Japan’s New Mobile Payment Tech and 6 Other Digital Trends This Week

Japan’s New Mobile Payment Tech and 6 Other Digital Trends This Week

A consumer scans a QR code using WeChat Wallet, the second most popular method of payment in China, behind Alipay. Philip McMaster / Flickr



Skift Take: This week in digital news, Japan shifts its payment method as the numbers of Chinese tourists surges, a Spanish online travel company struggles to stay afloat, and Google allows users to search for alternative accommodations within its hotel site.

— Isaac Carey

Read the Complete Story On Skift

http://travel.atspace.co.uk/japans-new-mobile-payment-tech-and-6-other-digital-trends-this-week/

5 ways to stay physically equipped for adventure

5 ways to stay physically equipped for adventure

Conrad Anker’s accomplishments in high-altitude climbing are astonishing. For over three decades he’s been an elite climber and world-class mountaineer, often leading expeditions with climbers half his age in tow.


His list of first ascents is both lengthy and impressive, the pinnacle probably being the 2011 summit of India’s Meru Peak via its Shark’s Fin route, accompanied by Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk. That ascent — and Conrad’s personal story — became the subject of Chin’s successful 2015 documentary film Meru, propelling Anker into mainstream stardom.


Known for his extraordinary ability and endurance at high altitude, Anker summited Everest without oxygen in 2012 on a National Geographic Expedition, for which he also partnered with the Mayo Clinic to help study the effects of high-altitude climbing on the human body. All the tests results from that climb pointed towards a super-human Anker, performing at a level equal to that of athletes a fraction of his age; he was the only climber in the entire expedition to summit without using supplemental oxygen.


After 30+ years of adventure, Anker is still going strong. Here’s how he does it — and how you can, too.


1. Staying active


“This is probably the most obvious thing,” Anker says, “but it’s also the most important. The best way to make sure you stay in shape is not to get out of shape, especially as you get older.”


For Anker, this means a mix of climbing at his local gym in Bozeman, MT, getting outside and into the mountains as often as possible, climbing the frozen waterfalls in nearby Hyalite Canyon, and walking a few miles every day. “The human body is evolutionarily designed for walking the equivalent of four miles a day,” Anker explains. “It’s incredible how beneficial walking is for us.”


2. Heat = medicine


A few years ago, Anker installed a Finnleo sauna in the bathroom behind his office. It’s since become a daily ritual when he’s at home, and he absolutely swears by it. “After an intense day climbing,” Anker says, “relaxation for me comes in the sauna. It’s a very important part of my personal health care.”


His routine includes 15 minutes in dry heat, followed by pouring some water infused with birch essential oil over the hot rocks to increase the humidity for another 15 minutes. “The humidity accentuates temperature,” Anker explains, “encouraging blood to move through the body.” The heightened circulation helps muscles recover more quickly.


Other benefits of a daily sauna routine include increased cardiovascular health, stress relief, the flushing of toxins, and improved sleep, and it can also help reduce the severity and duration of the common cold and flu.


Honda Conrad Anker physically equipped

Photo: Cody Doucette


3. The 20 breaths


“This is my personal meditation practice,” Anker says, “taking 20 deep, mindful breaths. It re-centers and re-charges me, no matter where I am. Hanging off a big wall at 20,000 feet, in the sauna, or at my desk, those 20 breaths and around two minutes of calm focus do wonders for both my body and mind.”


Try it yourself and see if you agree: Even a couple deep breaths can bring about substantial shifts in both body and mind, especially when we’re outside our comfort zone or stressed. Inhale deeply through your nose for two beats, hold for two beats, then release and exhale for two beats. Do that 20 times and it’s like a strong cup of oxygen coffee.


4. Feeling the pump


“If I’m working at my desk,” Anker explains, “I’ll make sure to do about five to 10 minutes of exercise every hour, just enough to feel the pump.” For those who don’t know what “the pump” is, it’s that moment when your muscles become tight and engorged, full of blood and swollen with exertion. Climbers live for it.


Some of the quickest and easiest ways to feel the pump are pull-ups and push-ups — five minutes of each should do the trick. “I also like to make sure my core gets some work every day,” Anker explains, “so I’ll plan on doing a two-minute plank at 2pm when I’m working at home.”


