An explosion has seen the evacuation of Terminal 3 at Beijing International Airport, with a man in a wheelchair reportedly detonating a device. Photos posted on Weibo show a dark haired man waving a white package above his head before the explosion. He is said to have been injured in the blast, which filled the terminal with smoke. Chinese news agency Xinha reported it was a protest against the Chinese authorities, with the man handing out leaflets complaining he had been beaten up by security guards in an earlier incident in southern China.

The Malta Tourism Authority has announced it will host a seminar entitled ‘Malta: A Better Destination for Superyachts!’ on Wednesday September 11th at the Grand Hotel Excelsior in Valletta. It will be the third in the biannual Malta Superyacht seminar series, dedicated to the yachting industry. The event is organised by the publishers of ‘Yachting in Malta’ Wilfred Sultana & Associates.

Mexico, Peru and Ecuador were among the big names to emerge victorious during the World Travel Awards South & Central America Gala Ceremony, held at the Huacca Pucllana Temple, Lima this evening. The industry’s elite, including chief executives of leading tourism organisations, government ministers and tourist board chiefs from across the continent attended the magnificent gala event hailed as ‘the Oscars of the travel industry’.

Dubai has become the seventh most popular city globally in terms of inbound international visitors, outranking destinations such as Hong Kong, Barcelona, Rome and Milan, a report said today. According to the third annual MasterCard Global Destination Cities 2013 Index, Dubai has improved upon its last year's eighth ranking and climbed a notch higher. At 10.9 per cent, the Gulf city registered the strongest growth in arrival numbers among the top ten global markets.

New York City has a wild side and it has nothing to do with its honking yellow taxis, towering skyscrapers and celebrity-studded nightclub crowds. It's about soaring bald eagles, quiet tidal salt marshes and sweet berry brambles thriving along Jamaica Bay, the only wildlife refuge in the U.S. National Park System, to Manhattan, where Central Park is a favorite birding spot, with more than 200 feathered species. Reuters correspondents with local knowledge help you explore New York City's wild side.

An average British traveller packs 2,500 pounds worth of expensive stuff, including laptops, camera and cash, for their holiday, according to a new poll. The poll also found that the items stolen the most from holidaymakers include gadgets, sunglasses and jewellery. The survey showed that Britons take 700 pounds worth of electronics - including cameras, tablets, phones and laptops - 400 pounds of clothes and shoes, 350 pounds of accessories and nearly 100 pounds of toiletries as the norm.

Travelport, the leading provider of critical transaction processing solutions and data for the global travel industry, has today announced the renewal of a multi-year distribution partnership with Galileo Vietnam. The re-signing of this significant agreement sees Galileo Vietnam continue as the national distribution company (NDC) for Travelport’s technology and service in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. To celebrate the extended agreement, a signing ceremony and gala dinner was held at the Legend Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, with key airlines, agency partners and VIPs in attendance.

Frankfurt, Munich and Hamburg airports now feature 39 baggage machines for Lufthansa passengers to drop off their luggage themselves. Passengers who have already received their boarding pass by checking in online, via a mobile device or at a check-in machine within 23 hours before departure, can send their luggage on its journey themselves through the machines, without having to queue, as per a release. Customers can then pass directly through security and go to their gate. The luggage is placed on the belt and the barcode printed on the boarding pass is scanned. The baggage machine prints a self-adhesive luggage tag, which can be attached to the bags.

The U.S. Travel Association enjoyed record attendance at International Pow Wow (IPW) 2013, which took place from June 8-12 in Las Vegas following a previous recession dip. IPW this year attracted nearly 6,400 total delegates from the US and 70 other countries, travelmole.com reported. Roger Dow, President and CEO, U.S. Travel Association, said, "After a dip during the recent recession, America's travel industry is back with great strength. IPW has experienced double-digit growth over the last three years, and literally billions of dollars in deals are being signed this week with tour operators that will bring more international visitors into the United States."

Tourism Malaysia has bagged the Best Food & Drink 2013 International Award at the Lonely Planet Magazine India Awards held at ITC Grand Central, Parel in Mumbai recently, as per a release. Manoharan Periasamy, Director, Tourism Malaysia, said, “Tourism Malaysia is honoured to have been conferred with this esteemed recognition, which will further motivate us to intensify our efforts in positioning Malaysia as the world’s leading Food & Drink destination, while promoting its attractions. We Malaysians are a lucky lot. In our multiracial community, as a result of historical migrations and Malaysia's geographical advantage, Malaysia's culinary style is a mixture of Malays, Chinese, Indian, Thai and Arabian cuisines - to name a few. This resulted in a symphony of flavours, making Malaysian cuisines highly exotic.”

