Seoul is undergoing a building boom as South Korea tries to make sure it has enough hotel beds available for the massive influx of visitors expected during World Cup 2002. In the luxury sector, J W Marriott opened its doors at the end of August with 497 rooms, and the Park Hyatt will open in September next year with 265 rooms. The country is hoping to use the soccer tournament to promote its culture, shopping and destinations to woo tourists worldwide. The Kempinski Hotel, with 730 rooms, will open in Seoul in 2003.
The city's new Inchon International Airport will open next year, and some foreign airlines, which stopped flying to Seoul at the onset of the economic crisis, have resumed flights. They include United Airlines, Philippine Airlines and Air France. British Airways and Swiss Air are considering flying back into Seoul.
Organisers of the SAR's top travel expo, ITE HK, are hoping the next show will be a record-breaker as the economy continues to pick up. Already, buyers from 25 countries and regions have signed up for the event, which will be held from June 7-10 next year at the Convention and Exhibition Centre.
China Southern Airlines has proven that pigs can fly, freighting 700 of the animals from Chicago to Shenzhen. It was the first live animal shipment the airline has made since it began cargo operations in the US last April. The pigs, from a family farm in the Midwest, will be used for breeding.
Most readers would probably only use a public toilet in Hong Kong as a last resort. Tourists must go home with horror stories about our hygiene standards. In Canberra, visiting a public loo is almost a pleasure, as I found last week when staying in Australia's capital city.