Here’s why you should tour an embassy in Washington DC on the first two Saturdays of May

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 and politics, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]

Photo credit: www.washington.org

Twice a year, the doors on Washington, DC’s Embassy Row open up to the public for Passport DC, a month-long festival in May paying tribute to the international side of the city, according to the official tourism website of the US capital city, Washington.org

A total of 70 of the 177 embassies in Washington DC participates in the events this year,

Thanks to this only-in-DC experience, you can take advantage of two chances to step inside a foreign embassy with the Around the World Embassy Tour on May 7, and the Shortcut to Europe on May 14.

The local arbiters of international tastes, Cultural Tourism DC, organize the embassy walkthroughs, and do so in tandem with the Delegation of the European Union to the U.S for the Shortcut to Europe.

Read the full story and see photos here: https://washington.org/11-reasons-you-should-tour-embassy-first-two-saturdays-may

News source: www.washington.org

#Ambassade #Amerika #By #DC #Destinasjon #EU #EuropeiskeUnion #Ferie #Hovedstad #Kultur #Mai #Pass #Reise #Reiseliv #Reiselyst #Reisemål #Storby #Tur #Turisme #Turist #USA #Washington #WashingtonDC

#America #Capital #City #Culture #Destination #Embassy #EuropeanUnion #Holiday #May #Passport #Tourism #Travel

VING SATSER MER PÅ USA – WASHINGTON OG BOSTON ER NYE DESTINASJONER

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 and politics, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]

Kirsebærblomstring i Washington DC. Foto: washington.org

Til tross for en sterk dollar – reiseoperatøren Ving vokser i det amerikanske markede, og det er på Florida økningen er størst, skriver reisenettstedet travelnews.no

Nylig lanserte Ving to USA-nyheter – Boston i Massachusets, og den føderale hovedstaden Washington DC. Til Boston flyr Norwegian direkte fra Oslo Lufthavn, mens Icelandair flyr via Reykjavik til den amerikanske hovedstaden.

– I fjor var det imidlertid Florida som sto for den største økningen i antallet reisende, sier Tonje Løkaas Fossum, markeds- og kommunikasjonsdirektør i Ving Norge.

Interessen for USA ser altså ut til å holde seg, selv om dollaren holder en rekordhøy kurs.

Les hele saken på Travelnews her http://travelnews.no/nyheter/fly/ving-satser-mer-pa-usa/

Kilde: www.travelnews.no

Les vår store bloggpost om de japanske kirsebærtrærne i Washington DC her http://hovedsteder.blogg.no/1330539028_amerikas_forente_stat.html

#Amerika #Boston #By #Destinasjon #Dollar #Ferie #Florida #Flyplass #Hovedstad #Icelandair #Island #Japan #Keflavik #Kirsebær #Lufthavn #Massachusets #Norwegian #Oslo #Reise #Reiseliv #Reiselyst #Reisemål #Reykjavik #Storby #Tre #Turisme #Turist #USA #Valuta #Ving #Washington #WashingtonDC

ANSIKTSLØFTNING FOR THE FAIRMONT I WASHINGTON DC

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 [email protected]

Foto: www,fairmont.com

En av de mest mondene adressene i Washington DC blir snart enda råere, da luksushotellet The Fairmont Washington får en ansiktsløftning til en prislapp på hele 27 millioner dollar, skriver bladet Kapital Reise.

Oppussingen av hotellet, som har 415 rom, blir ledet av designerene Pierre Josselin og Ayten Nuhoglu. Blant annet skal alle rommene oppgraderes og ommøbleres.

Videre er det planlagt å utvide og omdanne det eksisterende møte- og utleielokalet til et 175 kvadratmeter stort ballroom som både kan brukes til jobbeventer og sosiale sammenkomster som kickoffer og bryllup.

Hotellet stenger dørene nå i desember, og etter planen blir det nyåpning i april 2016. 

Hotellets nettside: www.fairmont.com/Washington

Kilde: Kapital Reise

#Amerika #Ansiktsløftning #Ballroom #Bryllup #By #Design #Event #Ferie #Hotell #Hovedstad #Kickoff #Luksus #Møbel #Reise #Turisme #USA #WashingtonDC 

 

MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE ÅPNER I WASHINGTON DC

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Når Museum of African American History and Cultre åpner i USAs hovedstad Washington DC er det første gang et museum i USA utelukkende vies afro-amerikanske liv, historie og kultur, skriver Se og Hør.

Den 10 etasjer høye bygningen vil huse gjenstander fra hele historien  – fra Harriet Tubmans salmebok til bilder og bannere fra BlackLivesMatter- demonstrasjonene.

Museet åpner i løpet av 2016 – og båndet skal klippes av president Barack Obama mens han fortsatt er president.

