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] Facebook: Hovedstederblogg
Nå kan du reise tilbake til kolonitidens klassiske luksus – og til den sjarmerende og vakre, men desverre noe oversette hovedstaden i Laos: Vientiane.
Hotellet The President kan skilte med 32 suiter, på opptil 129 kvadratmeter, like mange butlere, velværesenter, evighetsbasseng, kunstgalleri, og egen whiskeykjeller, skriver Se og Hør.
Hotellet åpnet i november, og blir drevet av Akaryn Hotel Group, som har base i Thailand. Priser fra kr.3400,-
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] Facebook: Hovedstederblogg
The government of Myanmar has announced new initiatives to attract tourists and conference and exhibition organisers to the capital city, Nay Pyi Taw, The Bangkok Post reported.
U Tint Thwin, director general at the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, told a press conference recently that Nay Pyi Taw had a lot to offer both foreign and local tourists.
A marketing team is to boost efforts to promote the capital as a location for MICE – meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions, he said.
The government was also running tours of parliament for local youth groups, he said. The capital has historical significance that it should leverage to draw locals.
‘Our ancient kings also regarded this place as a place of nobility, so local travellers also can come to Nay Pyi Taw to learn all about this,’ he said.
Nay Pyi Taw saw an increase in hotel construction in the lead up to 2014 Asean events while held the chair that year for the regional block. But many of the facilities have been underutilised since, the Myanmar Times, has reported.
The government last year began pushing Nay Pyi Taw as a potential destination for conferences and events. But Yangon is still the overwhelming preference as an entry point for tourist arrivals. In 2015, 1.2 million travellers arrived via Yangon, compared to just 13,800 in the capital, according to figures from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.
There are more than 50 hotels with over 5000 rooms in Myanmar’s capital city, with the industry working together to promote the area.
But not everyone agrees with the capital’s tourism potential. ‘Nay Pyi Taw is like a dead city,’ said U Aye Kyaw, managing director of Ruby Land Tourism Services.
It takes more than a few conference halls to lure foreign visitors to a MICE destination, he said. ‘There need to be facilities with shopping spots and restaurants too,’ he said. ‘And we can’t compete with Thailand and Vietnam on hotel room prices.’
Daw Zar Chi Thet, operations manager at Ayarwaddy Legend Travels and Tours, welcomed the government’s initiatives, but said there was still much to do in the capital before foreign visitors saw it as an international conference destination.
‘Lower room prices are one of just many factors needed to help promote a MICE industry,’ she said. ‘There should be more cheap direct flights to Nay Pyi Taw, for example.’
Additional entertainment facilities were also important to the industry, Daw Zar Chi Thet added.
‘Tourists have told us that there is no place to go when the events are finished,’ she said. ‘It is not enough to have only lower hotel room prices, but we need better transportation and other facilities to promote a tourism industry in Nay Pyi Taw.’
See the full story here: http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1102168/myanmar-to-push-capital-as-destination-for-event-organisers
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] Facebook: Hovedstederblogg
Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam plans to welcome 30 million visitors, including 5.7 million foreigners, by 2020, according to the municipal Department of Tourism, Vietnamnet.vn reported.
Hanoi also hopes to generate US$ 5.36 billion in tourism revenue by 2020, with an annual growth of 15-17 per cent till then.
Head of the tourism department Do Dinh Hong said the city would continue to develop infrastructure, improve tourism products in terms of quality and diversity and have better human resources in a move to make tourism more sustainable and a key industry.
The department’s statistics revealed that Hanoi posted annual growth of more than 10 per cent in tourist arrivals in recent years. In 2015, the city attracted approximately 19.7 million travellers. Of them, 3.3 million came from overseas, accounting for 40 per cent of the foreign visitors to Vietnam.
The number of travellers coming to the city reached more than 11 million in the first half of this year, including two million foreigners, up 30 per cent year-on-year. That has earned the city $1.4 billion.
During the reviewed period, most foreign tourists came from China, South Korea, Japan and the United Kingdom, besides Australia, the United States, France and Germany.
However, the department said, the number of international visitors to Vietnam was still much lower than that of other capital cities in the region. It was just one-sixth of the number of visitors going to Bangkok, and one-third that of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
Hanoitourist Director Do Duc Ke said the capital city needed to make greater efforts to affirm its position as the country’s largest tourist centre.
