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 atwww.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at[email protected] Facebook: Hovedstederblogg
Photo of the Day: A flower-covered Grand Place / Grote Markt in Brussels, Belgium. Photo credit: Wouter Hagens / visit.brussels
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 atwww.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at[email protected] Facebook: Hovedstederblogg
Qatar Airways will provide its transit passengers free hotel stays and complimentary transit visa as it seeks to promote and market capital city Doha as a destination of choice for international travellers. The offer allows passengers travelling through Doha to experience a taste of the Middle East for free, the financialexpress.com website reported.
Qatar Airways flies 30 million transit passengers through its Hamad International Airport hub in Doha and it aims to convert a major chunk of these passengers into stopover visitors. The initiative is part of a broader campaign, “+Qatar”, launched along with Qatar Tourism Agency (QTA), which seeks to encourage transit passengers to consider adding Doha to their itinerary, according to a statement from the airline.
Qatar Airways and QTA, will give passengers, throughout the summer, a chance to turn a layover into a stay-over by offering four and five star hotel accommodation at no charge to those transiting through Doha.
“This exclusive initiative provides the opportunity to add an extra element to our passengers existing travel plans with a complimentary hotel stay in some of Doha’s finest hotels,” Akbar Al-Baker, Qatar Airways group Chief Executive Officer.
The free hotel accommodation, available throughout the summer, will offer passengers the opportunity to explore Doha and experience city tours, desert safari adventures or a dinner cruise aboard a traditional dhow, giving visitors a taste of authentic Arabian hospitality.
“It was a great source of pride for all of us in Qatar when we launched the transit visa last November. We have already seen a surge in stopover passengers with a 53 per cent increase recorded in March 2017 compared to the same month last year.
“With the launch of +Qatar, we aim to convert a larger portion of the 30 million passengers passing through Hamad International Airport into stopover visitors,” Chief Tourism Development Officer at QTA Hassan Al-Ibrahim 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 atwww.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at[email protected] Facebook: Hovedstederblogg
Det er nå blitt enda mer spennende å besøke Vikingskipshuset på Kulturhistorisk museum på Bygdøy i Oslo. Museet har har lansert opplevelsesfilmen “Vikingtiden lever”, som gir en unik reise inn i vikingtiden fra vikingskipet ble bygget, til det seiler på åpent hav og til slutt ender som gravskip for en konge, skriver Se og Hør.
Filmen vises i takvelvingen Vikingskipshuset.
Kulturhistorisk museum er underlagt Universitetet i Oslo, og rommer gravfunnene fra Tune, Gokstadhaugen i Sandefjord, Oseberghaugen og Borrehaugene.
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 atwww.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at[email protected] Facebook: Hovedstederblogg
Sveriges regjering bekrefter at de avskaffer ID-kontrollen på busser, tog og ferjer mellom Danmark og Sverige. Kontrollene ble innført i januar 2015 i sammenheng med flyktningkrisen, og vedtaket løper til 4.mai melder VG Direkte
I stedet skal grensekontrollene styrkes, skriver Aftonbladet.
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 atwww.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at[email protected] Facebook: Hovedstederblogg
Croissantene som bakes hos bakeren Guillaume Schou er kåret til de beste i Paris. Hele 3000 bakerier deltok i konkuransen, og kåringen fant sted på den årlige festivalen Fête du Pain, skriver Se og Hør.
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 atwww.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at[email protected] Facebook: Hovedstederblogg
The Belgian capital city of Brussels is hoping to boost tourism to pre-2016 levels with a Europe-wide campaign to be launched this week, the TravelMole website reported.
Exact details have not been released, but the promotion launch will take place in London, where members of the public can win a city trip to Brussels.
A similar campaign will launch simultaneously in several European cities today, May 2.
Since the terror attacks last year, the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region has made efforts to bring back tourism to pre-2016 levels.
The lockdown of Brussels in 2015 and the attacks of March 2015 impacted tourists to the city breaks destination, with occupancy and revenue per available room (revPAR) dropping significantly. However, for the past five months the city’s hotel market is starting to show a recovery.
According to data from STR, November 2016 saw a 10.2% year-on-year increase in occupancy.
March 2017 recorded a 19.4% increase in occupancy to 69 %.
However, the figure is still 4% lower than the capital’s March 2015 occupancy level of 72%.
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 atwww.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at[email protected] Facebook: Hovedstederblogg
Egypt-based Talaat Mostafa has been awarded a contract to develop a full-fledged urban project in the country’s new capital city over the next seven years, the constructionweekonline.com website reported.
Talaat Mostafa is an affiliate of Egyptian property developer Arab Company for Projects and Urban Development.
The company bought a plot of land sprawling over a 2.1m2 for $243.1m, according to Egypt-based magazine Amwal Alghad.
About 15 Egyptian companies, including Talaat Mostafa and Sodic, submitted bids in March to develop land for the capital‘s first phase of construction, but no official announcement has yet been made as to the winning bids, stated the report.
Egypt’s plan to construct a new city 45km east of Cairo was announced in March 2015 at a Sharm Al Sheikh summit held to attract foreign investors who pulled back from the country after the 2011 revolt against the government, the report further added.
