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Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

North-Eastern Brazilian Property Gets NY Times Endorsement

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Much like Brazilian girls, Brazilian property is steaming hot and has been for some time now. While the East Coast of Brazil has steadily seen some fantastic growth over the last few years, places like Recife have lured buyers to a lifestyle of sand, sun and beaches according to NY Times.

Asia’s Top Ten Luxury Hotels

Randy Lynch, founder and seasoned traveller of U.S. based luxury travel firm Kipling & Clark has compiled a list of his favourite hotels in the Asian region which has now been released by the guide.

The list features the top ten luxury hotels in all of Asia where wary travellers can rest their bodies after a hard day of sightseeing or shopping. We have listed them in order of rank below:

Introducing…Europe’s Most Expensive Hotel – Mardan Palace Antalya Turkey (in Pictures)

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Imagine a hotel with champagne that costs £36 a glass, offers remote controlled toilets (no kidding) when you go for your private business and is situated on one of the most remarkable coastlines of Europe – introducing the very expensive Mardan Palace on the Turkish coast of Antalya. Reminiscent of a European Dubai as the Times Online labelled the area, Antalya is fast becoming the latest tourist hub for sun starving tourists of northern regions.

Press Release: Jaz Makadi Golf Hotel A New Level Of Luxury At Madinat Makadi

Jaz Hotels & Resorts, the Hospitality Arm of Travco Group, Introduces Yet Another Gem to its Red Sea Resort Madinat Makadi

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On November 6th 2008, Jaz Makadi Golf Hotel welcomed its first guests – celebrity stars Melanie Brown and husband Stephan Belafonte – along with their families and friends, as they renewed their wedding vows in a dazzling ceremony that took place in a 4-day wedding event hosted by Travco.

New Low Cost Long Haul Flights from the UK to Malaysia Could Boost Property Purchases

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AirAsia X, part of Asia’s leading low-cost carrier AirAsia have announced their intention to provide low-cost, long-haul flights between Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The intended launch is scheduled for March 2009 and will feature flight services between London Stansted and Kuala Lumpur.

World’s Top Ten Expat Cities For Business

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Foreign Direct Investment published a top 20 list of the world’s best cities for an expatriate job posting. Many of these seem the perfect choice when it comes to lifestyle, the vibrancy of the community, the weather and the sights.

We have taken the liberty and rounded the list up to represent the top ten expat cities for the perfect way of life. So if your boss ever gives you a choice, you will have a good idea on where you like to be relocated to.

2007 Deloitte Global Hotel Ranking Report

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It seems 2007 was another massive year for travel as the Deloitte Global Hotel Ranking Report clearly shows. With a 6% increase in global travel over the previous year, 2007 has overtaken tourism forecasts for the fourth year in succession. It seems that despite the property gloom people are still travelling in huge masses.

Seven 7-Star Hotels – the World’s Most Luxurious Hotels

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With the announcement of Europe’s first six star service hotel and residential resort Palacio da Quinta on the Portuguese Algarve a couple of days back, we set out to discover some more tasty accommodation morsels to show you what living in true luxury really means if you like to travel (and rest) in style.

It seems that five star hotels are no longer the norm when it comes to bedding our heads for the night. These days it is caviar, personal butlers and Bentley that are on the menu of savvy and wealthy globetrotters.

Calculating the Carbon Footprint of Your Second Home Abroad

Carbon Footprint

A brief visit to the BP carbon footprint calculator gives our household a carbon footprint of about 7 (tonnes of CO2) compared to a national average of 9.85. We’re weak on energy saving improvements to the home but relatively strong when it comes car use. Those figures are without any foreign travel factored in. Add in three short haul flights a year to my putative second home and that footprint rises by about 0.5 of a tonne. Change that to an equally imaginary investment in Florida or the Caribbean and the total increases by 3.30 tonnes and that’s before you’ve done anything to air-condition your premises.

Despite all the talk, warnings about energy waste leading to environmental disaster are not going to make all the difference to people’s foreign travel habits, even though, second home ownership in Cyprus, for example, brings an average increase in one’s carbon footprint of 4.32 tonnes in its train. However, the likelihood that environmental awareness coupled to other factors such as security concerns, hassles with overseas property and increases in the expense of flying will bring about a change in sentiment is something that every property investor needs to be aware of.

International Skiers Thicken Japan’s Fine Snow Peaks

Colorado may be the destination most revered by skiers, but worthy competition appears to be emerging from across the pacific. Japan, with its 620 powdery resorts, is fast gaining a reputation for having some of the world’s finest snow. Dry and powdery with a whopping 45 feet per year, the quality of skiing more than makes up for what the slopes lack – altitude. The tallest peak, Mount Fuji, rises only 12,385 feet, no match to Europe’s or North America’s.With quality snow available to skiers as late as early May, and off-season attractions becoming increasingly available, investors worldwide are seeing Japan as the next opportunity for profit. Citigroup, Inc from the US paid over $51 million to revamp 12 resorts, while Japanese-based Hoshino Resorts committed $84 million to restore two additional ones.

The primary focus is to attract skiers from outside the country, as the native skiing population rapidly diminishes. Massive growth in skiers from abroad was demonstrated when the town of Niseko saw a rise from 2,600 skiers in 2001 to a startling 13,000 in 2005 from mainland Asia. The neighbouring town of Hirafu saw an increase from less than 200 to over 7,000 from Australia. Skiers from South Korea rocketed from 5,000 to 15,000 in just one year.

With the growing popularity and future possibilities arising across Japan’s glistening slopes, cultural differences are becoming only a minor inconvenience. English is plastered everywhere from bus schedules to restaurant menus to aid foreign skiers. Mountain huts provide a complete array of Japanese culture for skiers, with native food, music, and traditions. Hot spring baths are even provided to offer a luxurious lull to the slope’s excitement.

For the serious skier, the quality that Japan’s slopes offer serve as an enticing opportunity, coupled by the excitement of foreign travel. As numbers increase, and the resorts continue to improve, investors look at the land of the rising sun and see what may become this generation’s next big international ski attraction. Read more about this at SFGate.

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