Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has labeled “terrorists” the elements behind the recent plunge in the value of Turkish currency. “There is no difference between the terrorist who has a weapon… and the terrorist who is using the dollar… to bring Turkey to its knees,” Erdogan said. The Turkish president explained that the exchange rate was being used “as a weapon.” Erdogan made the remarks in an address to a group of officials in the capital...
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has hailed progress in the negotiations underway between rival leaders of Cyprus, but cautioned against any expectations of “miracles” coming out of the peace talks. Guterres made the remarks in Geneva on Thursday after opening a conference in the Swiss city aimed at reaching a deal to end four decades of stalemate in the eastern Mediterranean island. Although “enormous progress” had been made on resolving the issues such as property, territory...
Seychelles bade a final farewell to its Founding President today, Former President Sir James Mancham, who was laid to rest at the State House Cemetery following a two-and-a-half-hour-long state funeral with full military honors. The national day of mourning was marked by an outpouring of emotions as citizens paid tribute to a man known for his love of country and peace. Mourners from all over the country, including the inner islands, gathered to pay their last respects to President Mancham as...
Turismo Chile is pleased to announce that tourism data compiled by the Department of Statistics showed that international tourism arrivals to Chile last year were up 26% compared to 2015 with UK visitors showing an increase of 11%. European arrivals grew by 9% compared to the previous year with 449,667 visitors from Europe recorded in 2016 of which 51,611 were from the UK, up 11% from 2015. From the other primary European markets, Chile received 77,987 visitors from Spain (up 6.3%), 77,129 from...
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board (L.A. Tourism) President & CEO Ernest Wooden Jr. today announced Los Angeles welcomed 47.3 million visitors in 2016, surpassing mid-year forecasts and breaking visitation records for the sixth consecutive year. The new record is 1.7 million visitors higher than 2015’s total, an increase of 3.8% from the previous year. New tourism records were set for overall domestic and international visitation. Total domestic...
Today, a ceremony and the inaugural concert marked the official opening of the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. The concert hall is the new musical heart of the northern German metropolis. The spectacular venue uses its architecture and its program to combine artistic excellence with the utmost in openness and accessibility. Designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron and perched between the city and the harbor, the Elbphilharmonie unites the former Kaispeicher warehouse with a new glass structure...
Passengers should be able to count on TSA and local and state law enforcement authorities to protect them. The principal lessons from Lockerbie, the 9/11 attacks, and the Brussels, Istanbul and now Fort Lauderdale airport massacres are that air transportation continues to be a prime target for terrorism and mass murder. Airports are now clearly the No. 1 soft target, and are naked and totally unprotected. No act of terrorism and mass murder in history has not been repeated without effective...
The Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association (SWAPA) today responded to the leadership structure announcement by Southwest Airlines in which the company named Tom Nealon as president, among other promotions. Representing more than 8,500 pilots, SWAPA relies on key relationships in upper management, both as frontline operational leaders and as the collective bargaining unit for pilot labor at Southwest. “We are excited by and congratulate Mr. Nealon on his promotion to president. We...
This year ITB Berlin is organizing two speed dating events on 9 March that will enable buyers as well as bloggers to establish valuable links with exhibitors from around the world in the shortest possible time. In the morning the members of the exclusive ITB Buyers Circle can meet national and international exhibitors at the ITB Speed Networking event. In the afternoon, at the ITB Blogger Speed Dating event, experienced bloggers can make use of eight-minute time slots to talk to representatives...
Searcy’s at The Gherkin, which occupies the top three floors of one of London’s most iconic towers, has strengthened its team with the appointments of Emily Kendall as Events Manager, Erin McGowan as a Sales Executive and Kate Baxter as Private Dining Events Manager. Emily Kendall joins the team from Party Ingredients, the private caterers, where she held the role of Wedding and Events Sales Manager. Prior to this role, Emily worked as an Events Assistant, also for Party Ingredients, and has a...
