www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at hovedsteder@gmail.com

Tourists keep on coming to Athens, but a lot of them stay in the 8,000 houses that are rented privately in the Greek capital, tornosnews.gr reports.

Consequently, Athenian hotels fail to reap the benefits from the rise of arrivals, recorded at the Athens International Airport. According to the Athens-Attica and Argosaronic Hotel Association, they suffered the effects of falling demand during the September-November period despite a increase in visitors to the Greek capital.

The Association’s president Alexandros Vassilikos said at a press conference on Tuesday that the impressive 23 percent increase in foreign tourist arrivals to Athens does not reflect on the occupancy of hotels in the Attica area.

The average occupancy rate in Athens during the first 11 months of 2015 did not exceed 3.7 percent and dropped by 3.8 percent in September, by 6.1 percent in October and by 4.6 percent in November. 

Mr Vassilikos asked “where are all these visitors to Athens staying” and pointed towards the thousands of properties that are currently operating illegally as accommodation units in the Greek capital.

He underlined that over 8,000 properties are currently operating illegally in Athens and called on the government to protect the hotel enterprises that operate within the law.

As the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels reported earlier, hosting of tourists in illegal accommodation causes legitimate hotels to lose 12 million overnight stays, which translates to over 500 million euros of less revenue.

Mr Vassilikos noted that Athens still has the lowest average room rate – 90 euros – compared to other European countries and added that strategic choices must be made for Athens as a destination to increase visitor numbers.

These choices include upgrading existing hotels, promoting the Áttica Riviera and establishing a metropolitan conference center within the city.

Read the article at www.tornosnews.gr/en/tourism-businesses/hotels/13804-athens-the-houses-main-competitor-of-xenodocheion-growing-arrivals-but-no-occupancy.html

Source: www.tornosnews.gr

#Athen #By #Destinasjon #Ferie #Flyplass #Gresk #Hellas #Hotell #Hovedstad #Hus #President #Reise #Reisemål #Riviera #Turisme

#Airport #Athens #Capital #City #Destination #Greece #Greek #Holiday #Hotel #House #Tourism #Travel

www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at hovedsteder@gmail.com

Sir Peter Jackson

Annonsørinnhold

Oversikt over salgene: De beste kuppene nå

Plans for a film museum and convention centre in the heart of Wellington have been given the go-ahead, Radio New Zealand reports.

Wellington city councillors has voted unanimously to build the $134 million, multi-purpose venue opposite Te Papa. Previous plans for a five-star Hilton hotel on the site have been scrapped.

The convention centre, capable of hosting 1100 people, will be run by the council. It will in turn lease out land to The Movie Museum Ltd, a company formed by New Zealand film director and producer Sir Peter Jackson (director and producer of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy) and New Zealand filmmaker Sir Richard Taylor.

Museum project director said George Hickton it would showcase movie memorabilia from films and television shows produced within the city.

The council predicted the project would generate about $38 million a year for the capital.

Wellington’s deputy mayor Justin Lester told Morning Report it would be a drawcard for international tourists.

“This project will become synonymous with Wellington, you know for an international tourist coming to New Zealand, I think this will be the most significant man-made attraction so I think it’s going to be really really large, it will put Wellington front and centre on the tourist map, so we’ll see a lot more people coming to Wellington. No one will bypass the city.”

Wellington is not the only city proposing to build a convention centre. Projects are under way or planned for Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown.

Read the article at www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/291552/lights,-camera,-action-for-movie-museum

Source: Radio New Zealand – www.radionz.co.nz

#Auckland #Borgermester #By #Christchurch #Destinasjon #Ferie #Film #Fjernsyn #Hilton #Hobbiten #Hotel #Hovedstad #Museum #NewZealand #Ordfører #PeterJackson #Queenstown #Regissør #Reise #Reisemål #RingenesHerre #Show #Tolkien #Turisme #TV #Wellington

#Capital #City #Destination #Director #Hobbit #Holiday #LordOfTheRings #Mayor #Movie #Tourism #Television #Travel

www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at hovedsteder@gmail.com

Verdens byer kommer til å vokse kraftig i årene som kommer, og smartteknologi kan hjelpe oss med noen av utfordringene som vil komme. De seks byene København, Barcelona, Singapore, Amsterdam, Hamburg og New York har et godt forsprang i konkurransen om å ta i bruk teknologi på en smart måte, skriver aftenposten.no

Annonsørinnhold

Hoka på salg: Kupp årets modeller til nedsatt pris

Danmarks hovedstad topper lista:

En digital infrastruktur kalt Copenhagen Connecting samler inn store datamengder om Københavns strøm av mennesker, biler og syklister, via strategisk plasserte sensorer.

