Travel & Tourism Insights

​Beijing, June 23 (IANS) China launched its first "dark sky reserve" for astronomical observation in the Tibetan prefecture of Ngari, bordering Nepal and India, officials said on Thursday.

The reserve covers an area of 2,500 sq.km and aims to limit light pollution by stepping up protection of dark-sky resources for education and tourism development, the China Daily reported.

It was jointly launched by the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation and the regional government of Tibet.

Wang Wenyong, head of the legal affairs department with the foundation, said in a news briefing that the launch of the preserve is only the first step in protecting the area from light pollution.

The reserve will also try to seek accreditation from the International Dark-Sky Association, a non-profit organisation based in the US that is devoted to preserving and protecting the night time environment and dark skies globally.

Wang Xiaohua, head of the Chinese branch of the International Dark-Sky Association and a leader of the Ngari reserve programme, said such areas were important for promoting astronomy.

Ngari is among the best sites for astronomical observation on earth, due to its high altitude and large number of cloudless days throughout the year.

However, the recent inflow of people from other areas has given rise to increasing urbanisation, and thus the associated risk of more light pollution.

"If we do not take action now to preserve the area, we risk losing one of the best astronomical sites on earth," said Wang.

The foundation has also signed an agreement with authorities in Tibet's Nagchu prefecture to establish a night sky park, which will feature limited lighting facilities and a special area for astronomical observation.​

​Beijing, June 21 (IANS) The Shanghai Disney Resort, which officially opened last Thursday, is expected to surpass the Palace Museum in Beijing as the top spot for visitors in China.

According to a report by online travel agency Ctrip, the resort is expected to receive at least 15 million visitors a year, more than 40,000 a day, China Daily reported.

Last year, the Palace Museum saw a total of 15 million tourists.

With each visitor expected to spend an average of 2,219 yuan ($340) on a trip to Shanghai Disney, revenue would reach 33 billion yuan a year, the report said.

It also found that tourists from Shanghai are likely to make up 40 per cent of visitors.

Chi Huiguang, a Beijing resident who went to the Disney Resort on a high-speed train, said she has been to Disneyland in Los Angeles and the one in Shanghai was equally good -- especially the smiling staff -- despite the long lines and high prices for tickets and food.

Ctrip said about four out of 10 current visitors are couples and 30 per cent are parents accompanying their kids. But as the summer vacation arrives, more parents are expected to visit the resort with their children, the agency said.

It also forecast that a peak in visitors would appear during the 10 days after the official opening of the resort and in early July. So trying to avoid the peak would be better, the agency suggested.

The resort is expected to receive at least 7.3 million visitors within the year, according to the agency.​

​New Delhi, June 9 (IANS) Jharkhand's tourism department said on Thursday it is working to develop the closed and abandoned mines in the state into active tourist destinations.

"Mining tourism is to be developed following best practices from other parts of the world," said a statement from the department, citing Director (tourism) Prasad Krishna Waghmare.

"The state government intends to develop closed mines and transform the abandoned mines as a tourist destination."

The move comes after the department studied mining tourism in Australia, Chile, Canada, Norway and other countries.

"This could be a different experience for the visitors and tourists who visit the state. The government is already in talks with several mine operators for the same," Waghmare said. 

He said his department has also been working on temple tourism as well as biodiversity tourism as part of a new policy. 

There is going to be a development of the medieval terracotta temples of 'Maluti' as a tourist hotspot.

Maluti temples are a group of 78 terracotta temples built between the 17th and 19th centuries in the Maluti village of Jharkhand's Dumka district.

According to officials, Jharkhand has seen a rising graph of visitors from outside the state, from 23,991 tourists in the year 2000 when the state was formed to 33,179,530 (including 1,67,855 foreigners) in 2015. 

Jharkhand currently holds ninth rank in the country in terms of visitors, and the state government is committed to take the state to the top of the country's tourist table, Waghmare said.​

​Ottawa, June 12 (IANS) The construction of a record-setting 53-metre high tower building, using mostly wooden material, is under way on the campus of the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada's Vancouver city.

Its bold and green design aims to demonstrate that building large, wooden structures is not too much complex, Xinhua news agency quoted Russell Acton, principal architect from the building designer Acton Ostry Architects, as saying.

"It's got less of an environmental impact with respect to producing greenhouse gases," he said, adding that the 18-storey building will serve as a student dormitory.

He said the design is hybrid, using concrete for a podium on the first floor, and for two core structures.

"Absolutely, it's as strong. There are particular code requirements, building code requirements we have to adhere to and prove out that it's as strong as a concrete or steel building. It will perform similarly to the same level as concrete or steel when in a seismic event," Acton added.

The dormitory building, named Brock Commons, is designed to accommodate 400 students and expected to be completed by September 2017 with an investment of 53 million Canadian dollars (more than $41 million).

According to the UBC, the wooden material to be used, including cross laminated timber floors and glued laminated timber wall pillars, will be all produced and pre-fabricated in Canada, partly in an effort to boost local forestry industry.

The designers said the structure should last as long as a steel or concrete tower of the same size, or having a life length of about 60 to 100 years.​

Dubai, June 3 (IANS) Emirates’ flag carrier Etihad on Friday introduced a London-Melbourne round trip ticket costing more than $80,000.

The carrier offers passengers travel in a luxury three-room suite aboard its Airbus A380 named "The Residence". The plane, described as a “penthouse in the sky”, has all the amenities of a five-star hotel.

The 125 square foot suite was available for single or double occupancy with its own Savoy-trained butler and onboard chef.

