World Tourism Cities Monthly

世界旅游城市资讯 (月 刊 ) Issue No.7

（2014.10.01—2014.10.31）

Address: 6th Floor of the

White Peacock Art World,

No. 3 Dongbinhelu

Deshengmenwai Street,

Xicheng District, Beijing,

P.R.China

Zip Code: 100120

Phone: 008610-65289071

E-mail: info@wtcf.org.cn

【Special Focus】……………………1

⊿ Short-term holiday is a significant factor to boosts

Tourism

【Tourism News】……………………3

⊿ Korea: "Korean Wave" comes to New York

【City News】……………………6

⊿ Geneva: launches "Geneva Girls' Guide"

【Industry News】……………………12

⊿ Via Hansa: High-tech game ‘Go Team’ in Vilnius

【Figure Scan】……………………16

⊿ 27 million: positive forecast on Greek tourist numbers

World Tourism Cities Federation

世界旅游城市联合会

Content

1

Short-term holiday is a significant factor to boost Tourism

Each year, we celebrate many holidays, like the New Year, the Labor

Days, National Day, Easter, Halloween and Christmas, all these holidays

are the significant factors to boost tourism around the world.

Chinese tourism and civil aviation authorities said

that overseas travel grew among Chinese

vacationers during National Day Golden Week

2014. Travelers from the Chinese mainland to

Hong Kong hit nearly 970,000 during October 1 to

6, up 5.4% year on year. Travelers to Macao

reached 752,400, up 16.5% while mainland travelers to Taiwan surged

more than 50% to 26,700. 8% of the Lotte Duty Free Shop of Korea

customers are Chinese. The tourists spend about $280 to $376 on the

average per person.

In Southeast Asia, a large number of Thai and Lao tourists visit each

other’s countries during every long holiday. Malaysia has suggested that

Putrajaya should grant short-term visa exemptions for the Chinese New

Year period in 2015 to boost tourist arrivals.

Special Focus

2

In UK, the bank holidays have provided a much-needed boost to the

travel industry. Some businesses have reported a 40% rise in visitors in

2013.

Not only the national holiday can boost tourism in

many countries, but also the special holiday which

is designed for the big event. Recently, Beijing

authorities and the State Council have approved a

six-day holiday in November for workers in

government departments and institutions in the city

during the forthcoming APEC meetings. The decision is part of a plan to

ease traffic on the roads as the Chinese capital hosts the APEC Economic

Leaders' meeting. However, the tourism industry will benefit from the

APEC meeting, especially for the short-term tour packages.

The tourism will also benefit from the

traditional holidays like Halloween as

well. Numerous Halloween travel

destinations stem from spooky literature,

film and folklore and picked. They provide special events to the tourist

from all over the world to attract tourists.

3

Seychelles: goes to Aberdeen

The Seychelles Tourist Office for UK and Ireland were in Aberdeen,

Scotland, to present the destination to the Scottish travel trade. The focus

during the presentations was on the affordability of the destination and

training the various agents on the products and services of the

establishments and what the Seychelles had to offer in terms of value for

money. (Reference: eTurbo News)

Singapore: mulls wearable tech to monitor consumer

behavior

The Singapore Tourism Board intends to test up to 1,000 wearable tags

and 20 tag detecting devices at an unspecified tourist destination and at a

conference venue in order to monitor consumer behavior, according to

new tender documents. (Reference: futuregov.asia)

India: Visa on arrival for US visitors to boost tourism

The India government's decision to extend 'visa on arrival' to US citizens

is not just an emotional pitch but makes good economics too. US citizens

happen to be the topmost spenders among foreign tourists.

(Reference: eTurbo News)

Tourism News

4

Germany: marks their day of unity in Seychelles

The German Ambassador accredited to Seychelles hosted a dinner at the

Hilton Northolme Hotel at Glacis to mark the 'Day of German Unity'.

