Here’s a round-up of luxury travel stories that have caught the eye this week. To make sure you receive these new weekly alerts in your web browser, please click on the red bell icon in the bottom right hand corner of the page and click ‘subscribe’ (works on desktop only – for other ways to subscribe, please click here). This will also alert you to any other posts on the blog. Should you wish, you can unsubscribe at any time, by clicking on the icon again and selecting ‘unsubscribe’.
China‘s travel industry counts cost of coronavirus
As public health concerns rise over a new virus, the impact is being felt by China’s travel and tourism sector. More than 400m Chinese were expected to travel over the Lunar New Year which starts today, normally one of the busiest periods for airlines, hotels and tourist attractions. Instead, flights and hotels are being cancelled as people face travel restrictions or choose to stay home… [read more]
Luxury aviation in the time of flight shame
Sales of private jets are skyrocketing but luxury aviation won’t remain immune from the consequences of the flight shame movement much longer. Will new high-end travel options take off? What about old-fashioned airships propelled by new technology?… [read more]
Coronavirus fallout: Luxury cruise with more than 5000 onboard quarantined in Shenzhen
A luxury cruise ship with more than 5000 people on board was quarantined after it reached the port of Shenzhen in south China on Sunday morning as it was carrying nearly 150 people with a history of visiting the central Chinese province of Hubei, at the centre of the ongoing novel Coronavirus outbreak. 13 persons on the ship were found to have symptoms of fever and their reports have been sent for evaluation, said authorities. At least 148 tourists on the ship, Costa Venezia, had visited Wuhan, local media reported, adding that all the passengers were individually checked for the infection… [read more]
Check into the world’s most expensive suites of 2020
Two hundred thousand dollars: that’s what it’ll cost you to stay in the most expensive hotel suite in the world, which is located in Las Vegas and which must be booked for at least two nights. Elite Traveler, a magazine distributed on board private jets, recently published its ranking of the world’s biggest and most costly suites. Among these pricey suite experiences, The United States and Switzerland, and more precisely Geneva, account for most of the establishments… [read more]
The £300m luxury hotel with a secret tunnel to Harrods
A £300m luxury hotel development with a secret tunnel to Harrods has been given the green light by the local planning committee. The Knightsbridge hotel will be a one minute walk from the iconic London department store, but also includes a disused underground pedestrian and goods tunnel linking the two sites… [read more]
We really enjoy hearing from our readers and would love to hear your views on any of these stories! Please click on the comments below and share your thoughts. Thank you.
Have a story you’d like to share? Please contact us for details.
Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for more than 30 years. He is Winner of the Innovations in Travel ‘Best Travel Influencer’ Award from WIRED magazine. In addition to other awards, the blog has also been voted “one of the world’s best travel blogs” and “best for luxury” by The Daily Telegraph.
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10 Comments
It will not just be inward tourism to China that will be impacted by the Corona virus. Much of the projected growth in global tourism comes from the Chinese people’s desire to travel.
But every cloud has a silver lining, cancelling flights and less travel will reduce emissions in China and maybe even improve air quality.
Fred – you are not wrong. After just a morning’s trade the FTSE is down by over 2%. Those hotels with heavy exposure in the Chinese market are already suffering. I quote from my Stock Market news feed – “ Shares in InterContinental Hotels Group dropped 4.7%. It says China and Hong Kong are a “growing share of our business” and contributes 8% of the firm’s profit.”
I doubt that British Airways will be the only airline to suspend flights to China. I’ve a sad feeling that there are going to be severe ramifications for international travel. It is far from the way that we would want to reduce emissions but it will be interesting to see if there is much of a reduction in the number of flights taken in 2020 compared to previous years.
Sometimes I think there’s almost as much interesting stuff under London as above ground. This won’t be the only hotel with an underground tunnel. Last year I stayed in a hotel with an underground tunnel from bar to House of Commons so that MPs could get back in time to vote.
