Category: Tourism

Disney Shanghai: Good for China, Bad for Hong Kong

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on November 05

It’s been a crummy 24 hours for the Hong Kong tourism industry. The first piece of bad news: China has given the green light to Disney to build a theme…

Disney to Expand Hong Kong Disneyland

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on June 26

It looks like the Walt Disney Company (DIS) and the Hong Kong government have finally reached an agreement to expand their undersized and underperforming Hong Kong version of the Magic…

Beijing Hotel Fire’s Next Victim

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on May 18

I’m not usually one to praise the Chinese government for the way it handles major screw ups, but give Beijing’s leaders credit for making heads roll after the February fire…

Vietnam’s Casino Dreams: Gambling Paradise?

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on April 22

Mao Zedong always described China and Vietnam as being as close as “lips and teeth”, so it’s no surprise that Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung put in an…

A Modest Boost for Hong Kong Disneyland

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on December 11

Attendance at Disney’s Hong Kong theme park rose 8% in the year ended September. A spokesman for Hong Kong Disneyland (a joint venture between Disney and the Hong Kong govenrment)…

China Goes on Vacation

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on September 29

Today marks the start of another week-long Chinese holiday, this time to celebrate the country’s National Day. The Chinese government started these hyper-holidays during the aftermath of the Asian financial…

Turnaround for Hong Kong Disneyland?

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on August 28

After a very difficult few years, Hong Kong Disneyland may finally be winning over Chinese people. The South China Morning Post reports today that the park will record 5.6 million…

‘Black Knight’ and Hong Kong’s Skyscrapers

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on August 05

Some property developers might be peeved with ‘The Dark Knight,’ as I wrote about on the Eye on Asia blog recently, but executives at local five-star hotel chain Shangri-La know…

Young Japanese shun overseas holidays

Posted by: Ian Rowley on July 09

So much for the stronger yen. A year ago Japan’s currency was hovering around 120 to the U.S. dollar, compared to 106 today. But it doesn’t seem to be persuading…

Cathay Pacific Dumps Paper Tickets

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on May 29

A (qualified) hurray for Cathay Pacific. The Hong Kong airline has just announced it’s getting rid of old-fashioned paper tickets and going 100% electronic for passengers in almost all countries….

Big Loser in Taiwan’s Election - Cathay?

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on March 24

The KMT is back in charge in Taiwan, after the election went off without any last-minute surprises. This being Taiwan, lots of people were on the alert for some 11th-hour…

How I spent Shanghai Thanksgiving with Paris Hilton

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on November 25

Until now, I could safely say that Paris Hilton and I have never shared much in common. So it came as something of a surprise to me to be invited…

Air Rage in India

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on November 21

As millions of Americans embark on the travel nightmare that is the long Thanksgiving weekend, they can take comfort in knowing that people in India are just as fed up…

HK Disneyland Takes Another Hit

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on November 09

Execs from Disney and the Hong Kong government are admitting the obvious: Hong Kong Disneyland, the joint venture they launched in 2005, isn’t exactly a smashing success. Yesterday Disney’s CFO…