MALAYSIA OFFERS KL SIGHTSEEING FOR TRANSIT PAX

Passengers in transit at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) now have the option of touring some of the city’s most famous attractions with the introduction of the Showcase KL tour.

For just MYR95 (US$28) per person, passengers with a minimum transit time of five hours to spare can take a trip on the KL Hop-On Hop-Off (KL HOHO) bus. The tour allows participants to experience up to 43 Attractions in the city.

Showcase KL tour also entitles passengers to special discounts on entrance fees and shopping including Aquaria KLCC, the KL Bird Park and Kuala Lumpur Tower

HOSPITALITY GIANTS MOVE TO EARTHCHECK

Several leaders in the sustainable travel and tourism industry, including hospitality giants IHG, Carlson Asia Pacifi c, Sandals Resorts International, Langham, Banyan Tree, Alila, Six Senses and Dusit, have signed-up to have their operations monitored by EarthCheck.

The scheme, jointly developed by the Australian government funded Sustainable Tourism
Cooperative Research Centre (STCRC) and Brisbane-based company EC3 Global, measures
companies’ environmental performance, such as waste reduction and non-renewable resource management.

LONGEST BIKE RIDE IN ASIA

Asian cycling tour operator, SpiceRoads, is planning its longest ever itinerary – an epic 3,000km, 39-day bike ride from Hanoi to Phuket.

The ride, scheduled to start mid-September, will take travellers through Vietnam,
Laos and Thailand, including a well-deserved rest in Luang Prabang

AIRLINES STRIKES

British Airways cabin crew voted for a strike, French air traffic controllers are striking and Turkish Airlines has advised of airport staff striking in Athens from midnight on February 23.

The Lufthansa pilots’ strike, originally planned for February 22-25 has since been suspended and talks between the airline and the union are continuing.The UK’s Unite Union on February 22 announced that the ballot of its crew members at British Airways (international) had resulted in another overwhelming vote for a strike. This is as a result of the long-running dispute over imposed changes to crew numbers and working practices.

Strike to affect Paris airports:
Due to a strike by air traffic controllers, flights from Paris's Orly and Charles de Gaulle airports are expected to be cancelled today. The strike is expected to last until February 26 and passengers are advised to confirm their flights with their airline before travelling to the airport. As a result of the strike, the French Civil Aviation Authority will limit the number of flights handled for each airline during this period.

Athens airport strike:
Turkish Airlines has advised that all the employees of Athens Airport will go on strike as of midnight on February 23 until midnight on February 24. Any passengers flying to Athens with the airline will be flown out from Istanbul on February 25 as there will be no flights to the destination on February 24. All transit passengers flying to Athens via Istanbul will have to spend the night in Istanbul.

DRY DAY IN DUBAI

FROM February 25-26 the serving of alcohol and live entertainment will be prohibited in hotels, restaurants, leisure clubs and public areas in Dubai as a result of 'Dry day' on the occasion of the Prophet's birthday.

SURVEY INTO PRICES - FIFA WORLD CUP

TOURISM Minister, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, has announced that government will conduct a survey on accommodation establishments in the tourism industry that are inflating prices excessively.

“Until now our impression has been that this is not the case, but we believe it should be investigated and the results of the investigation made public,” said Van Schalkwyk.

Grant Thornton has been appointed to conduct the survey and has also been requested to benchmark South African accommodation prices against those of other nations that previously hosted the FIFA World Cup.

According to a statement, the Department of Tourism also noted that in many cases where very high prices were cited, they were for private apartments and houses that were being rented out to individuals or groups, often in some of the most high-end neighbourhoods in the country.

“This phenomenon does not represent the tourism industry in general. Furthermore it must be kept in mind that these prices are determined by supply and demand, and the government cannot interfere in the functioning of the market in this regard.”

Van Schalkwyk continued to say that South Africa was a value-for-money destination and this reputation should be safeguarded. “Price hiking could damage the reputation of our tourism industry. However at the same time it must be kept in mind that June and July 2010 will be high season in South Africa, and tourists should not expect the normal low-season prices for that time of the year.”

In conclusion, the minister said there would always be establishments that ‘take chances’ during events such as the World Cup.“We believe this survey will assist us in getting to the bottom of the allegations. As soon as the survey is completed, which is expected to be in three weeks’ time, I will discuss the outcomes with the tourism industry.”

UPDATE ON SITUATION IN CUZCO

Updated information regarding the situation in Machu Picchu:-

The Ministry of Transport officially informed that the restoration of the road from Santa Teresa to the hydroelectric, may take longer than expected since they need to build 2 tunnels, and these works may take at least 2 months.

Unfortunately, it seems that the activities and the visits to the ruins of Machu Picchu may start again in April.

So all February and March, there won’t be access to Machu Picchu and in the meantime the ruins will be closed until the access (any of them) offers all safety and security guarantees.

The National Cultural Institute already ordered not to sell any Inca Trail ticket for March