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’.

In a bid to promote Buddhist Tourism in the state, Chhatisgarh Tourism Board (CTB) has proposed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the tourism boards of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Andhra Pradesh (AP). CTB plans to promote Buddhist Tourism in the current and coming quarters of this year, and its focus destinations will be Sirpur, Champaran, Girodhpuri, Pragyagiri and Shivrinarayan. Santosh K Misra, Managing Director, Chhattisgarh Tourism Board, said, “AP, Bihar and UP are home to famous Buddhist sites like Sarnath,

Pratibha Singh, Member of Parliament (MP), Himachal Pradesh (HP) has sought a financial assistance of Rs 100 crore from the Central government to develop tourism infrastructure in the state, an official statement said this week, reported the IANS. Singh raised these issues during a recent meeting with Dr K Chiranjeevi, Minister of State with Independent Charge for Tourism in New Delhi. Singh also urged the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Government of India to run a special campaign under ‘Incredible India’ to promote all Himalayan states, even in foreign countries.

Karnataka has appointed consultants in each district to identify their tourism potential and promote the sector, R V Deshpande, Minister for Higher Education and Tourism, Government of Karnataka, said. During a question hour in the Legislative Assembly, the Minister said district tourism committees, under the chairmanship of the respective deputy commissioners, would be recast with inclusion of tourism enthusiasts, PTI reported. It would be made mandatory for these committees to meet once in three months,

Mumbai-based Golden Tours is set to launch women-centric shopping tours to Thailand from October. Sameer Shah, Proprietor, Golden Tours, said, “We have witnessed a trend of women wanting to travel without their husbands and children, and engage in shopping experiences in international destinations.

In order to clear the extra rush of passengers, the Railways has decided to run six superfast Air-Conditioned (AC) weekly special trains between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) – Secunderabad, as per a TOI report. According to an official from Central Railway train no. 02702 AC Special will leave LTT at 8.50 pm on every Monday from July 15 to July 29 and will reach Secunderabad at 3 pm next day. Similarly, 02701 AC Special will leave Secunderabad at 11.45 pm on every Sunday from July 14 to July 28, and will arrive at LTT at 4.30 pm next day. 

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.

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.

Veena Sudhir Patil, former MD of Kesari Tours is set to launch her new venture, Veena Patil Hospitality under the brand VeenaWorld-Travel, Explore, Celebrate on the 18th of June 2013 along with husband Sudhir Patil and Sunila Himanshu Patil. It's first branch office is scheduled to open tomorrow in Kandivali, Mumbai, to be inaugurated by MNS chief Raj Thackeray. Plans are underway to open 6 branches within a month-and-a-half across Mumbai and one branch in Pune taking the total to seven. Fifty agents have already signed up as partners for the new venture. Apart from Kandivali, VeenaWorld outlets are set to open in Ghatkopar, Thane, Dadar, Dombivali and Vile Parle. Speaking about the venture, in an exclusive interview with Express TravelWorld, Veena Sudhir Patil, said,

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.

Air India has signed an OnPoint solutions overhaul engine services agreement with GE Aviation for material related to the maintenance, repair and overhaul of its 96 CFM56-5B engines that power its Airbus A320 aircraft fleet, as per a release. “GE and Air India have a strong relationship that spans over 30 years. We are honoured by the confidence that Air India has reposed in us and we look forward to bringing high quality Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) work scoping, parts and component repair to its CFM56 5B engine fleet,” said Nalin Jain, CEO GE Aviation, South Asia. OnPoint solutions are customised service agreements tailored to the operational and financial needs of each customer for the fleet size.

Notwithstanding the impact of the country's slowing economy, depreciating rupee, and ailing airline industry on its travel market, gross bookings in India will march ahead by double digits through 2015, reaching USD 28.8 billion, PhoCusWright Global and Asia Pacific Edition report said. Justifying this estimation, Chetan Kapoor, Research Analyst, Asia Pacific, PhoCusWright, said, "The weakness of the rupee and overall economic sluggishness in the Indian economy have definitely taken a toll. But while the Indian travel market appeared flat in dollar terms in 2012, nearly all travel segments saw double-digit increases in local currency terms, and most will maintain strong growth through 2015." Despite facing a myriad challenges from within and outside the travel industry, India remains among the fastest growing travel markets in the Asia-Pacific region.

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."

As the summer cruise season approaches, Adelman Vacations recommends that cruise customers take a closer look at not just cruise routes and destinations, but the cruise lines themselves. “Most cruise customers are looking for not just a cruise, but an experience,” said Deana Crouch, director of vacation sales for Adelman Vacations. “Some customers are young and single, some are retired couples, and many are families with children. Many of the cruise ships are massive in size, but still, they can’t be all things to all people.”