in Australia,which offers theoption of renting highperformance sportscars. The car rental fi rm will initiallybring 30 Toyota 86s <strong>to</strong> its airport andcity locations in Sydney, Melbourneand Brisbane."We're confi dent this collectionwill inject a new sense of excitementin<strong>to</strong> our fl eet. The 86 is the latestToyota 86model in a long line of fantasticsports cars from Toyota and isthe perfect vehicle <strong>to</strong> rev-up theintroduction of Hertz's AdrenalineCollection in Australia," said ChrisRusden, Vice President of HertzAustralia & New Zealand.Mandarin Oriental Hong KongMalindo opensKL Sentral ticke<strong>to</strong>fficeMalindo Air has opened a newsales kiosk in KL Sentral, theMalaysian capital's main bus andrail transport hub. The temporaryfacility will operate until 30 August2013, offering ticket sales forpassengers wanting <strong>to</strong> return homefor the Hari Raya holidays.Chandran Rama Muthy, CEOof Malindo Air, said the kiosk waspart of the airline's plans <strong>to</strong> developits sales and distribution channels."We will be looking <strong>to</strong> open moreticketing kiosks as the airline hasnow grown in size and reach, andthe scale of our routes has alsoexpanded,” he said.Mount Fuji in demand after UNESCO listingMount Fuji has welcomed a record number of climbers since it was named aUNESCO World Heritage site. According <strong>to</strong> Japan's Environment Ministry,the snow-capped volcano attracted 79,057 climbers in the first three weeks in July -35% more than the same period last year. Mount Fuji is now expected <strong>to</strong> exceed theprevious annual record number of climbers, 320,000, set in 2010. The 3,776-metrehighmountain was inscribed on the World Heritage list on 22 June 2013.Advertise with TDA <strong>to</strong>day! Email us atManaging Edi<strong>to</strong>r: Gary Marshall * | Edi<strong>to</strong>r-in-Chief: Mark Elliott *advertising@traveldailymedia.com 101A Upper Cross Street, #11-16 People’s Park Centre, Singapore, 058358