Data samles opp fra Wifi-enheter, som for eksempel smarttelefoner. Hvis det er bilkø, omdirigeres trafikken, når søppelkassene er fulle, får kommunen beskjed, og når det er ledige parkeringsplasser, kan bilsjåfører få beskjed på sin smarttelefon.

Copenhagen Connecting gir rimelig og rask dataforbindelse til byens infrastruktur, slik at kommunen slipper utgifter til teleselskaper. Et Wifi-nettverk er satt opp i hele byen, som innbyggere, turister og virksomheter kan koble seg på, heter det videre.

Les hele artikkelen her: www.aftenposten.no/okonomi/Seks-byer-med-et-godt-forsprang-i-teknokapplopet-8274363.htm

Kilde: www.aftenposten.no

#Aftenposten #Amsterdam #Barcelona #Bil #By #Danmark #Data #Destinasjon #Digital #Ferie #Hamburg #Hovedstad #Infrastruktur #Katalonia #København #Miljø #Nederland #NewYork #Parkering #Reise #Reisemål #Singapore #Smarttelefon #Spania #Sykkel #Teknologi #Telefon #Traffikk #Turisme #Tyskland #USA #WiFi

www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at hovedsteder@gmail.com

Nettavisens lesere har i samarbeid med hotell- og reisenettstedet Laurel Nights kåret de ti mest populære hotellene i verden.

Annonsørinnhold

Oversikt over salgene: De beste kuppene nå

På topp troner The Athenaeum (bildet) i London:

“Strålende luksushotell med spa-avdeling og virkelig fin beliggenhet, kun 9 minutters gange fra Buckingham Palace. Helt fantastiske rom med flott utsikt og Nespresso-maskin. I tillegg til utsøkt mat, en kafé som serverer ettermiddagste og en whiskybar med 300 varianter” heter det i Nettavisens omtale av hotellet.

På de neste plassene kommer Hotel Pulitzer i Roma, Riva Lofts i Firenze, Brunelleschi Hotel også det i Firenze, og Jumeirah Grand Hotel Via Veneto i Roma.

Videre er hoteller i Barcelona, Marbella, London, Alicante og Mallorca.

Laurel Nights er en oversikt over de aller beste hotellene i verden, som rangerer hotellene med tre laurbær, to laurbær og ett laurbær.

De hotellene som får ett laurbær er bedre enn sine konkurrenter på samme sted. Det er hoteller du bør velge om du skal til et sted, og vil ha et meget bra hotell.

Hotellene som får to laurbær er hoteller det er vel verdt å ta en omvei for. Kanskje det er et hotell utenfor byen du tenkte å dra til, eller i en annen bydel. Det er hoteller som er svært gode valg og som utmerker seg spesielt. Skal ett hotell få tre laurbær må det være et helt eksepsjonelt hotell. Et hotell som er så bra at du bør dra til hotellet kun for å bo på hotellet, skriver Nettavisen på sine reisesider.

Se hele 10 på topp-listen her: www.reisetips.nettavisen.no/de-10-mest-populaere-hotellene-fra-laurel-Nights

Kilde: www.nettavisen.no

#Alicante #Balearene #Bar #Barcelona #BuckinghamPalace #By #Destinasjon #England #Ferie #Firenze #Hotell #Hovedstad #Italia #Kafe #Kaffe #Katalonia #London #Luksus #Mallorca #Marbella #Nettavisen #Palace #Reise #Reisemål #Roma #Spa #Spania #Storbritannia #Te #Turisme #Whiskey

www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at hovedsteder@gmail.com

På grunn av et voldsomt uvær, er myndighetene på Island i høy beredskap og oppfordrer befolkningen til å holde seg innendørs, melder nrk.no

Været er det verste på 25 år, skriver nettavisen Iceland Monitor.