Dubai has become the seventh most popular city globally in terms of inbound international visitors, outranking destinations such as Hong Kong, Barcelona, Rome and Milan, a report said today. According to the third annual MasterCard Global Destination Cities 2013 Index, Dubai has improved upon its last year's eighth ranking and climbed a notch higher. At 10.9 per cent, the Gulf city registered the strongest growth in arrival numbers among the top ten global markets. It shared the feat with this year's number one city of Bangkok.

New York City has a wild side and it has nothing to do with its honking yellow taxis, towering skyscrapers and celebrity-studded nightclub crowds. It's about soaring bald eagles, quiet tidal salt marshes and sweet berry brambles thriving along Jamaica Bay, the only wildlife refuge in the U.S. National Park System, to Manhattan, where Central Park is a favorite birding spot, with more than 200 feathered species. Reuters correspondents with local knowledge help you explore New York City's wild side.

Bangkok has edged out London as the world's most popular air travel destination, becoming the first Asian city to earn the distinction, according to a ranking by the MasterCard Index of Global Destination Cities. The Thai capital headed the 2013 list based on total projected visits by foreigners, followed by London, Paris, Singapore and New York. Istanbul and Dubai showed the strongest expected growth in the number of visitors. Dr Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, who compiled the index, said Bangkok benefited from its many air links to some of the fastest-growing cities across the world, especially in China and Japan. Visits to Bangkok were expected to grow by 9.8 percent this year.

Italian State Tourist Board has reopened its office in Mumbai. The new office was inaugurated on May 24, 2013 by Daniele Mancini, Ambassador of Italy to India, in the presence of Dr Giampaolo Cutillo, Consul General of Italy in Mumbai; Dr Amedeo Scarpa, Director, Italian Trade Commission, New Delhi; Dr Augusto di Giacinto, Director, Italian Trade Commission, Mumbai; Dr Giorgio Imparato, Visa Officer, Mumbai; Simonetta Bartolomei, Commercial Attache from the Consulate General of Italy, Mumbai; and Murali Raghavan, COO - South Asia and CIS, VFS Global, a release stated. Mancini said, “Undoubtedly, India today is an emerging and high-potential tourism market, and numbers from the country are only set to increase in the years to come. The growing middle class of the country certainly multiplies this potential. Since its first presence in Mumbai, way back in 2001, ENIT has been instrumental in promoting Italy among Indian tourists."

Emirates Holidays, the tour-operating arm of Emirates airlines, and TUI India, the tour operating arm of leading destination management company Le Passage to India signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). Under the MoU, TUI India will be the preferred agent for Emirates Holidays in India. This is aimed at providing customers with competitively-priced, quality holiday experiences. To support the Emirates Holidays products, Le Passage to India will leverage its tour operating brand, TUI India. The partnership is the initial phase of a strategy aimed at exploring supply and distribution opportunities between the two companies.

Struggling Cyprus should be able to lure tourist revenue with pristine bathing waters, ranked the European Union's best in the latest EU bathing report published on Tuesday. In contrast, Belgium, Britain and the Netherlands had the highest percentages of bathing sites that failed to meet EU standards in 2012, in part because torrential rains washed sewage into them.

TripAdvisor has announced its market-leading mobile app is now pre-installed onto the new Samsung GALAXY S4, enabling millions of consumers worldwide to have easy access to trusted TripAdvisor travel content. TripAdvisor is the only travel app that will be pre-installed on the new Samsung GALAXY S4. In addition to pre-installing the app, Samsung is using TripAdvisor content – including millions of photos and over 100 million reviews and opinions - to power its own travel apps. Travel Widget – Designed to inspire, the Travel Widget will showcase TripAdvisor images of popular travel destinations and attractions around the world.

The Government of Turkey has launched an online visa system (e-Visa), on www.evisa.gov.tr, for tourists and businessmen from 94 countries, which replaces sticker and stamp-type visas formerly issued at border gates. After filling the application form, the e-Visa would be e-mailed to the applicant. Applicants must take a print out their e-Visa, show it to airport officials and customs officers and carry it with them at all times during their travel.

May 28 - 29, 2013
Raffles City Convention & Exhibition Centre Singapore, Singapore
Now in its 9th year, EyeforTravel's TDS Asia Summit is the leading strategic and networking forum for Senior Online Travel, Tourism and Hospitality executives to understand, shape and profit from the changing face of the industry and its customer. The summit brings together leading global hotels, airlines, OTAs, GDS, Cruises, Destinations and travel technology companies from across N.

Jumeirah Group, the global luxury hospitality company and a member of Dubai Holding, has announced its performance in the first quarter of 2013 and its mid-term growth strategy. During the first quarter of 2013, average occupancy in Jumeirah’s portfolio of hotels has increased by nine per cent globally, compared to the same period in 2012.