Three Anantara properties featured in hit HBO series see 104% rise in web traffic, 180% bump in bookings Minor Hotels is feeling ‘The White Lotus effect’, with three of its Anantara properties that served as principal filming locations for the hit HBO series experiencing a surge in online interest and bookings. The show’s third season, which is set in Thailand and premiered on February 16, has driven a substantial uptick in interest for Anantara Lawana Koh Samui Resort, Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort and Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas – where much of the series was filmed. Traffic to the resorts’ websites has risen 104% year-over-year (y-y) for the month of February, with the three properties also reporting a 41% y-y rise in direct online bookings made in the same period. ...
Read MoreYear: 2025
Airports Council International (ACI) World, in partnership with travel technology company Amadeus, announces the winners of the highly anticipated 2024 ASQ Airport Experience Awards. These awards, celebrated as the benchmark for excellence in airport customer experience, are determined exclusively by passengers. The ASQ Awards are based on the aviation industry's most comprehensive and trusted global measurement program for airport experience. This unique program gathers real-time feedback from travellers through live surveys at airports worldwide. Its rigorous methodology ensures accurate representation of a diverse range of passenger experiences, making it the only survey that enables fair airport comparisons. 2024 ASQ Awards highlights 2024 marked a milestone for the ASQ p...
Read MoreFour of its sites newly included in UNESCO's Tentative list The state now has 18 UNESCO World Heritage sites, with 15 sites in the Tentative List and 3 in the Permanent List Madhya Pradesh’s rich historical heritage has gained global recognition, with four of its sites newly included in UNESCO’s Tentative List. The state has achieved yet another milestone in promoting its cultural legacy on the world stage. Inclusion of Ashokan Edict Sites, Chausath Yogini Temples, Gupta Period Temples and the Palace-Fortresses of the Bundelas in UNESCO’s Serial Nomination for Tentative Listing highlights Madhya Pradesh’s distinct place in India’s cultural and historical landscape. Last year, UNESCO also included six heritage sites from Madhya Pradesh in its Tentative List, namely: G...
Read MoreCulture Summit Abu Dhabi returns under the theme ‘Culture for Humanity and Beyond’
Across three days of panels, creative conversations, case studies, artist talks and workshops, the Summit will explore how culture can navigate global transformation and build a sustainable future. The Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has announced the dates of its leading global forum, Culture Summit Abu Dhabi, for its seventh edition. The thought leadership gathering will take place between 27 – 29 April 2025, at Manarat Al Saadiyat, within Saadiyat Cultural District in Abu Dhabi. With the theme, Culture for Humanity and Beyond, this edition will explore the ever-dynamic relationship between culture and humanity in an unrivalled period of transformation. The first quarter of the century has witnessed major power shifts leading to a sense of an uncert...
Read MoreNiyama welcomes surf pro Brad Gerlach and surf photographer Rafael Fragoso de Sequeira At Niyama Private Islands Maldives, surfing is a way of life. And with peak surf season fast approaching, two renowned surfies – world champion and Wave-Ki founder Brad Gerlach and whiz-behind-the-lens Rafael Fragoso de Sequeira – are set to take up residence and up the ante. Niyama offers the Maldives’ most luxurious way to surf, with waves breaking right on shore, and a surf community forming every peak season of aficionados from all around the world. They can jet in with their boards or get fully outfitted at the Rip Curl boutique, set up camp in one of the specially outfitted surf villas, then hit the waves, chilling afterwards at the Surf Shack with rum and reggae, or at Drift Spa with a ...
Read MoreIndia among five most polluted countries in 2024, home to six of the nine most polluted global cities IQAir has announced the release of its 7th annual World Air Quality Report, highlighting alarming trends of the world’s most polluted countries, territories, and regions in 2024. For this year’s report, data from more than 40,000 air quality monitoring stations across 8,954 locations in 138 countries, territories, and regions were analyzed by IQAir’s air quality scientists. Key findings from the 2024 World Air Quality Report: Only 17% of global cities meet WHO air pollution guideline. Seven countries met the WHO annual average PM2.5 guideline of 5 µg/m3: Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Estonia, Grenada, Iceland, and New Zealand. The five most...
Read MoreA country without Butterflies: America’s butterflies are disappearing at ‘catastrophic’ rate, study says Butterflies are disappearing in the United States. All kinds of them. With a speed scientists call alarming. America’s butterflies are disappearing because of insecticides, climate change and habitat loss, with the number of the winged beauties down 22% since 2000, a new study finds. The first countrywide systematic analysis of butterfly abundance found that the number of butterflies in the Lower 48 states has been falling on average 1.3% a year since the turn of the century, with 114 species showing significant declines and only nine increasing, according to a study in Thursday’s journal Science. “Butterflies have been declining the last 20 years,” said study co-autho...
Read MoreEvery year around mid-March, Amsterdam’s parks and fields across The Netherlands transform into real-life impressionist paintings, marking the arrival of tulip season. To help guests navigate this astonishing landscape, Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky Amsterdam has unveiled a collection of three curated experiences that celebrate the iconic flower’s enduring appeal through historical insights, natural immersion and gourmet food. The newest addition to the hotel’s ever-evolving “Tulips in Bloom” collection is the “Tulip Treats” package, which begins with an audio tour of the Tulip Museum, focusing on the flower’s role as a symbol of wealth and its cultural significance. In the museum’s recently expanded show garden, four million tulips arranged in perfect symmetry provide a stunni...
Read MorePartners announce a range of new initiatives designed to expand Ras Al Khaimah’s reach in China, including enhanced digital engagement, cultural storytelling and marketing innovations Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) and Trip.com Group, a leading global travel services provider, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at ITB Berlin 2025 to launch a range of new initiatives designed to boost Ras Al Khaimah’s appeal as a must-visit destination for Chinese travellers. The signing of the MoU builds on a period of significant momentum for Ras Al Khaimah in China. The agreement, signed by Amanda Wang, Vice President of Trip.com Group, and Iyad Rasbey, Vice President of Destination Tourism Development at RAKTDA, builds on the success of an existing partnershi...
Read MoreI first arrived in the United Arab Emirates in 2012 from my native Egypt. I had just covered the tumultuous events of the 2011 Egyptian revolution from the Reuters Cairo bureau, fresh with the emotional upheaval a reporter goes through when writing about seismic events at home. Initially I lived in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi. But like many UAE expats, I found myself regularly making the one-hour drive from Abu Dhabi to the thriving tourism hub of Dubai, for both work and leisure. For most outsiders, Dubai is associated with extreme wealth, skyscrapers and - more recently - the Dubai chocolate bar, a delicious mix of pistachio, kunafa and milk chocolate that has gone viral. The city grew on me, and I finally moved here in 2017. Home to the world's tallest building - the mo...
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