Annonsørinnhold

Oversikt over salgene: De beste kuppene nå

Kilde: www.nrk.no

#By #Destinasjon #Ferie #Hovedstad #Island #Reise #Reykjavik #Reisemål #Turisme

www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at hovedsteder@gmail.com

Costa Esmeralda Airport, located south-east of the Nicaraguan capital Managua, has opened to commercial traffic following its inauguration early last month, ch-aviation.com reports.

Annonsørinnhold

Hoka på salg: Kupp årets modeller til nedsatt pris

A joint-venture between local Nicaraguan contractors D’Guerrero Ings, Lansa S.A. y Pavinicsa S.A., the single-terminal facility features a 1,500m-long primary runway capable of handling ATR42s, ATR72s, Gulfstream V jets and most turboprops.

The airfield, which features customs and immigration, will focus on bringing both local and international tourist traffic to the Triángulo del Sur (South Triangle) which comprises the colonial city of Granada, Ometepe Island, and San Juan del Sur.

“The arrival of Costa Esmeralda Airport will introduce the country to a global audience seeking new adventures and serve as a direct route to our majestic coast,” Don Carlos Pellas, owner of the Pellas Development Group, said. “It will reduce transfer time from Managua and Costa Rica, supporting Nicaragua’s flourishing tourism, which is essential to the country’s Development.”

Currently, scheduled operators includes La Costena, serving Managua, and Costa Rica’s SANSA (Servicios Aereos Nacionales), serving San Jose, Liberia and Juan Santamaria.

Read the article at www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/42320-costa-esmeralda-nicaragua-opens-to-commercial-traffic

Source: www.ch-aviation.com

#By #CostaRica #Destinasjon #Ferie #Fly #Flyplass #Flyselskap #Granada #Hovedstad #JuanSantamaria #LatinAmerika #Liberia #Managua #MellomAmerica #Nicaragua #Ometepe #Reise #Reisemål #SanJose #SanJuanDelSur #Turisme

#Aircraft #Airline #Airport #Capital #CentralAmerica #City #Destination #Holiday #LatinAmerica #Tourism #Travel

www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at hovedsteder@gmail.com

Ireland’s links to Hong Kong are apparent from a stroll through the city, With street names like Connaught, O’Brien and Hennessy, and the relationship with the southern Chinese city is about to deepen with the official launch of the Irish consulate general in the city, The Irish Times reports.

Boasting more Irish expatriates than any other Asian city, there are more than 3,000 Irish living in Hong Kong, and this is a connected community, working in Financial services, law, accountancy, the building industry, high-tech and education.

During its colonial period, Hong Kong has had nine Irish governors, and thousands of Irish people have worked as judges, engineers, teachers and police officers over the years. Now it is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China, under Beijingis rule but with its own rules and regulations.

“The office is small and perfectly formed,” quips Peter Ryan, the Consul-General who arrived in Hong Kong in August 2014 after serving in numerous jobs in the region, including a stint on secondment to the Asia-Europe Foundation, and as deputy consul-general in New York.

“There are very big Irish connections here, and we’ve been trying to connect the dots,” said Ryan, speaking in the new consulate general office on the 20th floor of the Bank of East Asia Building on Des Veoux Road in central Hong Kong.

Some of those connections are explicit. The mobile operator 3, with 1,500 employees in Ireland, is owned by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, while HSBC has 400-500 workers in Ireland, and tech firm Huawei has 200. The city’s Wah Yan College is run by Irish Jesuits and among its alumni is former administration chief executive Donald Tsang.

Ireland’s business interests in Hong Kong and Macau are already substantial. Last year, there were more than 120 million euros worth of Enterprise Ireland client exports and with growth of 32 per cent in 2014, and both markets offer considerable potential. The key targets for expansion are financial services, technology, tourism, education and food and beverage exports, said Ryan,

The consulate general was officially launched by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton, who expects the mission to support and galvanise the longstanding, significant and well-connected Irish community in Hong Kong and Macau.