No surprise really that The Empathy Suite at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas sets a two night minimum. I’d like to know how long it takes between guests to set up for the next one in. There must be some check-list for an army of staff to get done.
The coronavirus certainly affects the world – and in particular the travel business and loads of passengers. Under all circumstances it is good to be real-time updated such that one can take appropriate measures!
The coronavirus is pretty daunting to think about. There’s talk that it’s all being downloaded to avoid mass panic, but who knows. One dying is one too many, let alone the number that already have and the thousands infected. It’s logical they’d shut the place down and restrict travel but this article has made an excellent point about the knock-on effect that has to tourism, and general travel too. It’s heartening that their Trip travel agency are waiving fees for cancellations; in a situation like this every little helps so it’s nice they’ve taken an approach of kindness towards it. I don’t imagine many companies in the UK would be too willing to do the same. I hadn’t thought of the casinos though, or that they’ve postponed movie releases. It makes it feel like Wuhan and other areas have been suspended in time while everyone holds their breath and hopes for a cure or vaccination or some kind of miracle.
The measures put in place for coronavirus seem extreme and yes there’s a lot of fallout, but at least they’re doing what they can to contain and prevent further spread, which is somewhat reassuring considering they don’t fully understand the virus and a vaccination is at least three months out apparently.
That swanky Las Vegas hotel is a bit out of my budget I think! Looks pretty cool inside but I’m not keen on the suspended fish carcasses. I’ve always thought it odd that Vegas gets a rep as being quite tacky and in the films you see shotgun weddings on the cheap, and yet there are some mighty swish and ridiculously pricey places there. I see second on the list is $81K in Geneva, and at least you don’t need two nights there. But still, must have more money than sense to blow so much on a brief stint in a hotel.
Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of anti-Chinese sentiment associated with the Coronavirus. Chinese tourism is crucially important to many economies across the globe. Hoping for a safe and speedy recovery for everybody involved.
It’s so sad to think about how much the Coronavirus has progressed since this post. It makes you think that, what if the authorities had the foresight to see this as a potential danger and had restricted travel to and from infected places. Such is the boon and bane of the travel industry. We enjoy the ease and convenience of discovering new places around the world, but traveling also allows for the transport of viruses.
China‘s travel industry counts cost of coronavirus
As public health concerns rise over a new virus, the impact is being felt by China’s travel and tourism sector. More than 400m Chinese were expected to travel over the Lunar New Year which starts today, normally one of the busiest periods for airlines, hotels and tourist attractions. Instead, flights and hotels are being cancelled as people face travel restrictions or choose to stay home… [read more]
China‘s travel industry counts cost of coronavirus
As public health concerns rise over a new virus, the impact is being felt by China’s travel and tourism sector. More than 400m Chinese were expected to travel over the Lunar New Year which starts today, normally one of the busiest periods for airlines, hotels and tourist attractions. Instead, flights and hotels are being cancelled as people face travel restrictions or choose to stay home… [read more]
Luxury aviation in the time of flight shame
Sales of private jets are skyrocketing but luxury aviation won’t remain immune from the consequences of the flight shame movement much longer. Will new high-end travel options take off? What about old-fashioned airships propelled by new technology?… [read more]
Coronavirus fallout: Luxury cruise with more than 5000 onboard quarantined in Shenzhen
A luxury cruise ship with more than 5000 people on board was quarantined after it reached the port of Shenzhen in south China on Sunday morning as it was carrying nearly 150 people with a history of visiting the central Chinese province of Hubei, at the centre of the ongoing novel Coronavirus outbreak. 13 persons on the ship were found to have symptoms of fever and their reports have been sent for evaluation, said authorities. At least 148 tourists on the ship, Costa Venezia, had visited Wuhan, local media reported, adding that all the passengers were individually checked for the infection… [read more]
Check into the world’s most expensive suites of 2020
Two hundred thousand dollars: that’s what it’ll cost you to stay in the most expensive hotel suite in the world, which is located in Las Vegas and which must be booked for at least two nights. Elite Traveler, a magazine distributed on board private jets, recently published its ranking of the world’s biggest and most costly suites. Among these pricey suite experiences, The United States and Switzerland, and more precisely Geneva, account for most of the establishments… [read more]
The £300m luxury hotel with a secret tunnel to Harrods
A £300m luxury hotel development with a secret tunnel to Harrods has been given the green light by the local planning committee. The Knightsbridge hotel will be a one minute walk from the iconic London department store, but also includes a disused underground pedestrian and goods tunnel linking the two sites… [read more]
We really enjoy hearing from our readers and would love to hear your views on any of these stories! Please click on the comments below and share your thoughts. Thank you.