Les mer på www.nmaahc.si.edu

#Afrikansk #Afroiamerikansk #Amerikansk #BarackObama #Black #Bok #By #Demonstrasjon #Ferie #Historie #Hovedstad #Kultur #Museum #Obama #President #Reise #Salme #Salmebok #Turisme #USA #WashingtonDC

 

 

MARRIOTT BLIR VERDENS STØRSTE HOTELLKJEDE

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 [email protected]

Washington Marriott. Hotellkjeden ble grunnlagt i den amerikanske hovedstaden i 1927.

Med til sammen 5 500 hoteller og en omsetning på nær 180 milliarder kroner blir Marriott – etter oppkjøpet av Starwood – verdens største hotellkjede, skriver travelnews.no

Den nye kjeden får mer enn én million rom i over hundre land. I de to hotellkjedens porteføljer er det i dag 29 varemerker.

Av kjøpsprisen på 106 milliarder kroner skal mesteparten (ca. 74 milliarder kroner) betales i Marriott-aksjer. Aksjeeierne i Starwood vil etter sammenslåingen eie omlag 37 prosent av Marriott.

I en pressemelding sier styreleder og konsernsjef Arne Sorenson i Marriott at vekst er bakgrunnen for kjøpet.

– Ved å kombinere distribusjon og de to selskapenes styrker skal vi skape verdier som øker vår konkurransekraft i et raskt voksende marked, sier han blant annet.

– i flere tiår har vi konkurrert med Starwood, og ofte beundret dem, sier styremedlem J. W. Marriott i Marriott.

– Jeg er derfor begeistret ikke minst for de mulighetene dette innebærer for våre medarbeidere både i Starwood og Marriott.

Marriott-kjeden ble grunnlagt av J.Willard Marriott i Washington DC i 1927, og har i dag hovedkvarter i Bethesda i Maryland. Konsernet har 151,000 ansatte. 

Kilder: www.travelnews.no, wikipedia.org

#Bethesda #By #Ferie #Hotell #Hovedstad #Marriott #Maryland #Reise #Starwood #Turisme #USA

SOMALIA RE-OPENS EMBASSY IN WASHINGTON DC AFTER 24 YEARS

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National flag of Somalia

The Federal Government of Somalia has reopened its embassy in United States after 24 years, mareeg.com reported.

US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield represented the United States President at the historic re-opening of the Embassy of Somalia in Washington, D.C. on November 18.

Foreign Minister of Somalia Abdusalam Omer also attended the event hosted by new Somali Ambassador to the United States Ahmed IssaAwad.

In her remarks, US Assistant Secretary Thomas-Greenfield warmly welcomed Somalia’s official return to Washington after a nearly twenty-four year absence.  

Assistant Secretary Thomas-Greenfield emphasized that this was yet another step towards normalizing the U.S.-Somali relationship, including official recognition of the Somali government in January 2013, welcoming the first Somali Ambassador to Washington in July 2014, and U.S. Secretary of State Kerry’s historic visit to Mogadishu in May 2015.

Assistant Secretary Thomas-Greenfield affirmed the United States’ commitment to work with Somali government officials to bring stability, security, and prosperity to all Somali people.

Somalia which has currently over 40 diplomatic missions across has in recent years embarked on the improving of its international relations that was greatly damaged by the aftermath of the civil war that lasted for over two decades.

#Ambassade #Ambassadør #By #Ferie #Hovedstad #Mogadishu #Reise #Somalia #Turisme #USA #Utenriksminister #WashingtonDC

#Ambassador #Capital #City #Embassy #ForeignMinister #Holiday #Tourism #Travel

 

EMBASSY OF SRI LANKA IN WASHINGTON DC MOVES TO NEW CHANCERY PREMISES

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Photo credit: asiantribune.com

Sri Lanka’s Embassy in Washington D.C. moved to its new chancery premises on October 19th marking another milestone in the seven-decade long diplomatic presence in the United States, asiantribune.com reported.

Photo credit: asiantribune.com

The Ambassador and the staff marked the occasion with a simple and solemn ceremony at the new premises on 3025, Whitehaven Street, NW, in the presence of religious dignitaries representing multiple faiths, who invoked their blessings on the new premises and its staff.

Addressing those present, Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam observed that the occasion happily coincides with the recent exponential progress in the bilateral relationship between the United States and Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations with the United States and opened its first chancery building on Wyoming Avenue soon after gaining independence, in 1948.

The premises on Wyoming Avenue witnessed the ebb and flow of the US-Sri Lanka relationship over the years; a robust relationship that has remained one of the most important for Sri Lanka based on shared democratic and multi ethnic values that bind the two countries and create natural affinities.