Top priority should be given to developing attractive tourism packages and perfecting the quality of existing tourist services, he said.
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]
Ambassador Felicidade de Sousa Guterres with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, otherwise known as East Timor, has opened an embassy in Phnom Penh, capital city of Cambodia, the Khmer Times reported.
East Timors first resident ambassador to Cambodia is Mrs Felicidade de Sousa Guterres, a veteran of East Timor’s fight for independence. The new embassy is located in the Phnom Penh Tower.
East Timor won its independence on May 20, 2002. Now, after four centuries of rule by Portugal and 24 years of rule by Indonesia, the nation of 1.2 million people is pushing to join Asean, the body that unites the countries of Southeast Asia.
East Timor has now set up embassies in all 10 Asean member countries as part of its push to join the regional grouping. The move to join Asean took a positive turn last week when Prime Minister Hun Sen spoke in favor of East Timor becoming a member during a speech in Kuala Lumpur at the World Economic Forum on Asean.
See the full story and read the interview with Ambassador Felicidade Sousa de Guterres here: http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/25781/cambodia—s-newest-embassy-opens/
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]
Finland has opened an honorary consulate i Bangladesh’ capital city Dhaka, with Summit Group Chairman Muhammed Aziz Khan as the consul general, bdnews24.com reported.
The group has business partnership with a leading Finnish corporation Wartsila, which specialises in machineries and equipment for the energy and power industries.
Finland’s Non-resident Ambassador to Bangladesh, Mr Aapo Polho, based in New Dehli, India – inaugurated the office on Tuesday at the Summit Centre at Kawran Bazar and unveiled Finland’s flag, Summit Group said in a statement.
Ambassador Polho said Bangladesh was one of the biggest markets for Wartsila.
He hoped that the new honorary consulate general would strengthen both economic and cultural relations between Finland and Bangladesh.
ww.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]
Slovenia has opened a honorary consulate in Dhaka, capital city of Bangladesh, to boost trade and diplomatic relations between the two countries, The Daily Star reported.
Noted Bangladeshi industrialist Wahid Salam has been named Honorary Consul.
Bangladeshi Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed inaugurated the consulate in Dhaka in presence of Slovenia’s Ambassador in New Dehli, India, who’s also accredited to Bangladesh, Jozef Drofenik.
The Swedish embassy in Dhaka issues visas to Bangladeshi citizens who want to travel to Slovenia.
Bangladesh and Slovenia will soon start exchanging business delegations, the minister said after a meeting with Ambassador Drofenik.
“We will explore the Slovenian markets as we can export a lot of goods, especially garment items,” Minister Ahmed said.
Mr.Drofenik said the main task would be deepening the bilateral relations between the two countries. “This would be done through exchange of business delegations.”
The balance of bilateral trade between the two countries is in favour of Bangladesh. In fiscal 2014-15, Bangladesh exported goods worth $36.04 million and imported products worth $1.6 million, according to data from the Bangladesh Ministry of Commerce.
In 2013-14, Bangladesh exported goods worth $29.05 million and imported products of $1 million.
See the full story here: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/slovenia-opens-consulate-office-1216315
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]
Cambodia has restarted passenger train services on one route after a gap of some 14 years, according to the BBC News website
The first service set out on Saturday from Phnom Penh, the capital city, for the tourist areas of the south-west coast of the kingdom.
The railway service will run only on weekends, and had a VIP on board – Cambodia’s veteran Prime Minister, Hun Sen, 63, in office on and off since 1984.
“The train and railway were almost totally destroyed by war more than 40 years ago,” the Prime Minister wrote on Facebook.
“Because our country is now at peace, we have the opportunity to rebuild our transport infrastructure.”
The train journey from the capital costs around $7 (£4.80) and takes eight hours. It will run to and from the coast once a day from Fridays to Sundays.
Cambodia has hundreds of kilometres of track, but very little is open, after decades of neglect.
Cargo services restarted three years ago, along small stretches of track.