“The consulate is already making a big impact under the leadership of Peter Ryan and is a strong focal point alongside Enterprise Ireland, the IDA and on behalf of Bord Bia and Tourism Ireland in support of Irish interests in Hong Kong,” said Bruton.

There are many Irish organisations in the city – there are Irish Chambers of Commerce in both Hong Kong and Macau, a St Patrick’s Society in Hong Kong, the Irish International Education Centre, the Celtic Connections Choir and the Hong Kong Gaelic Athletic Association, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

The Hong Kong economy is slowing down, in tandem with the bigger mainland market, but there are still major opportunities in fintech and tech start-ups, as evidenced by the staging of the RISE conference here in August. There are also opportunities offered by the internation

“Hong Kong is where many tourists from China may taste Western food for the first time. This is a shop window for the Pearl River Delta,” said Consul General Peter Ryan.

Among the premium products being imported into Hong Kong from Ireland include razor clams, crabs and oysters – some 55,000 Irish oysters a month are imported into Hong Kong.

“It’s an easy place to do business. We see it as a landing spot into Asia, where people can hit the ground running. They call themselves the superconnector here, which is like what Ireland does for Europe,” said Ryan.

One of the driving factors behind the consulate was the need to boost Ireland’s presence in the highly competitive fund management market.

Ireland was facing tough competition from Luxembourg, which had a representative office in the territory to promote itself as a place to set up funds, whereas Ireland was relying on the goodwill of professionals working in the field and on promotion by the Irish Funds Industry Association.

Read the whole article atwww.irishtimes.com/business/economy/ireland-opens-hong-kong-consulate-1.2356848

Source: www.irishtimes.com

#Bank #Beijing #Britisk #By #Destinasjon #Ferie #Finans #Generalkonsul #Generalkonsulat #Guvernør #HongKong #Hovedstad #Irland #Irsk #Kina #Koloni #Konsul #Konsulat #Luxembourg #Macau #Mat #Minister #NewYork #Reise #Reisemål #StPatrick #Turisme #USA #Østers

#British #Capital #China #Colony #City #Consul #Consulate #ConsulGeneral #ConsulateGeneral #Destination #Finance #Food #Governor #Holiday #Ireland #Irish #Oysters #Tourism #Travel

www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at hovedsteder@gmail.com

The Ecuadorean capital city of Quito is confident that it will reach 740,000 tourists by the year-end, which will represent a 5% increase over the previous year, according to the city’s tourism office.

Annonsørinnhold

Hoka på salg: Kupp årets modeller til nedsatt pris

The authorities also reported that for the third consecutive year Quito has been chosen as South America’s Leading Destination at the World Travel Awards, tourism-review.com reports.

Quito tourism numbers exceeded half a million visitors in the first nine months of the year, 48% of all arrivals in Ecuador, which is 5% more than the number of visitors recorded in the first nine months of the previous year. If this trend continues, the city authorities estimate that Quito will welcome one million visitors in 2019.

These favorable figures enabled the city for the Third consecutive year to receive the award for Leading South American Destination at the World Travel Awards, known as the Tourism “Oscars”. Such recognition gives Quito remarkable global exposure as a tourist destination and contributes to the Quito tourism numbers.

Additionally, in 2015 Quito Tourism has been awarded the distinctive Brand Q by the Ecuadorean Ministry of Tourism in recognition of the work done in strengthening the quality of service delivery.

In this regard it offered this year’s “Bucket Pass”, which provides access to five of the city’s attractions (the Centre of the Earth, the Company, the City Museum, the Chapel of Man and Quito Tour Bus) at a reduced price and other advantages, such as online access and flexibility of use.

Quito also maintains its goal of becoming one of the region’s most competitive destinations in the meetings and conventions segment. In September Ecuador’s capital hosted the first staging of the Meeting Industry Conference, a meeting that specializes in business tourism.