The Ambassador on this occasion paid tribute to all those officers who had served Sri Lanka at the previous premises of the Embassy on Wyoming Avenue.

The Ambassador also remarked that the more spacious and elegant new building would help better profile and project Sri Lanka in the United States capital and serve as a user-friendly establishment for all those who seek services of the Embassy, in particular, the Sri Lankan American community in the United States.

#Ambassade #Ambassadør #By #Ferie #Hovedstad #Reise #SriLanka #Turisme #USA #WashingtonDC #Wyoming

#Ambassador #Capital #City #Embassy #Holiday #Tourism #Travel

CUBAS AMBASSADE I WASHINGTON GJENÅPNET I DAG – ETTER 54 ÅR

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Det skulle ta 54 år før Cubas flagg offisielt heises i USAs hovedstad. Kubanske æresvakter i kritthvite uniformer foldet ut det røde, hvite og blå cubanske flagget ved bygningen som fra mandag fungerer som Havannas ambassade i Washington, skriver www.vg.no 

Folkemengden som overvar seremonien, klappet og ropte «Viva Cuba», før cubanske diplomater og andre gjester sang den cubanske nasjonalsangen utenfor ambassaden, som kun ligger et steinkast unna Det hvite hus.

USA gjenåpner sin ambassade i Havanna neste måned, når den amerikanske utenriksministeren John Kerry besøker Cuba.

I dag tok Kerry imot sin kubanske kollega Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla i utenriksdepartementet i Washington. Det er første gang siden 1958 at en kubansk utenriksminister er på offisielt besøk i den amerikanske hovedstaden.

#Ambassade #By #Cuba #DetHviteHus #Ferie #Havanna #Hovedstad #Reise #Turisme #USA #Utenriksminister #WashingtonDC

FARGERIK 4.JULI-FEIRING

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Et fyrverkeri i de amerikanske fargene lyste opp himmelen over kongressbygningen (t.v.) på Capitol Hill i Washington DC da USA feiret sin nasjonaldag 4.juli.

#Amerika #By #Capitol #Ferie #Fyrverkeri #Hovedstad #Kongress #Nasjonaldag #Reise #Turisme #USA #Washington

WASHINGTON DC’S HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM INDUSTRY BOOMING

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Breaking the record for a fifth year in a row, Washington, DC’s tourism and hospitality industry continued to grow in domestic visitation for the year of 2014, reaching 18.34 million in domestic visitors (which is a rise of 5.7% since the previous year). According to reports, DC’s visitors spent around $6.8 billion, which is an increase of 1.9%, the www.tourism-review.com website reports.

CEO and president of Destination DC, Elliott Ferguson, said that every visitor plays a pivotal role in supporting the local economy with every hotel stay, meal at a restaurant, and visit to attractions. Visitors are responsible for supporting nearly 75,000 District jobs, according to Ferguson.

He was also proud to report that visitor spending for 2014 rose by well over $100 million versus the previous year, suggesting that this is a strong indicator of the value in tourism investment.

This was the fourth year in a row in which visitor spending exceeded $6 billion. In addition to this, retail grew by roughly 2.5%. The amount of money spent on beverage and food rose by nearly 4%, and even entertainment spending grew by almost 2%, which shows improvement from the recessionary levels when consumers had significantly reduced non-essential spending.

Ferguson stated that Destination DC’s focus is to keep the District on consumers’ minds by putting their famous tourist inventory, and $9 billion planned in new development. They remain wary of challenges presented by a struggling Euro and a strong dollar, but plan to address key audiences in unique ways. Their seasonal campaign will include emojis with DC themes, a television commercial, and a print campaign featured in popular magazines.

In the year 2016, Washington, DC plans to welcome fifteen city-wide conventions in total, which include two particularly high-profile events in March and June respectively. They will also be hosting a wide variety of conferences in the year 2017, and future business contracts have recently been signed for multiple year bookings, including the American Chemical Society and Playlist Live.

According to their chief executive and president, Gregory O’Dell, Events DC’s job is to oversee attraction and growth of entertainment, conventions, cultural and sports events to the cosmopolitan city events such as the impending Foo Fighters anniversary concert on July 4th and the MLB game in 2018, which is expected to bring $60 million to Washington, DC. These events, he says, serve as perfect examples of the ways that their mission continues to support the city’s local hospitality and tourism industry, which results in significant economic benefits.

Washington, DC is also going to host many special events and familiar traditions that are certain to attract international and domestic leisure visitors during the upcoming second half of 2015, including their impressive annual July Fourth celebrations, the Jazz Festival, the famous Renwick Gallery’s reopening, and the Landmark Music Festival.

#Amerika #By #Ferie #Festival #Hovedstad #Jazz #Reise #USA #WashingtonDC

#America #Capital #City #Travel #USA