Northstar

www.travelweekly-asia.com | 23 CHINA RELAUNCHES BULLET TRAINS China will once again hold the title for world's fastest train service when it relaunches its new bullet trains known as "Fuxing" (or "Rejuvenation") on September 21. This follows the deadly crash in 2011, after which authorities ordered speeds to be cut to between 250-300km/h. GLOBAL WRAP THE BEST OF TRAVEL WEEKLY ASIA'S GLOBAL WRAP e-DAILY ACCOR MAKES WAVES IN THE MALDIVES AccorHotels will open its first luxury destination in the Maldives with Dhevanafushi Maldives Luxury Resort, Managed by AccorHotels. Following enhancements in late 2018, the resort will be repositioned and join the group's collection of Raffles Hotels and Resorts. At present, Dhevanafushi Maldives Luxury Resort features 21 island villas and 16 ocean villas with private pools, three restaurants, a cocktail bar and an array of facilities including spa, over-the-water fitness centre and PADI-certified dive centre. Dhevanafushi Maldives Luxury Resort SCOOT IS OK FOR K&K Scoot airline has opened ticket sales for Kuching and Kuantan, bringing the total number of Scoot destinations in Malaysia to six cities. It already flies to Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi and Penang. Scoot will be operating daily flights from Singapore to Kuching, starting October 29 and thrice- weekly flights from Singapore to Kuantan, from February 2, 2018. SEOUL'S PRIVATE BEACH CLUB IN THE SKY Korea's first 'lifestyle hotel-plex' - Seoul Dragon City - will open on October 1, with four AccorHotels brands, 1,700 rooms, 11 restaurants and bars, 17 meeting rooms, two multi-function grand ballrooms, and a world first: four full floors of entertainment in a Sky Bridge suspended between two of the towers. The Sky Bridge will include Sky Beach where guests can experience a private beach club, with music and international cuisine amongst a setting reminiscent of the legendary beach clubs of Spain, Greece, Singapore and Las Vegas. SAY I DO WITH RADISSON BLU Radisson Blu has launched The Art of Weddings, exclusively for the India market. Building on the brand's global 'Something Blu, A Wedding of a Kind' concept, the initiative will run across all of India's 34 Radisson Blu hotels. The Art of Weddings is targeted at new age Indian couples and offers privileges such as food and beverage discounts and a bonus of 25,000 Club Carlson Gold Points to all wedding bookings made at Radisson Blu hotels across India during the campaign period. Photo Credits: iStockphoto Incense coils at the Man Mo Temple in Sheung Wan DUBROVNIK SEEKS TO CULL CRUISE TOURISM The new mayor of Dubrovnik said he is in favour of halving the number of cruise passengers arriving daily at the Adriatic port city in Croatia. Mayor Mato Frankovic, elected in June, told London's Telegraph newspaper that the current soft ceiling of 8,000 passengers a day should be reduced to 4,000. AIRBNB SEEKS THAI GOVERNMENT SUPPORT U.S.-based home-sharing site Airbnb is calling out for legal support from the Thai government, as it believes it can help to boost tourism and the local economy by generating income for communities. While there are about 55,000 Airbnb listings in Thailand, the home-sharing service remains illegal. Authorities have been cracking down on non-registered hotels for the past several years as part of an industry reform, reports Bangkok Post. The bullet trains, which have a top speed of 400km/h, will whittle down the 1,318-km journey between Beijing and Shanghai by a good one- hour to four hours, 55 minutes. SCAN AND STROLL IN HONG KONG'S OLD TOWN CENTRAL Central and Sheung Wan are two of the oldest neighbourhoods in Hong Kong, each with a history of over 100 years. To encourage travellers to discover the two areas, dubbed 'Old Town Central', Hong Kong Tourism Board has launched four thematic routes namely 'Tasting Hong Kong'; 'Crazy for Art'; 'Time Traveller (heritage)'; and 'Treasure Hunt'. Peppered around various locations within the district are art-inspired QR Codes, designed to reflect authentic experiences synonymous with the area – think visiting a temple or drinking a cup of traditional Chinese Tea. Once scanned, the QR Code takes the user to a web page from where one can access the information to the four routes and locations for culture, art, heritage and dining.

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