TRAVEL NEWS: Making the Distance between Seoul and Chuncheon Closer through ITX Cheongchun High Speed Train

Image source

With the operations having officially begun on February 28, 2012, at 6:00 PM, the ITX Cheongchun High-Speed Train marked the reality of faster travel from Yongsan Station in Seoul to Chuncheon in Gangwon-do Province.

As the train speeds off to 180 km/hour, passengers could expect to cover the distance between the two places in just 73 minutes. A train departs from Yongsan Station every hour, and ten minutes after, one from Chuncheon would leave.

The route intersects four stations: Cheongnyangni, Pyeongnaehopyeong, Gapyeong and Namchuncheon. During rush hours on weekdays though, every train stops at Sangbong Station in Seoul and Sareung and Maseok Stations in Namnyangju.

The double decker-train is provided with facilities assuring every passenger of utmost convenience. There are restrooms and nursing rooms for mothers.

Train tickets are sold through easily-operated ticket vending machines positioned at every station. A trip from Yongsan to Chuncheon, and back, will cost 6,900 won while a trip starting from or to Cheongnyangni will cost 6,000 won.

ITX Cheongchun High-Speed Train operates daily from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM.

Revised Flight Surcharge Rates from Emirates, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

Starting March 1, 2012, there will be a slight increase in the number of fuel surcharges of airline companies Emirates, Cathay Pacific, and Singapore Air. This applies to tickets issued on or after the given date, including those of infants and children.

A summary of the revised amounts of fuel surcharges is charted below:

EMIRATES (one-way surcharges only) From UAE to GCC, Middle East, South Asian Region	Economy Class : Dh60 First Class/Business Class : Dh390
From UAE to Africa, Europe, Far East, Australasia	Economy Class : Dh120 First Class/Business Class: Dh500
From UAE to the Americas	Economy Class : Dh170 First Class/Business Class: Dh610
CATHAY PACIFIC Between Hong Kong, Southwest Pacific, North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Indian Subcontinent	USD 133.20 HKD 1039.00 CAD 135.80 NZD 162.00
Between Japan and Korea Between New York and Vancouver	USD 29.50 HKD 230.00 NZD 36.00
SINGAPORE AIR Between Singapore and Hong Kong	USD 29.50
Between Hong Kong and San Francisco	USD 133.20

The revision on the amount of fuel surcharges is implemented with the guarantee to improve the facilities of the said airline companies. 

References:

Emirates Flight Surcharge Rates 2012

Cathay Pacific Flight Surcharge Rates 2012

TRAVEL NEWS: Hainan’s Duty-Free Stores Enjoy Huge Popularity

Image sources: China Daily

Duty-Free Stores in the Hainan province are enjoying huge popularity and profit as off-shore duty-free shops. Sanya and Haiku airport duty-free stores are drawing crowds of cash-rich Chinese who are eager to splurge on branded goods.

Unlike outlets in China international airports which can only offer duty-free goods to Chinese travellers leaving the country, the Hainan stores can sell to local tourists without requiring an outbound ticket.

The tropical island is treated as an off-shore location where Chinese returning to the mainland can buy tax-free branded goods with a wider selection, often available at lower prices.

Launched early last year, this pilot programme exempts Chinese tourists in Hainan from paying import duties which can be as high as 40% for cosmetics.

Branded goods in China are usually more expensive than the same products abroad. Coupled with hefty consumption and value-added taxes, the average total levy can add up to about 60%. This jacks up the prices of luxury goods in China and they end up costing about 70% more than similar goods in France and 50% more than those in the United States.

“Hopefully, more Chinese people will be able to enjoy better prices and convenience offered by off-shore duty-free stores without having to leave the country,” said the Sanya store’s spokesman Ms. Jessica Zhao.

The Sanya store racked up an impressive 800 million yuan (S$159 million) in sales in its first eight months of offering 100-plus brands of luxury items duty-free to Chinese tourists last year.

Experts expect to see more duty-free stores mushrooming across China in the next three to five years.

“The central government had set the trend and the conditions are in place,” said the Central University of Finance and Economics Professor Li Huan, who noted that are applying to become duty-free havens.

China’s southernmost island province hopes to take advantage of its “4S” reputation – sea, sand, sunshine, and now, shopping.

Because of the huge popularity of these duty-free stores, several travel agencies have included duty-free shopping in their Hainan tour schedules.

“We have added duty-free shopping to all our tour packages to Hainan and will arrange regular shopping-themed tours in the future,” said Zhang Lingjie, Deputy Director of the Domestic Tour department at China International Travel Service (CITS) in Beijing.

Hotels nearby the stores are also benefitting from the influx of guests, noting that the number of bookings has increased dramatically since the opening of the Sanya store.

Airline companies, too have added extra flights to meet the growing demand for Sanya flights.

EVENTS: Mardi Gras New Orleans 2012

Photo by Ugur Arpaci

Mardi Gras is one big holiday in New Orleans, it means music, parades, picnics, floats, and excitement! Everyone is wearing purple, green, and gold, some even adorned themselves with the long beads they caught from the beautiful floats. People sit on the ground throwing balls, playing music, and having a picnic while they watch the crowds walk by between parades.

