Northstar

www.travelweekly-asia.com | 23 GLOBAL WRAP THE BEST OF TRAVEL WEEKLY ASIA'S GLOBAL WRAP e-DAILY Travel Weekly Asia's writers and correspondents bring you the best of news across Asia. Asia's top bleisure cities revealed TOO-CUTE STREET WANTS SELFIE CROWDS TO BUZZ OFF Residents of a Paris street are demanding that city authorities erect gates to lock out social media tourists and locals who pose for selfies outside the pastel-coloured houses. Rue Crémieux is a cute, cobbled, tree-lined street where residents say their peace and quiet is being disturbed by tourists and Parisians seeking pretty pictures to post on social media sites like Instagram. With more than 31,000 images Tokyo has been named the top Asian city for offering the ultimate combination of business and leisure, or "bleisure" appeal for travellers, according to a new report. Singapore ranks second, out of 26 cities, with Sydney and Hong Kong coming in a joint third, and Melbourne rounding out the top five. In the next tier are Shanghai and Beijing, which have been catching up, boosted by China's rapid infrastructure development. The rankings are part of a new report from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) called "The 2019 bleisure barometer". Tokyo has been named Asia's top 'bleisure' destination. PHOTO CREDIT: SO THEN THEY SAY/ INSTAGRAM PHOTO CREDIT: CREDIT: GYN9038/ GETTYIMAGES. PHOTO CREDIT: RECEP-BG/GETTY IMAGES Rue Crémieux Xi'an is going green. Major construction projects include six theme parks and two heritage parks. City official Li Pingwei said the projects aim not only to shape a green city through improving the coverage of flowers and plants, but also to reproduce the charm of flower appreciation in ancient times. INDIAN CITIES GO UP IN SMOKE Indian cities accounted for 22 of the world's 30 most polluted cities, according to a new report, while previously smog-filled Chinese cities have seen marked improvement. The industrial hub of Gurugram (Gurgaon), 30km south-west of the Indian capital New Delhi, remained the world's most polluted city, topping air pollution readings among the 3,000 cities that Greenpeace and AirVisual studied in its 2018 World Air Quality Report. In Chinese cities, the average concentrations fell by 12% from 2017 to 2018. Beijing ranks now as the 122nd most polluted city in the world in 2018. In South-east Asia, the two most polluted cities were Jakarta and Hanoi. posted, residents say Rue Crémieux, in the 12th arrondissement, near the Bastille, is becoming "the most Instagrammed street in Paris". "At weekends we often get 200 people outside our windows," said one of the street's residents. SIA AND COMO TAKE HEALTHY EATING TO NEW HEIGHTS Singapore Airlines and Singapore- based wellness brand COMO Shambhala have signed an MOU for a wide-ranging partnership. The initial phase of the partnership will see COMO Shambhala's wellness cuisine introduced on selected Singapore Airlines flights in the second half of this year. The inclusion of co-developed wellness dishes will progressively be made available in SIA's 'Book the Cook' service. In addition, a new wellness menu featuring specially curated dishes will be introduced across all classes. ANOTHER POPULAR DESTINATION PLANS TOURIST LEVY Queenstown, in New Zealand's South Island, which has a reputation as the country's 'adventure capital', is mulling a move to charge international visitors NZ$7.50 to visit the area. Queenstown, which receives 34 international tourists for every resident, is a magnet for young travellers, who book adventure sports including skiing, bungee jumping and white water rafting. CARE TO BE CHAUFFEURED BY LEWIS HAMILTON? As part of its expanded marketing partnership with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Marriott is offering members of its loyalty programme, Marriott Bonvoy, a chance to bid for exclusive Formula One-themed experiences during the race season. Among some of the money- can't-buy experiences on Marriott Bonvoy Moments – the travel programme's experiential platform – that members will be able to bid on with their Marriott Bonvoy points are behind-the-scenes access with the team; visits to the team garage; helicopter flights over the circuit; and a chance to be chauffeured by Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas to the circuit on race day. Under the terms of the multi-year agreement, Marriott Bonvoy will also become the racing team's "Official Hotel Loyalty Program," while The Ritz-Carlton, one of Marriott's luxury brands, will become the team's first ever "Official Hotel Partner." SILK ROAD CIT Y IS COMING UP ROSES Xi'an, once an imperial city of China, has launched a "Flower City" project to build a system of flower-lined streets, gardens and paths, as well as flower-filled galleries and fields. The project will add gardens that cover more than six million square metres with 50 flower-lined streets. Queenstown receives 34 international tourists for every resident. PHOTO CREDIT: SAMMYVISION/GETTYIMAGES.

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