Tents on the rim of Mount Rinjani in West Nusa Tenggara.

Hiking trails on Mount Rinjani closed following flood

Hiking on Mount Rinjani, West Nusa Tenggara, has been temporarily stopped following a flood that impacted one of the climbing posts.

5 years ago

News

State Department tells US citizens to leave Iraq 'immediately'

The State Department on Friday told US citizens to leave Iraq "immediately," after an American strike killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. ...

5 years ago

News

Qantas named world's safest airline, Garuda most punctual

The world’s safest and most punctual airlines are in the Asia Pacific region. ...

5 years ago

The Latest

This file picture taken on March 6, 2015 shows a Chinese tourist walking on a beach on the Rock Islands in Palau.

News

Palau bans 'reef-toxic' sunscreen

Palau's pioneering ban on "reef-toxic" sunscreens took effect Wednesday as the tiny Pacific island nation introduced strict environmental measures that also include one of the world's largest marine sanctuaries.

5 years ago

A pier juts out into the sea at Sambolo Beach, Anyer.

News

Helicopter ride to Anyer, Bandung available for special price in January

One-way travel by Helicity is available until Jan. 20 for Rp 13 million (US$1,007.38).

5 years ago

The view from Stone Garden Geopark in West Bandung regency, West Java.

Destination

Stone Garden: Oasis among mining sites in West Bandung

Residents have been struggling since 2009 to save their hometown from being exploited by chalk mining activities.

5 years ago

Party on: Fireworks light up the Jakarta skies as revelers celebrate New Years's Eve at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, Central Jakarta.

Activities

Sparkling night: Where to watch New Year’s Eve fireworks in Jakarta

Several events and fireworks shows will be held in the capital to ring in the new year.

5 years ago

Pro-democracy protesters attend a rally at Edinburgh Place in the Central district of Hong Kong on December 29, 2019. Hong Kong has been battered by more than six months of protests that has upended the financial hub's reputation for stability and helped tip the city into recession.

News

Tourists to Hong Kong fell 53% over Christmas season: Sing Tao

Hong Kong saw a 53 percent drop in inbound visitors during the Christmas period from Dec. 21 to Dec. 26, the Sing Tao Daily reported, as months of protests in city deterred tourists.

5 years ago

Tourists marvel at the view at Negeri di Atas Awan Gunung Luhur in Lebak regency, Banten

News

Banten's Negeri di Atas Awan closed to tourists on New Year’s Eve

Situated within Mount Halimun Salak National Park (TNGHS), Negeri di Atas Awan Gunung Luhur caught the attention of the public after it went viral on social media in September.

5 years ago

The high-speed railway line connecting Beijing and Zhangjiakou in North China's Hebei province opens on Monday, Dec. 30, 2019.

News

Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway starts operation

A high-speed railway line linking Beijing and Zhangjiakou in North China's Hebei province opens on Monday.

5 years ago

Tourists wearing masks take photos as the Opera House (back, C) is enveloped in haze caused by nearby bushfires, in Sydney on December 10, 2019. Toxic haze blanketed Sydney on December 10 triggering a chorus of smoke alarms to ring across the city, as Australians braced for 'severe' weather conditions expected to fuel deadly bush blazes.

News

Tourists at risk as heatwave fuels Australia bushfires

Thousands of tourists risked being stranded in Australia's south east Monday, as a new heatwave left firefighters across the country bracing for another round of potentially catastrophic bushfire.

5 years ago

Workers stand on the scaffolding in front of the newly revealed restored north dial of the clock on Elizabeth Tower, commonly known by the name of the bell Big Ben, at the Palace of Westminster, home to the Houses of Parliament, in London on March 21, 2019.

News

Newly face-lifted Big Ben will ring in London New Year

Britain's Big Ben bell in parliament's landmark clock tower will ring at midnight on New Year's Eve, marking the start of a year for the first time since its new face was revealed from under scaffolding halfway through restoration work.

5 years ago

A Batik Air aircraft parked at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

News

Batik Air now connects Shenzhen and Batam

Batik Air has introduced its newest route of Shenzhen-Batam, which will operate three times a week using an Airbus 320-200CEO.

5 years ago

'The Three Sisters' in the Blue Mountains of Australia represent three sisters who, according to Aboriginal legend, were turned to stone.

News

Bushfire smoke hides Australia's 'Three Sisters', tourists photograph billboard

Tourists visiting a world heritage site in mountains west of Sydney were forced to take photos of a billboard showing "The Three Sisters" rock formation on Friday as smoke from bushfires blanketed the attraction.

5 years ago

An airport employee works under passenger planes of Japan Airlines at Tokyo's Haneda airport on July 31, 2018.

News

JAL to offer free domestic flights to foreigners via mileage program

Japan Airlines Co. said Thursday overseas members of its mileage program will be able to apply for free return tickets for domestic flights next summer, part of an effort to provide foreign travelers with a greater experience of Japan alongside the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

5 years ago

A horse-drawn carriage passes by in a street of Old Montreal, Quebec, Canada on December 22, 2019. Montreal's horse-drawn carriages will be taken off the roads on December 31, ending a long feud between the city and coachmen and a quaint means of local travel that dates back to the 1600s.

