Service with a smile
Lufthansa's brand new restaurant service in business class kicks off this month on several of its long-distance flights ...
Service with a smile
Lufthansa’s brand new restaurant service in business class kicks off this month on several of its long-distance flights, including A380 flights from New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, San Francisco, Delhi, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul and Johannesburg to Frankfurt and return. Starting on October 1, the service will be extended to the German airline’s Boeing 747 flights out of Frankfurt, with A340 flights out of Frankfurt and Munich to Asia and the Middle East getting the upgrade starting from October 25. Passengers should get the feeling of being in a restaurant, as the food will be carried directly from the galley to the seat and they will be attended to by personal flight attendants. – dpa
Eyes on Angkor
Chinese satellites are helping to monitor and guide the restoration of Cambodia’s ancient Angkor Wat temple complex, according to a Beijing news report. It is the first time remote-sensing technology has been used to help preserve a cultural heritage site under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), the Xinhua news agency said. “Basically, we have eyes in the sky and we can see what happens to the ancient temples and their environment immediately,” Hong Tianhua, deputy director of the project, explained. An agreement signed by Chinese and Cambodian authorities last year enabled cooperation in the use of Chinese satellite data. An international team of researchers and staff use the new satellite data to compare with data collected in the past, and create 3D visualisations of large sites for analysis.
Hong Kong, Singapore suffer tourist drop
Hong Kong saw an 8.4-per-cent drop in visitors in July from a year earlier, with other destinations in the region becoming more accessible to travellers from the mainland. “The weakened Japanese yen has attracted a lot of Chinese tourists,” says Gregory So, secretary of commerce and economic development. Visitors from mainland China make up 77.7 per cent of total tourism in Hong Kong according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have also relaxed visa requirements for Chinese citizens, making them “much easier to go to,” adds Joseph Tung Yao-chung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council. Singapore has also been affected, with visitor numbers down year-on-year by 4.1 per cent in the first half. – dpa
Football crazy
Etihad Airways, and its award-winning global loyalty program Etihad Guest, have strengthened their existing partnership with Manchester City Football Club (MCFC) by offering an enhanced rewards programme for fans of the Premier League club. The upgraded “Etihad Guest Sky Blue” rewards programme will offer MCFC fans and Etihad Guest members around the world special discounts on flights, tickets for football matches, merchandise and exclusive opportunities to access the club. Sky Blue members will qualify for a 10-per-cent discount on Etihad Airways flights, 10-per-cent discount on Etihad Holidays for UK and UAE members, eligibility to win free tickets to matches and special rewards and discounts on club merchandise. They can also take part in tours of the Etihad Stadium to get a flavour of what it is like to be a Premier League star from behind the scenes. Find out more at www.SkyBlue.MCFC.com.
Polishing up on tourism
Luxembourg, a tiny European country, plans to invest US$5.7 million in the development of human resources for Myanmar’s tourism industry. A delegate from Luxembourg recently conducted field trips in Bagan, Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw to develop human resource training in the private sector and at universities. The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism said there were more than 800,000 jobs in the tourist sector with the potential to reach about 3 million. About US$3 billion of foreign investment has been invested in the hotel sector so far. The ministry is expecting more than 5 million visitors this year, generating about $2 billion.
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