Also, at the end of 2016, the city will have a new convention centre located in the terminal of the old Quito airport for important international meetings to be held next year.

So far, twenty events have been confirmed, most notably Habitat III, the Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, and the VII Latin American Congress of Tourism Research, among others.

Read the article at www.tourism-review.com/quito-tourism-to-attract-5-more-tourists–news4824

Source: www.tourism-review.com

#Attraksjon #Buss #By #Destinasjon #Ecuador #Ferie #Flyplass #Hovedstad #Karibia #LatinAmerika #Ministerium #Museum #Oscar #Quito #Reise #Reisemål #SørAmerika #Turisme #Turistkontor

#Airport #Attraction #Bus #Capital #Caribbean #City #Destination #Holiday #Ministry #SouthAmerica #Tourism #TouristOffice #Travel

www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at hovedsteder@gmail.com

Foto: Gardermoen.no

Antall reisende som tar toget til Oslo Lufthavn Gardermoen øker, mens færre bruker buss og bil, skriver VG.

-NSB har utvidet togtilbudet på hele Østlandet, og Oslo Lufthavn betjenes nå med tog fra både Skien, Kongsberg og Lillehammer – men vi har ikke satset bevisst på flyplassmarkedet, bedyrer Tom Ingulstad, direktør i NSB Persontog, til avisen.

Likevel tar NSB altså markedsandeler fra andre flyplass-transportører. I fjor valgte 51 prosent av kollektivreisende toget, mot 44 prosent året før. Kun 17 prosent tok buss.

En fersk undersøkelse gjort av Airport’s Council International på vegne av Oslo Lufthavn, viser at antall reisende med tog øker på bekostning av reisende med både bil og buss.

-Staten og fylkene holder prisen nede for å få folk til å reise kollektivt, og det virker. I NSB lever vi av at kundene velger toget, og selvsagt er vi svært tilfreds når det vi tilbyr blir positivt motsatt, sier Tom Ingulstad videre.

Sjef for Flybussekspressen, Bjørn Østbye, bekrefter overfor VG at NSB-togene er deres største konkurent i dag, og etterlyser større forståelse for ekspressbussenes behov:

Oslo Lufthavns Kollektivforum, som samler alle kollektivaktørene som frakter passasjerer til og fra Gardermoen, ber om at bussene sikres bedre framkommelighet både langs veinettet og i Oslo.

-Vi skulle gjerne hatt kollektivfelt på E6, sier Bjørn Østbye til VG.

For å klare målsettingen om 75 prosent kollektivandel innen 2020 må også bussene gis bedre arbeidsvilkår enn i dag, fremholder også Emil Eike, leder for Oslo Lufthavns Kollektivforum.

-Bussene må sikres adgang til kollektivterminaler og stoppesteder både i Oslo og på flyplassen, sier Emil Eike.

Kilde: VG

#Airport #Bil #Buss #By #Destinasjon #Ferie #Flyplass #Flytog #Gardermoen #Hovedstad #Jernbane #Kollektivt #Kongsberg #Lillehammer #Lufthavn #Norge #NSB #Oslo #Reise #Reisemål #Skien #Tog #Transport #Turisme

www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at hovedsteder@gmail.com

Er du glad i katalansk mat og har lyst til å lære litt om hvordan du lager den? Firmaet Cook & Taste tilbyr matkurs for turister, og her får du opplæring både i tradisjonelle og moderne matretter, skriver bladet Tara.

Klassene er litt forskjellig lagt opp, på en av dem kan du starte med en vandring på det det berømte Boqueria-markedet (bildet), der kokkene vil gi deg mange gode tips om de beste lokale produktene.

Kurset avsluttes selvsagt med et godt, katalansk måltid. Her kan du velge mellom kurs på engelsk, fransk og spansk, og menyen varierer etter sesongen.

Les mer på www.cookandtaste.net

#Barcelona #Boqueria #By #Engelsk #Ferie #Fransk #Hovedstad #Katalonia #Katalansk #Kokk #Kurs #Marked #Mat #Meny #Moderne #Reise #Sesong #Spania #Spansk #Språk #Tradisjon #Turisme