Germany is the main source market for the tourism industry of

Seychelles.(Reference: eTurbo News)

Sri Lanka: tries to get big travel business from Japan

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau participated at JATA Travel fair at

Tokyo Big Sight from 25th – 28th September 2014， which is

considered as the biggest travel and tourism fair to be held in Japan. The

event attracted over 150,000 visitors during the three day event to

promoting tour packages for the Japanese market. (Reference: eTurbo News)

Morocco: Fall in Reservations from France

A statement claims that 50% of French reservations in Morocco were

cancelled recently and some tour operators recorded a drop of 15% in

reservations. For this reason, Moroccan Minister of Tourism is starting a

multi-week media campaign to improve perceptions of Morocco’s

security and stability among the French public. (Reference: moroccoworldnews.com)

Australia: brings largest contingent to IMEX America 2014

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A 25-strong delegation at IMEX America 2014 will showcase the very

best Australia has to offer with a remarkable array of outstanding

destination choices, incentive program offerings and event spaces.

(Reference: eTurbo News)

Korea: "Korean Wave" comes to New York

Korea's traditional cuisine set cultural standards in New York with a

three-day event at the famed New York City Wine and Food Festival

(NYCWFF), held October 17-19 at Pier 94 on the West Side Highway,

and a media event on October 20, from 5-7 p.m. at Soju Haus located at

315 Fifth Ave. in Manhattan. (Reference: nydailynews.com)

Czech Republic: tourist market forecast to report strong

growth for inbound tourism up to 2018

Tourism arrivals in the Czech Republic have recovered steadily, and

expect to see solid increases in inbound tourism throughout the forecast

period. Outbound tourism is expected to show slower but still sturdy

growth through to 2018. (Reference: live-pr.com)

PATA: Mart 2015 will be hosted in Bhutan

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The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) will organise the PATA

Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference and Mart 2015

(AT&RTCM 2015) in Thimphu, Bhutan from February 4 to 6.

(Reference: pata.org)

Japan: Okinawa considering relaxing visa requirements for

tourists

The government decided on October 26 to consider relaxing visa

requirements for tourists visiting Okinawa to attract foreign tourists.

Okinawa will be a trigger for the revival of the Japanese economy

through the promotion of tourism and creation of international

innovation.(Reference: eTurbo News)

San Francisco: welcome back the Fleet Week

and Blue Angels

Fleet Week was back in the San Francisco Bay

Area from 8th to 12th of October. Events featured

the return of the Blue Angels airshow, emergency

preparedness training and the commissioning of the

Navy's newest ship- the USS America. (Reference: fleetweeksanfranciscobay.com)

City News

7

Hong Kong: World Ventures opens field training center

World Ventures, the leading international direct

seller of vacation club memberships, recently

celebrated the opening of a Field Training Center in

Hong Kong. More than 600 guests from across Asia

attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony and lunch at

the new facility. (Reference: eTurbo News)

Tel Aviv: opening new Hotel

Atlas Hotels is proud to announce the opening of its

10th boutique hotel, the Market House Hotel in

Jaffa Tel Aviv, Israel. Situated near the clock-tower,

in the heart of the colorful Jaffa flea market on the

famous Bet Eshel Street, the 44 room hotel offers

the perfect central location to explore all that the

city has to offer. (Reference: Travel Daily News)

Beijing: International Photography Festival Opened

The Ministry of Culture and the People’s Government of Beijing were

joining forces to open the Beijing International Photography Festival on

October 12 to 18 at the China Millennium Monument. The exhibits

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present at the festival originate from

America, Germany, Italy, Argentina and

beyond, in various categories with

different photography styles.

(Reference: visitbeijing.com)

Paris: The newest luxury hotel is open

Since August 2014, Chinese hotel group

The Peninsula Hotels operates in Europe!

Naturally, Paris was chosen to open this

first exceptional property. Steps from

Champs-Élysées and Trocadéro, the Peninsula Paris settled in an early

20th century building, former headquarters of Unesco. (Reference: parisinfo.com)

Seoul: IATA chief speaks at The World Knowledge Forum

Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO

spoke at the "The World Knowledge Forum" in

Seoul on October 14, where he discussed the

important role that aviation plays in "Invigorating

the Global Economy", which is the theme of the

Forum. (Reference: eTurbo News)

9

Jakarta: Destination Europe travel fair draws 5000 visitors

More than 5,000 visitors attended the Destination

Europe Travel and Cultural Fair at Balai Kartini,

South Jakarta, on October 18, highlighting the

attractiveness of Europe to Indonesians both as a

tourist and study destination. (Reference: The Jakarta Post)

Budapest: Luxury train takes tourists from Budapest to Tehran

On October 15, a luxury train left

Budapest with 70 passengers onboard for

a first-time trip through the Balkans, the

Bosphorus and Kurdistan with a final

destination of Tehran. Prices range from $14,495 to $40,264 for full

service with a private bathroom, along with the sightseeing itinerary and a

leisurely view of scenery from the train across 7,000 km.