It is equipped with a flat double bed instead of confining seats as well as a bathroom where guests may freshen up.

The living room has a 32-inch flat screen LCD TV, as well as two fold-away dining tables and a leather double sofa.

The Residence, according to RT online, makes one stop in Abu Dhabi, where Etihad’s customers are ushered into the first class lounge.

The ticket cost includes private transfer to and from the airport, separate check-in, VIP lounge and a personal travel concierge able to book tickets to sporting event or a concert and reserve a table at a restaurant.

The price is about $4,500 more than the previous most expensive ticket -- a return journey in the Residence from New York to Mumbai.

The Airbus A380 with The Residence on board was launched at the end of 2014 together with Etihad’s revamped first and business class and an upgraded economy cabin.

“Etihad Airways currently operates three daily A380 services from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi, so our guests can now enjoy the convenience and class-leading comfort of an all-A380 service all the way to Melbourne,” said the carrier’s senior vice-president of marketing Shane O’Hare.​

Tokyo, May 30 (IANS) If you are a frequent traveller and get bogged down by jet lag with every flight, help is on the way. Researchers have designed new molecules that can help modify the human biological clock to manage sleep-deprived travellers as well as improve treatment for sleep disorders.

Most living organisms, including humans, have a circadian rhythm or the 24-hour biological clock that regulates functions such as sleep-wake cycles, hormone secretion and metabolism. 

This cycle often gets disrupted in situations like jet lag and sleep disorders like sleep apnea where long-term sleep loss ensues. This may affect cardiovascular, endocrine, immune and nervous systems with severe consequences including hypertension, obesity and mental health disorders, among others.

"We can make bioactive molecules that can control the circadian rhythm of animals and gain further insight into the circadian clock mechanism which will surely contribute to medical applications, food production and advances in clock research," said Takashi Yoshimura, professor at Nagoya University's Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (ITbM) in Japan.

The team synthesised the activity of circadian rhythm-changing molecules and targeted a molecule that affects a specific circadian protein called CRY. 

The findings showed that FBLX3 -- a compound that readies protein CRY for degradation by cellular enzyme -- competes with KL001 -- a molecule that lengthens the circadian cycle -- to preventing its degradation.

They prepared compounds that were similar to KL001, thus synthesising the first circadian shortening molecules that target the CRY protein.

The negative impacts of jet lag and shift work could be significantly reduced if it were possible to reset our 24-hour natural circadian or sleep/wake cycle with the new discovery, the authors noted.​

​Abu Dhabi, May 30 (IANS/WAM) UAE's Emirates Airline on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding with Jordan Tourism Board to boost tourism in the country, a statement said.

The deal focuses on the growth of key tourist destinations in Jordan which has been an important part of Emirates' network since 1986.

Emirates together with the Jordan Tourism Board will put into effect a range of joint marketing activities, including tourism promotions amongst other initiatives.

"The MoU underscores Emirates' confidence in Jordan's potential as a world-class destination, and we are committed to promoting tourism from key target regions including the Far East, Australia, West Asia and Central and South America," Thierry Antinori, Emirates Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, said. 

Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat, managing director of the Jordan Tourism Board, expressed the hope that the common efforts with Emirates will inspire travellers to explore Jordan.​

​Tokyo, May 18 (IANS) The main building of Japan's National Museum of Western Art is scheduled to be registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site in July.

Officials of Japan's Cultural Affairs Agency on Tuesday said the International Council on Monuments and Sites, a UNESCO advisory panel, has recommended listing of the building, public broadcaster NHK reported.

The building, located in Tokyo, is the only structure that French architect Le Corbusier ever designed in Japan. He is recognised as the grand master of modern architecture.

Japan, France and five other nations had jointly nominated 17 works by Corbusier in their countries as a single entry on the World Heritage List.

The national museum is likely to be officially listed in July when the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meets in Turkey.​

​Beijing, May 19 (IANS) A key international tourism conference opened in Beijing on Thursday amid hopes it would generate measures to boost global economic growth and social opportunities in the sector.

Tourism officials from over 100 countries were expected to attend the First World Conference on Tourism for Development, organised by the Chinese government and the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), billing itself as an event that would "start a high-level debate" on the industry's contribution to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), EFE news reported.

"Tourism is one of the most dynamic economic sectors, with significant global reach, and as such can make an important contribution to the achievement of the SDGs, particularly in the areas of job creation, sustainable consumption and production and the preservation of natural resources," said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai.

Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang delivered a keynote address at the conference as the China National Tourism Administration said it aimed to promote rural tourism as an effective way to fight poverty.

The conference, which continues until May 21, comes after Beijing approved its 13th Five-Year Plan in March aiming to lift 17 percent of the country's impoverished population -- some two million people -- out of poverty by 2020, according to UNWTO.

The China National Tourism Administration hopes the five-year development plan will generate a total income of over 1 trillion yuan ($153 billion), benefiting 50 million rural residents.

Data from the conference indicates that tourism generated 10 percent of global GDP last year, accounting for over nine percent of the world's employment and an estimated 1 billion international tourists crossing borders. ​

​Beijing, May 18 (IANS) The number of registered museums in China has reached nearly 4,700, with more than 85 percent of them free to visit, a national cultural official said on Wednesday.

By the end of 2015, 4,692 museums were registered and more than 20,000 exhibitions were held annually, drawing 700 million visitors, Xinhua news agency quoted Liu Yuzhu, head of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, as saying.

"As public cultural services, museums are significant in displaying civilisation, boosting cultural exchanges and improving morality, science and culture," Liu said.​