Sunway Hotels & Resorts, the hospitality division of Malaysian-based property-construction conglomerate Sunway Group, has announced the appointment of Atsushi “Leslie” Chiyoma as General Manager for Sunway Hotel Hanoi in Vietnam. Drawing on close to three decades of hospitality industry experience, Leslie is responsible for the operations at Sunway’s 145-room hotel, located in the fringe of Hanoi’s famed French Quarter of Pham Dinh Ho Street. A Japanese native, Leslie joins Sunway Hotel...
The boutique hotel in Bangkok located in the Eight Thonglor complex on the vibrant Sukhumvit Soi 55 thoroughfare, soft launched in December 2016. “Christian comes to us with an impressive track record, one that I trust will be suited to guide akyra Thonglor Bangkok through this transitionary period as we take over and rebrand a contemporary property right in the heart of my favorite neighborhood in Bangkok, Thonglor,” said AHG founder and Managing Director Anchalika Kijkanakorn. This is...
Orlando D. Ashford, president of Holland America Line in Seattle, Wash., has been elected chair of The Executive Leadership Council (ELC), the pre-eminent national organization composed of current and former black CEOs, senior executives, entrepreneurs, global thought leaders and board members of Fortune 1000 and equivalent companies. The focus of the organization is the development of a pipeline of global black executives for C-suites, corporate boards and global enterprises to leverage the...
New Zealand’s economy grew at the fastest annual pace in two years in the third quarter. Surging immigration, record-low borrowing costs and a housing boom are stoking New Zealand’s economy, which is among the fastest growing in the developed world. The economy expanded 3.6% in the second quarter from a year earlier, matching estimates and the most since the final quarter of 2014. Gross domestic product grew 0.9% from the first three months of the year. New Zealand’s annual...
For the third consecutive year, Las Vegas continued historic visitation growth, setting a new all-time record. The “Entertainment Capital of the World” welcomed 42.9 million visitors in 2016, surpassing 2015’s record-setting 42.3 million. “Las Vegas continues to see increased interest in the destination, and we are excited to announce that once again we are celebrating record visitation,” said Rossi Ralenkotter, president/CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and...
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Industries HE Walter Mzembi says his department has remained one of the few relatively well-performing portfolios because of his ability to remain focused on deliverables when others dwell on unproductive debates. Despite Zimbabwe’s image in the world seen negatively the minister. “We arguably in sub-Saharan Africa, one of the few internationally acknowledged to have registered growth in tourism by nine percent at the end of 2015...
Marco Polo Hotels – Hong Kong is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Dalip Singh as Hotel Manager of its three Hong Kong properties: Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel, Prince Hotel and Gateway Hotel. A seasoned hotelier, Mr Singh has held senior management positions for more than 20 years in a number of reputable hotel groups in his native Singapore, as well as Malaysia and Dubai, including The Ritz Carlton, Millenia Singapore, Dusit Residence Dubai Marina and Pangkor Laut Resort. Mr Singh joins...
The HKTDC Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair, HKTDC Hong Kong Baby Products Fair and the Hong Kong International Stationery Fair opened today at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). The four-day fairs will continue through 12 January and gather a total of more than 2,900 exhibitors from all over the world to showcase a wide range of innovative and smart products to global buyers. The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) has organized close to 120 buying missions from 65...
Hospitality Management Holding (HMH) has announced today the appointment of Ferghal Purcell as its Chief Operating Officer (COO). Purcell, the former Complex General Manager for both The Ajman Palace Hotel and The Coral Beach Resort Sharjah, has over 30 years of regional and international experience in the hospitality industry. H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Faisal Al Qassimi, Chairman & CE, MANAFA LLC, and Vice Chairman, HMH, said: “Our strategic vision lies in striving for growth and exceeding...
British Prime Minister Theresa May has ruled nothing in or out before starting talks on her country’s formal exit from the European Union, according to her spokeswoman. “She hasn’t ruled anything in or out – she’s said she wants the best possible deal for trading with and operating within the single market,” the Downing Street spokeswoman said on Monday, according to Reuters. The report did not name the official. The British pound plummeted to two-month lows...
Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has revealed that the 279-year-old Maroon community of Accompong is to have pride of place as the first cultural heritage location to be promoted worldwide as part of a new marketing initiative being driven by the Ministry’s Tourism Linkages Network. “We will make Accompong the first destination and we will now place the anniversary festival on the calendar of events and market the community alongside the destination when we go abroad to...
ALICE: “If you don’t know where to go, any road will take you there!” is a famous quotation From Alice In The Wonderland. That what I felt when I stepped into the Art Of Life Atelier in 4 Rue Micheli Du Crest in Geneva that Friday evening. There was a group of mature artists performing the final touches to their paintings. I approached Lisa the Atelier curator and investigated if they were using acrylic colors. It is the only material I am familiar with. I felt a thrill When she whispered: “...
The Hon. Danny Faure, President of the Republic of the Seychelles regrets to announce the passing of founding President Sir James Richard Mancham, who passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in Glacis this morning. President Sir James Mancham, the founding President of the Republic of Seychelles, was a true patriot, a veteran politician, and a committed advocate of national reconciliation. He was a defender of liberty and champion of human rights. “The world has lost a global...
The new chief of the United Nations has vowed to combat sexual abuse by UN “peacekeepers” around the globe, declaring plans to devise a fresh “game-changing” approach to address the issue. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who succeeded Ban Ki-moon on January 1, designated a nine-member task force on Friday to come up with a new strategy aimed at enhancing the response to the string of damaging and growing reports of sexual abuse carried out by UN peacekeeping forces. According...
US consular official has been shot and injured in western Mexico. Mexican authorities have launched a manhunt for the attacker, a gunman whose motives have yet to be determined. Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office said on Saturday that the US official was wounded by gunshot a day earlier in the city of Guadalajara. “An official from the US consulate was wounded by a shot from a firearm. …According to the medical report, he is in stable condition,” said the office in...
Wynn Las Vegas’ world-renowned nightclubs XS, Surrender and Intrigue, and dayclub Encore Beach Club, announce their 2017 resident DJ roster with the introduction of the resort’s We Are Wynn Nightlife brand campaign. On the heels of their successful 2016 residencies, Wynn Nightlife welcomes back Alesso, A-Trak, David Guetta, Dillon Francis, Diplo, DJ Snake, Flosstradamus, Major Lazer, Marshmello, Ookay, RL Grime, Skrillex, Slander, Virgil Abloh, and Yellow Claw. New residents include...
The State of Our Happiness Report for 2017 shows Americans are getting a failing grade. “Happiness in the US is on the decline. Overall, happiness is equivalent to a D+ in school,” said Chuck Bolton, the author of the study who is a reinvention coach for executives and top teams. Fortunately, anyone can program himself or herself to be happy, if they follow the right steps. In a recently released study, “The State of Our Happiness in 2017,” 1,461 people who took an...
Representatives from the two sections of Cyprus are set to meet in the coming days in what a senior United Nations official has described as a “historic opportunity” to reunite the divided island. The Cyprus talks are scheduled from January 9 to 11 at the United Nations Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. The talks are to continue at a high-level conference on January 12 attended by the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akinci, the Greek Cypriot leader, Nicos Anastasiades, and...
The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau will launch a new global marketing and advertising campaign on January 9th featuring three transgender models, and will become the world’s first destination to use transgender models in mainstream destination advertising. Greater Fort Lauderdale’s campaign, which also features straight, gay and lesbian models, follows the destination’s long and storied history in LGBTQ marketing and is directed at a largely...
Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico has called on other European Union leaders to stop holding referendums on domestic issues, adding that the votes are hazardous for the EU and the euro. “I am asking EU leaders to stop with adventures like the British and Italian referendums… on domestic issues which pose a threat to the EU,” Fico said. “Britain is not a Eurozone country, Italy has a huge impact on the banking sector, the euro. What will we do if… there is a referendum in Italy on the euro...