News

Montreal horse-drawn carriages take one last lap

To tourists they are a time-honored, charming way of seeing the sights but animal rights activists say Montreal's horse-drawn carriages are a cruel and unnecessary relic of yesteryear.

5 years ago

Kylie Minogue performs on the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, Britain, on June 30, 2019.

News

Kylie invites politics-weary Brits to 'call on your friends in Australia'

Australian popstar Kylie Minogue has invited weary Britons to forget politics and “call on your friends in Australia” in a tourism campaign launched in Britain on Christmas Day.

5 years ago

A visitor walks past a durian tree. The 18-hectare area was previously earmarked for a factory. However, as durian trees had already been planted on most of the land years ago, the new owner decided to turn it into a tourist garden.

Destination

Durian garden seeks to become Batam's new tourism icon

Fans of durian will especially enjoy going to the 18-hectare Citra Kebun Wisata (Citra Tourist Garden), which hosts more than 1,000 durian trees of various varieties.

5 years ago

Women walk on a rice field in the town of Ubud, Bali.

News

Coming in 2020: Southeast Asian hotels, resorts to look out for next year

Southeast Asia is home to numerous rice fields, forests and islands. With its breathtaking views, warm weather and cultural diversity, Southeast Asian countries – including Indonesia – are embracing these traits by developing lodging sites that are unique in character, catering to all sorts of travelers from across the globe.

5 years ago

A picture shows sleeping pods at the new 'Ostelzzz' capsule hotel in Milan on October 28, 2019.

News

New hotel encapsulates Milan tourist renaissance

Cheap and cheerful capsule hotels are forever expanding from their Japanese cradle, including now in Milan where the tiny, stacked rooms are helping the Italian city cope with exploding tourist numbers.

5 years ago

Foreign tourists disembark onto a jetty at Banjar Nyuh Port in Nusa Penida, Bali on June 10.

News

Indonesia sets focus on European tourists amid decline in Chinese visitors

“We don’t have to [rely on] Chinese tourists all the time. We will shift our target to European countries such as the United Kingdom, which we haven't really tapped into,” said Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Wishnutama Kusubandi.

5 years ago

Wings Air Indonesia ATR 72-600 PK-WHQ taxies at Supadio International Airport, Pontianak, West Kalimantan.

News

Wings Air to open new route from Nabire to Manokwari

Low-cost airline Wings Air announced on Wednesday that it would open a direct route from Nabire to Manokwari, Papua, effective Dec. 29.

5 years ago

News

What not to do when visiting Yogyakarta Palace Museum

The Yogyakarta Palace Museum consists of four separate facilities with historical collections: the Painting Museum, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX Museum, Cart Museum and Batik Museum.

5 years ago

Aerial view at dusk of night skiing in Niseko Village. Niseko is a popular destination for ski resorts in Japan

News

Japan to support ski resort renovation to lure foreign tourists

To promote the renovation of ski resorts to attract more foreign skiers, the government will select between 10 to 15 skiing venues by a nationwide public offering and help revitalize them into resorts for longer stays. Skiing is becoming less popular in Japan.

5 years ago

Pulkovo Airport architecture inside departure terminal and passengers, St. Petersburg, Russia.

News

Russia's St Petersburg airport expects to host Ryanair, other low-costers in 2020

Low-cost airline Ryanair and other budget carriers are expected to start flying from Russia's St Petersburg airport in 2020, the Russian Transport Ministry said.

5 years ago

Tourists ride a sled pulled by a reindeer at the Santa Claus Village near Rovaniemi, Finnish Lapland, on Dec. 2, 2019. Rovaniemi's Santa Claus Village amusement park is a snow-covered wonderland of reindeer rides, ice castles, souvenir shops, snowmobiles and igloo hotels where Christmas holds sway 365 days a year.

News

Tourism's gifts and woes for Santa and Sami homeland

In Finland's remote Lapland region, the Santa Claus Village amusement park is a snowy wonderland of reindeer rides, ice castles, snowmobiles and igloo hotels where Christmas holds sway 365 days a year.

5 years ago

Some Jakartans opt to spend the year-end holiday in a hotel instead of traveling overseas or to other cities.

News

Why not celebrate the festive season with a hotel staycation?

For the holiday season, Le Meridien Jakarta and Hotel Mulia Jakarta in Central Jakarta have prepared a number of activities.

5 years ago

Christian tourists visit the Church of the Nativity in the biblical West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2019.

News

At Christmas, Bethlehem says denied full gifts of tourism

While Bethlehem's 50-odd hotels are fully booked during the peak season around Christmas Day, December 25, they struggle to ensure occupancy rates throughout the year.

5 years ago

A Batik Air aircraft is parked at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

News

Batik Air launches Jakarta-Bangkok route

Full-service carrier Batik Air has appeared as a new option for passengers traveling from Jakarta-serving Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok.

5 years ago