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 atwww.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at[email protected] Facebook: Hovedstederblogg
StayEasy Maputo
Tsogo Sun, a tourist accommodation and hotel facilities in Southern African region, is now expanding its investments in Southern Africa by opening up a new facility in Mozambican capital of Maputo, the eturbonews.com website reported.
Maputo
Based in South Africa, the Tsogo Sun chain has expanded its investment in Mozambique’s capital city with the construction of a brand new R220-million (US dollars 17 million) hotel, the StayEasy Maputo, located just two kilometers from the group’s luxury Southern Sun Maputo Hotel, with a total of 269 rooms.
“Construction of the new 125-room hotel began in mid-April 2017 and is scheduled to be completed by April 2018,” says Mark Boyd, Director of Development for Tsogo Sun Hotels.
“StayEasy Maputo is in a magnificent location, and being part of a mixed use development, will undoubtedly be popular to both business and leisure travelers looking for the best and latest accommodation in the economy branded sector”, Boyd said.
Both Tsogo Sun hotels boast prime locations on the seafront in the Bay of Maputo, just two kilometers apart on the Avenida da Marginal.
The StayEasy Maputo will be built above the new Baia Mall that is currently under construction, and situated on a portion of the old Automoval Touring Clube de Maputo race track.
“The time is right to increase our footprint in this prime tourist destination, which attracts both international and local travelers with its tropical climate, lush scenery, golden beaches, diverse culture, and exquisite cuisine”, Chief Executive Officer of Tsogo Sun Marcel von Aulock said.
He added that Mozambique’s growing economy contributed to the group’s decision to boost its investment in Maputo.
The developers of the Baia Mall shopping centre are backed by leading growth market investor, Actis, in partnership with a consortium of Mauritian investors and ATCM (Automovel & Touring Clube de Mozambique) as local partner.
Travelling to Maputo is increasingly easy from South Africa as flights from Johannesburg and Durban are regular and take about an hour.
Tsogo Sun’s portfolio includes over 100 hotels and 14 casino and entertainment destinations throughout South Africa, Africa, the Seychelles, and Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates.
In Tanzania, Tsogo Sun hotels chain owns and operates the Southern Sun Dar es Salaam hotel, located in the centre of Tanzania’s commercial capital, in a beautiful neighbourhood which also houses the famed Botanical Gardens.
The Southern Sun Hotel in Dar es Salaam offer modern amenities, combined with old-world charm and exotic African appeal.
Conveniently situated close to diplomatic offices and other landmarks in the city, the hotel also offers guests easy access to some of Dar es Salaam’s most popular local attractions, which include the Dar es Salaam Zoo, and the Mbudya and Bongoyo Islands.
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 atwww.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at[email protected] Facebook: Hovedstederblogg
Photo of the Day: Puente de la Mujer (“Women’s Bridge”), in Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Photo credit: Eduardo Epifanio.
The 170 metre rotating pedestrian bridge is designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, and was inaugurated in 2001. Several of the streets Puerto Madero, the commercial district of the federal capital, have women’s names,thus giving the bridge its name.
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 atwww.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at[email protected] Facebook: Hovedstederblogg
Casino lights in Macau. Photo credit: wikipedia.org
Macau, the world’s largest casino hub, is expanding into Africa. Macau Legend, led by billionaire and former Macau legislator David Chow, is building a $275 million casino complex in Cape Verde, off Africa’s west coast, Quartz Media – qz.com reported.
The 152,700 square-meter (1.6 million square feet) complex, which will house a resort, casino, office buildings, and a museum in Cape Verde’s capital city of Praia on the island of Santiago, is now in its first phase of construction.
So far, a seawall has been built and construction of the hotel is expected to start soon, according to a Macau Legend spokesperson. The massive complex will be partially built on reclaimed land, area that was once under the sea. It should take at least another two years.
An artists rendering of Macau Legend’s casino complex in Cape Verde. Photo credit: www.macaulegend.com
But the casino isn’t meant for Cape Verde’s half a million residents, many of whom depend on foreign aid flows, remittances, and tourism for their livelihoods.
Instead, Macau Legend hopes to cater to tourists from Europe, elsewhere in Africa, and most importantly from China, the biggest source of customers for Macau’s casinos.
For the past four years, China has been the world’s largest outbound market. Chinese tourists spent $261 billion last year, a 12% increase from the year before, according to the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
Spending from this market has seen double-digit growth every year since 2004 and is expected to continue expanding, according to the UNWTO.
As China builds its “One belt, One road” or “Maritime silk road,” a network of land and sea transport links that roughly follow the ancient Silk Road route, more African countries will attract Chinese investors and tourists.
Casino companies in Macau, where gambling revenues have fallen during an anti-corruption campaign in China, are looking to capitalize on this.
“This project follows the China government’s national policy “One belt, one road”, a strategy to help position Macau as one of the important cities on the Maritime Silk Road, which shall be a vanguard to lead Macau small and medium enterprises to expand from Macau,” David Chow, Macau Legend CEO, said
in a 2015 press release announcing the project. Mr Chow said that Macau and Cape Verde, both former Portuguese colonies, share a common heritage.
While Cape Verde gained independence in 1975, Macau remained under Portuguese control until 1999, when it was returned to China and is now a partly self-governing territory known as Macao Special Administrative Regionof the People’s Republic of China, situated 64 kilometers west of Hong Kong.