During Mardi Gras, all of the businesses and roads are practically shut down -- people are walking everywhere and meeting new friends. People are dressed in crazy costumes, kids are everywhere, and the air is oozing with fun and excitement!

The highlights of the festivities are the Mardi Gras Parade Krewes where one can get treasure items being thrown from different floats like anodized aluminum that depict the parade theme on one side and the Krewe's emblem on the other called doubloons, cups, long pearl beads, and stuffed animals.

Each year there are dozens of parades in New Orleans and the surrounding area, and this year is no different. Parades begin Sunday, February 5, 2012, and continue until Mardi Gras Day, February 21, 2012. 

Each Mardi Gras Parade Krewe has a unique history and theme. Some have been around for decades, while others have been in existence for just a few years. Krewe of ZULU is well known for its interesting history and "golden nugget" (coconut) parade throws. Mardi Gras Indians are about beautiful beaded and feathered costumes they hand design throughout the entire year. Krewe of Bacchus features national celebrity monarchs each year and draws hundreds of thousands of visitors. Krewe of Rex is the origin of many traditions of Mardi Gras, including its colors of purple, green, and gold, as well as the collectible doubloon coins Krewe of Endymion quickly emerged as one of Carnival's 'Super-Krewes' in 1974 with the inclusion of more floats and celebrity guests.

Usually, days have several parades booked back to back, so whether you are on St. Charles Avenue with the family, catching beads from a Central Business District balcony, or enjoying the floats on Canal before a night in the French Quarter, plan for a day of Mardi Gras magic!

TRAVEL NEWS: Myanmar to Introduce E-visas

Photo by Cheng Q 

 

Tourists who are planning to visit Myanmar will no longer need to go to the Myanmar embassy to apply for a visa starting in March.

The country’s Ministry of Hotels and Tourism is pushing for a significant liberalisation of the country’s visa regulations and is planning to introduce an electronic visa application system beginning next month.

Union Minister, U Tint San said “We are trying to introduce an e-visa system from March, that would allow international visitors to apply for a visa from anywhere via the Internet, before visiting Myanmar”.

The ministry’s efforts to roll out an e-visa system were first unveiled in January. The pilot project will start this month before it is officially launched in March.

U Tint San mentioned that the ministry is also working to attract direct international flights to airports at Bagan and Ngapali “in the near future”.

“We are also in discussions with other ministries to allow tourists to enter or exit the country at a checkpoint by either air or land,” he added. 

Presently, tourists who would like to enter Myanmar by land need to face quite a number of travel restrictions. Only a handful of border crossings are open to foreigners and a regulation introduced in mid-2011 which requires tourists to enter and exit at the same checkpoint are just a few of them.

Travel News: 2011, Busiest-ever year for Changi Airport

Image Source: SingaporePictures

Records showed that 2011 is the busiest-ever year for Singapore’s Changi Airport. It handled over 45 million passengers for the first time ever last year.

The airport registered 46.5 million passenger movements and 302,000 aircraft movements in 2011, an increase of 10.7 % and 14.5 % over the year before, respectively.

December 2011 was also recorded as the airport’s busiest ever month with 4.53 million passenger movements which is about 11.4 % more than its succeeding year and 27,700 aircraft movements, showing a 16.0 % increase from last year.

The substantial increase in the airport’s passenger and aircraft movements was attributed to the strong travel demand in Asia-Pacific. South-east Asia and North-east Asia were the two best-performing regions registering double-digit growth, while traffic to and from South Asia and South-west Pacific also enjoyed positive growth.

Jakarta, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Manila occupied the top five positions among Changi Airport’s top 10 routes. On the other hand Taipei, Manila, New Delhi, Melbourne and Hong Kong registered the strongest percentage growth with at least half a million passengers who travelled to Singapore last year.

 

It should also be noted that seven new carriers joined the airport’s portfolio of airlines in 2011. They are Air Macau, Hong Kong Airlines, Finnair, TransAsia Airways, IndiGo and Lao Airlines.

News Source:

TTG Asia

India Plans to Extend VOA Policy to 13 more Countries

Photo by Sylwia Bartyzel 

The Indian government is planning to extend visas on arrival (VOA) to citizens of 13 more countries including Malaysia and Thailand according to a source from India’s Ministry of Tourism.

Based on a report published in India’s “The Economic Times”, other countries which are being touted as potential beneficiaries of the VOA policy extension are Brunei, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Brazil, and South Africa.

The report also stated that the VOA facility would be extended within a year to airports in Hyderabad, Kochi, Bangalore, and Goa, adding to the four active airports such as Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai.

Currently, there are 11 nations that are benefiting from the said policy, namely Luxembourg, Finland, New Zealand, Japan, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore. In 2011, records showed that only slightly more than 10,000 VOA applications from nationals of these countries were granted.

Anju Desai, vice president of Mumbai-based HMA Travel was quoted saying: "The countries earmarked for the VOA are major source markets and will open the floodgates of inbound tourism. We have received complaints about delays in the issuance of Indian visas from our missions abroad. Now, all that will end and seamless travel will begin."

In relevance to the issue, the Indian High Commission in Malaysia released a statement clarifying that the Indian Government had not yet taken any decision to extend VOAs to Malaysian nationals.

News Source:

TTG Asia