(Reference: eTurbo News)

Toronto: Tourism Ireland Launches Winter Programme

Tourism Ireland launched its winter

season programme to key travel and

lifestyle journalists in Toronto –

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reminding them that the island of Ireland is now a year-round destination,

with direct flights to Dublin from Toronto right throughout the year for

the first time ever in 2014/2015. (Reference: fft.ie)

Bangkok: Hotel Nikko Announced for 2017

Nikko Hotels International announced

that it will open Hotel Nikko Bangkok in

2017. It will be the first Nikko Hotels

International property in Thailand. Hotel

Nikko Bangkok will be located in an area that is often described as ‘Japan

Town,’ where many Japanese and other expats reside.

(Reference: hotelnewsresource.com)

London: Heathrow Holdings parts with Aberdeen, Glasgow and

Southampton airports

Heathrow Airport Holdings has

confirmed it will sell its 100 per cent

interest in Aberdeen International Airport

Limited, Glasgow Airport Limited and

Southampton International Airport Limited to a consortium formed by

Ferrovial and Macquarie. (Reference: Breaking Travel News)

11

Brussels: new Business Premier Lounge with Eurostar

Eurostar reopens its new look Brussels

Business Premier Lounge following two

months of refurbishment on 10th of

October, in the latest phase of its

extensive programme of station improvements to enhance the passenger

experience. (Reference: Breaking Travel News)

Xiamen: will held China-US Tourism Leadership Summit

Co-organized by the China National

Tourism Administration and the US

Travel Association, the eighth China-US

Tourism Leadership Summit was held in

Xiamen, Fujian province from October 27 to 30. The summit was a venue

for both China and the United States to increased mutual understanding

and enhanced cooperation. (Reference: whatsonxiamen.com)

Geneva: launches “Geneva Girls' Guide”

Geneva Tourism aims for its city to become the

preferred women's destination in Europe, and has

launched the “Geneva Girls' Guide”, a guide

12

comprising hundreds of must visit addresses selected by local female

representatives. (Reference: eTurbo News)

Kempinski: the world’s coolest hotel in Beijing

Close to the Mutianyu Great Wall with views of the Yanshan Mountains,

the Sunrise Kempinski Hotel, Beijing (roughly 60 kilometres north of the

city’s centre) is located on the shore of Yanqi Lake, whose name

translates to “Swans Dwell on the Lake”. (Reference: news.com)

Carnival: to build state-of-the-art training facility in the

Netherlands

Carnival Corporation & plc finalized its land purchase in Almere,

Netherlands on October 7, marking the official start of development for

its state-of-the-art training facility that will serve 6,500 deck and

technical officers from all nine of its global cruise brands each year.

(Reference: nfia.com)

Accommodation

Activity

Industry News

13

American Express: cooperated with MADE to launch MADE

Music

MADE, the downtown creative hub in America, announced on October 3,

in collaboration with its Founding Partner American Express, the launch

of MADE Music, an innovative incubator program for musicians and

contemporary recording artists. (Reference: americanexpress.com)

MasterCard: Announce the Launch of the world’s first

biometric contactless payment card

MasterCard and Zwipe have announced their partnership for the launch of

the world’s first contactless payment card featuring an integrated

fingerprint sensor. It includes an integrated biometric sensor and the

Zwipe secure biometric authentication technology that holds the

cardholder’s biometric data. (Reference: mastercard.com)

Lonely Planet: reveals the future of travel

Lonely Planet and the International Air Transport Association (IATA)

have joined forces to celebrate the 100th anniversary of commercial air

travel by revealing Lonely Planet’s top 10 predictions for the future of

world travel. For example, travel will soon become fully integrated into

our lives as opposed to a special event. (Reference: traveldailynews.com)

14

Hana tour: New company profile released

Hana tour Service reorganized its organization structure, in order to

strengthen its inbound and hotel businesses as future targets is

discovering key contact details, the company background and their

competitive positioning through this collection of snapshot company

profiles. (Reference: live-pr.com)

Via Hansa: High-tech game ‘Go Team’ in Vilnius

A new high-tech interactive treasure hunt game ‘Go Team’ is all about

team building, getting familiar with new places and bringing out an

ability to react promptly to others’ needs. Now available in Vilnius, ‘Go

Team’ is a Finnish product created nearly a year ago, and it is considered

one of the best high-tech games of its kind. (Reference: viahansa.com)

Kuoni: Kuoni India wins the 2014 PATA Gold Awards

Kuoni India has been felicitated at the 2014 Pacific Asia Travel

Association (PATA) Gold Award under two categories: Marketing –

Industry and Marketing Media - Travel Advertisement Broadcast Media

for the entry “Making Holidays a Priority for Indians”.