News source: www.bbc.com
Read the full story here: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36176907
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]
The Mayor of Kuala Lumpur (KL), Datuk Seri Mohamed Amin Nordin Abd Aziz yesterday unveiled Kuala Lumpur Tourism Bureau and City Hall’s plans to boost tourism and travel to the Malaysian capital city, the most notable of which is the official ‘brand identity of KL’ – complete with a new logo and tagline. Here it is:
Image: Kuala Lumpur Tourism Bureau
Kuala Lumpur is now known as ‘A City of Contrasts & Diversity’, and tagged onto its new logo are the words ‘exciting’, ‘surprising’ and ‘enticing’.
According to the latest release, this new brand identity refers to KL’s ‘contrasting heritage, multi-cultural society and religion, diverse attractions and metropolis’. In simpler terms, KL is unique, and ‘contrasts and diversity’ is apparently the way forward to distinguish our capital city from other cities around the world.
News source: TimeOut.com Blog
Read more here: http://www.timeout.com/kuala-lumpur/blog/this-is-kl-citys-new-branding-and-tagline-042616
Please note: Kuala Lumpur is one of the two capitals of Malaysia, and the seat of the King, the Parliament, and foreign embassies, while the city of Putrajaya, 25 kilometers south of KL, is the administrative capital and the seat of government.
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]
Vientiane
Thai AirAsia (TAA) looks set to start serving Vientiane as the second city in Laos, which until recently was largely off-limits to low-cost carriers (LCCs), the Bangkok Post can report.
TAA will become the first no-frills airline to operate on the Bangkok-Vientiane route when it launches daily flights to the Laotian capital city in July.
The Vientiane start-up follows TAA’s successful entry to the old royal city, and former capital, of Luang Prabang.
The airline commenced a daily service from Bangkok on March 24, becoming the first LCC to serve the city.
Laos’ Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism estimated there were 4.3 million international tourist arrivals to the landlocked state last year, an increase of 4.88% from 4.1 million in 2014, generating US$670 million in revenue.
Thai nationals represented the majority of those arrivals, followed by Vietnamese and Chinese.
Read more here: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/transport/933005/thai-airasia-to-inaugurate-flights-to-vientiane-in-july
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]
Australian Embassy, Jakarta. This is Australias largest diplomatic mission anywhere in the world. Photo by Graham Crouch / Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Media Release from the Australian Embassy in Indonesia:
The new Australian Embassy in Jakarta has been opened by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
he new embassy is the largest ever constructed by an Australian Government and reflects the depth of the relationship between Australia and Indonesia.
The new complex in Patra Kuningan, Jakarta Selatan, which includes a five-storey Chancery, accommodation for some Embassy staff, and a recreation and medical centre covers more than 50,000 square metres.
The embassy complex was built by Indonesian company Total Bangun Persada in partnership with Leighton (Asia) and continues to make a positive contribution to the local economy. During construction up to 2,500 local workers were employed on the site. The Australian Government is also undertaking upgrades to infrastructure in the local neighbourhood.
Ambassador Paul Grigson said the new embassy is indicative of Australia’s expanded diplomatic footprint which includes a Consulate-General in Bali and another mission soon to be opened in Makassar.
” The Embassy showcases the best in Australian innovative design and cutting edge technology to make the most out of the Indonesia’s environment while minimising the impact on local water and energy sources,” Ambassador Grigson said.
The Embassy complex uses low resource technologies such as collecting and using rainwater as well as solar hot water heating systems.
Extensive landscaping was carried out during construction including the relocation of four mature Banyan trees. The relocation is the biggest of its kind ever undertaken and has been recognised by the Indonesian Guinness Book of Records, receiving a Museum Rekor Indonesia (MURI) award.
The distinctive colours chosen for the Chancery are designed to represent Australia’s wealth in minerals such as copper, zinc, brass, steel and aluminium.
” The new Australian Embassy complex is not only a tribute to Australian creative design and innovation, but it is also a tangible example of a very successful Australian-Indonesian construction partnership,” Ambassador Paul Grigson said.
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The Australian government began talks on the new highly secure facility after the original embassy was bombed by terrorists in 2004, according to ABC.net
Nine people including the suicide bomber died in the attack, and more than 150 people were injured. No Australians were killed.
In the decade since, the Australian embassy staff have been working at a number of locations across the Indonesian capital as the original building was unable to accommodate a doubling of Australian staff.