Have a story you’d like to share? Please contact us for details.
It will not just be inward tourism to China that will be impacted by the Corona virus. Much of the projected growth in global tourism comes from the Chinese people’s desire to travel.
But every cloud has a silver lining, cancelling flights and less travel will reduce emissions in China and maybe even improve air quality.
Fred – you are not wrong. After just a morning’s trade the FTSE is down by over 2%. Those hotels with heavy exposure in the Chinese market are already suffering. I quote from my Stock Market news feed – “ Shares in InterContinental Hotels Group dropped 4.7%. It says China and Hong Kong are a “growing share of our business” and contributes 8% of the firm’s profit.”
I doubt that British Airways will be the only airline to suspend flights to China. I’ve a sad feeling that there are going to be severe ramifications for international travel. It is far from the way that we would want to reduce emissions but it will be interesting to see if there is much of a reduction in the number of flights taken in 2020 compared to previous years.
Sometimes I think there’s almost as much interesting stuff under London as above ground. This won’t be the only hotel with an underground tunnel. Last year I stayed in a hotel with an underground tunnel from bar to House of Commons so that MPs could get back in time to vote.
No surprise really that The Empathy Suite at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas sets a two night minimum. I’d like to know how long it takes between guests to set up for the next one in. There must be some check-list for an army of staff to get done.
The coronavirus certainly affects the world – and in particular the travel business and loads of passengers. Under all circumstances it is good to be real-time updated such that one can take appropriate measures!
The coronavirus is pretty daunting to think about. There’s talk that it’s all being downloaded to avoid mass panic, but who knows. One dying is one too many, let alone the number that already have and the thousands infected. It’s logical they’d shut the place down and restrict travel but this article has made an excellent point about the knock-on effect that has to tourism, and general travel too. It’s heartening that their Trip travel agency are waiving fees for cancellations; in a situation like this every little helps so it’s nice they’ve taken an approach of kindness towards it. I don’t imagine many companies in the UK would be too willing to do the same. I hadn’t thought of the casinos though, or that they’ve postponed movie releases. It makes it feel like Wuhan and other areas have been suspended in time while everyone holds their breath and hopes for a cure or vaccination or some kind of miracle.
The measures put in place for coronavirus seem extreme and yes there’s a lot of fallout, but at least they’re doing what they can to contain and prevent further spread, which is somewhat reassuring considering they don’t fully understand the virus and a vaccination is at least three months out apparently.
That swanky Las Vegas hotel is a bit out of my budget I think! Looks pretty cool inside but I’m not keen on the suspended fish carcasses. I’ve always thought it odd that Vegas gets a rep as being quite tacky and in the films you see shotgun weddings on the cheap, and yet there are some mighty swish and ridiculously pricey places there. I see second on the list is $81K in Geneva, and at least you don’t need two nights there. But still, must have more money than sense to blow so much on a brief stint in a hotel.
Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of anti-Chinese sentiment associated with the Coronavirus. Chinese tourism is crucially important to many economies across the globe. Hoping for a safe and speedy recovery for everybody involved.
It’s so sad to think about how much the Coronavirus has progressed since this post. It makes you think that, what if the authorities had the foresight to see this as a potential danger and had restricted travel to and from infected places. Such is the boon and bane of the travel industry. We enjoy the ease and convenience of discovering new places around the world, but traveling also allows for the transport of viruses.