Agency

15

(Reference: traveltrendstoday.in)

ICBC: Builds Global Network of Electronic Banking Service

In recent years, ICBC has been actively establishing a global network of

electronic banking services to consistently enhance cross-border and

overseas financial service capability. So far, the Bank has launched

internet banking, mobile banking and other electronic banking services in

13 languages in 40 foreign countries and territories, creating a global

network of electronic banking services. (Reference: icbc.com)

MasterCard: Launched Essential Companion App for Apple

Pay Users

“MasterCard Nearby” available on the App Store, the “MasterCard

Nearby” App enables on-the-go consumers to easily find the more than

220,000 merchants in the United States that accept contactless payments.

(Reference: mastercard.com)

Hong Kong Airlines: Launches the 3rd “Triumph Sky High”

Junior Programme

Transportation

Technology

16

Hong Kong Airlines hosted the 3rd “Triumph Sky High” Junior

Programme today at the Hong Kong International Airport, in an effort to

introduce Hong Kong air transport industry to local students and youth, as

well as to cultivate their interest in the field. (Reference: hongkongairlines.com)

JAL: releases "Guide to Japan" in Chinese

Japan Airlines (JAL) launched the travel information section - "Guide to

Japan" in Chinese on its regional sites of Mainland China, Hong Kong

and Taiwan. Already available in English currently, it is the first time for

"Guide to Japan" to be translated to other languages. (Reference: eTurbo News)

China Southern Airlines: to fly to San Francisco

China Southern on October 19 said it would fly three times a week to San

Francisco from Guangzhou starting from December 16. Previously,

passengers booking China Southern s flight from Guangzhou to San

Francisco had to fly to New York or Los Angeles, and then take a Delta

Air Lines flight to reach the city. (Reference: myrepublica.com)

5%: US international visitation increased

Figure Scan

17

There were 7.3 million international visitors travel to the United States in

July 2014, a 5% increase over July 2013. July marks the 7th consecutive

month of increases in 2014 in total US visits. (Reference: eTurbo News)

18.1%: Mexico's tourism revenues increased

Mexico's revenues from international tourism totaled $US11.13 billion in

the January-August period, up 18.1% from the same period in 2013.

Foreign tourists generated revenues of $US9.42 billion during the first

eight months of last year, the Tourism Secretariat said. (Reference: Yahoo Finance)

24.8%: Abu Dhabi International Airport passenger traffic

increased

The passenger traffic at Abu Dhabi International Airport was increased

by 24.8% in August 2014. A total of 1,920,934 passengers passed

through the airport in August 2014, compared with 1,538,632 in the same

month in 2013. (Reference: eTurbo News)

400%: Arab tourism to Egypt increased

Inbound tourism from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan grew by 400%

during July to September, 2014. The Ministry of Tourism is aiming for

regional tourism to account for 20% of the total inbound tourism to

Egypt.(Reference: eTurbo News)

18

27 million: positive forecast on Greek tourist numbers

The number of foreign visitors to Greece could soar to 27 million by

2021, including cruise passengers, according to new estimates issued by

the Association of Hellenic Tourism Enterprises (SETE), which also

expects this year’s arrivals to top 22 million. (Reference: eTurbo News)

72.8 billion: US business travel industry spends in Q2

A leading travel industry forecast found business travelers spent an

estimated $72.8 billion on U.S.-originated business travel during the

second quarter of 2014, a 7.1% year-over-year growth. (Reference: wset.com)

1 Billion: Vienna’s 2020 Tourism Strategy

Vienna’s 2020 Tourism has announced their strategy to turn over €1

Billion ($1.3 billion) in the hospitality sector, plus some 18 million

bed/nights by the year 2020. (Reference: argophilia.com)

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