News in Asia

While Nepal is gearing toward the largest ever promotion campaign 'Visit Nepal Year 2020' that will start in less than a month, foreign tourist arrivals to Chitwan National Park shrink.

Nepal won the highest award as the 'Best Country for Mountaineering Adventures' at the ‘Country of the Year Award 2019’ during the Top Asia Corporate Ball organized by Research House of Asia (RHA) Media.

Sa Pa, a popular trekking base and a tourist destination in the mountainous area of Hoand Lien Son in Vietnam's northwestern province of Lao Cai is covered with the first snow this season.

Nghe An, a north-central Vietnamese province bordering Laos and the Gulf of Tonkin, will host the Sunflower Festival scheduled for December 27–29.

The Philippines may get some more official dive sites soon: divers from both private and government sectors continue documentation of possible diving locations in the vicinity of City of Mati, Davao Oriental.

San Carlos City from Negros Occidental, Philippines, was recognized by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) as “Clean Tourist City” taking the award for the second time. The recognition is granted for two years and will be valid from 2020 to 2022.

The second passenger terminal was officially opened in the U-Tapao International Airport in Thailand's province of Rayong yesterday. It will allow the airport to raise its passenger capacity from the current 2 million to 5 million in the course of 5 years.

While many hoteliers have been compaining over an unusually low occupancy rate in the beginning of the high season all over Thailand, a surge in tourist arrivals is expected in Phuket over the New Year holiday.

Winter is here. For those of you who plan their winter travel in Japan, put these snow festivals on your must-visit list.

Vietjet, Vietnam's international low-cost airline, has revealed their plans to launch direct flights between Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and Pattaya (U-Tapao airport) in Thailand effective from December 23, 2019.

Sri Lanka Railways has recently launched a special train service between Colombo Fort and Kandy, a large city and a popular pilgrimage and tourist destination in central part of the country.

Vistara, an Indian full-service airline, inaugurated their Mumbai–Colombo service that is operational since November, 25.

Public transport system in Phuket is going to get a major facelift: construction of a 35-billion-baht tram system on the island may start in the middle of next year, the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) announced recently.

In a bid to create museum culture, museums in Thailand are pushing educational tourism – while laudable, the campaign looks rather challenging in the digital era of today.

December is the best month to admire autumn colours in high-altitude areas in Wushan County, Chongqing, China. The 13th edition of Wushan International Red Leaves Festival has already arrived to Chongqing, a major city of the southwest China.

Ancient cliff paintings probably dating back to the 6-7 century BC were discovered by Chinese archeologists. Eight sites of cliff paintings are located in the Tongtian River Basin in northwest China's Qinghai Province.

EVA Air, Taiwan's second largest airline after China Airlines based at Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), has announced the launch of the first ever direct flights between the Taiwanese capital of Taipei and the sea resort island of Phuket in Thailand.

SureStay Hotel, a budget-friendly subsidiary of Best Western® Hotels & Resorts, opened in the heart of Lao capital of Vientiane in November. Located very centrally, the hotel sits a 15-minute drive from Vientiane’s Wattay International Airport and a short stroll from the banks of the Mekong River.

Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) Agency will implement an online booking system for all visitors of the national park on a tour booked through travel agencies and tour operators effective from December, 1.

Batik Air, an Indonesian scheduled airline based in Jakarta, launched direct flights between the two capitals – Jakarta in Indonesia and Bangkok in Thailand on November 20.