Honda Conrad Anker physically equipped

Photo: Cody Doucette


5. Circular motions


“A good warm-up routine is really important for me,” Anker says. “Circular motions are key, especially for the shoulders and hips.” Taking a few minutes before any type of exercise to get the blood flowing is always a good idea, especially if it’s cold outside or you’ve been sitting for a while or sleeping. At the base of every climb, Conrad swings his arms and legs in circles both ways, followed by a few grip extensions with his hands, which is basically stretching your fingers out all the way and then clenching them to make a fist.


“It’s simple,” Conrad says, “and I love how good it feels as the blood and heat starts to move through my joints.” And with that, he’s equipped, ready for adventure.

The post 5 ways to stay physically equipped for adventure appeared first on Matador Network.


http://travel.atspace.co.uk/5-ways-to-stay-physically-equipped-for-adventure/

Japan’s New Mobile Payment Tech and 6 Other Digital Trends This Week

Japan’s New Mobile Payment Tech and 6 Other Digital Trends This Week

A consumer scans a QR code using WeChat Wallet, the second most popular method of payment in China, behind Alipay. Philip McMaster / Flickr



Skift Take: This week in digital news, Japan shifts its payment method as the numbers of Chinese tourists surges, a Spanish online travel company struggles to stay afloat, and Google allows users to search for alternative accommodations within its hotel site.

— Isaac Carey

Read the Complete Story On Skift

http://travel.atspace.co.uk/japans-new-mobile-payment-tech-and-6-other-digital-trends-this-week/

5 ways to stay physically equipped for adventure

5 ways to stay physically equipped for adventure

Conrad Anker’s accomplishments in high-altitude climbing are astonishing. For over three decades he’s been an elite climber and world-class mountaineer, often leading expeditions with climbers half his age in tow.


His list of first ascents is both lengthy and impressive, the pinnacle probably being the 2011 summit of India’s Meru Peak via its Shark’s Fin route, accompanied by Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk. That ascent — and Conrad’s personal story — became the subject of Chin’s successful 2015 documentary film Meru, propelling Anker into mainstream stardom.


Known for his extraordinary ability and endurance at high altitude, Anker summited Everest without oxygen in 2012 on a National Geographic Expedition, for which he also partnered with the Mayo Clinic to help study the effects of high-altitude climbing on the human body. All the tests results from that climb pointed towards a super-human Anker, performing at a level equal to that of athletes a fraction of his age; he was the only climber in the entire expedition to summit without using supplemental oxygen.


After 30+ years of adventure, Anker is still going strong. Here’s how he does it — and how you can, too.


1. Staying active


“This is probably the most obvious thing,” Anker says, “but it’s also the most important. The best way to make sure you stay in shape is not to get out of shape, especially as you get older.”


For Anker, this means a mix of climbing at his local gym in Bozeman, MT, getting outside and into the mountains as often as possible, climbing the frozen waterfalls in nearby Hyalite Canyon, and walking a few miles every day. “The human body is evolutionarily designed for walking the equivalent of four miles a day,” Anker explains. “It’s incredible how beneficial walking is for us.”


2. Heat = medicine


A few years ago, Anker installed a Finnleo sauna in the bathroom behind his office. It’s since become a daily ritual when he’s at home, and he absolutely swears by it. “After an intense day climbing,” Anker says, “relaxation for me comes in the sauna. It’s a very important part of my personal health care.”


His routine includes 15 minutes in dry heat, followed by pouring some water infused with birch essential oil over the hot rocks to increase the humidity for another 15 minutes. “The humidity accentuates temperature,” Anker explains, “encouraging blood to move through the body.” The heightened circulation helps muscles recover more quickly.


Other benefits of a daily sauna routine include increased cardiovascular health, stress relief, the flushing of toxins, and improved sleep, and it can also help reduce the severity and duration of the common cold and flu.


Honda Conrad Anker physically equipped

Photo: Cody Doucette


3. The 20 breaths


“This is my personal meditation practice,” Anker says, “taking 20 deep, mindful breaths. It re-centers and re-charges me, no matter where I am. Hanging off a big wall at 20,000 feet, in the sauna, or at my desk, those 20 breaths and around two minutes of calm focus do wonders for both my body and mind.”


Try it yourself and see if you agree: Even a couple deep breaths can bring about substantial shifts in both body and mind, especially when we’re outside our comfort zone or stressed. Inhale deeply through your nose for two beats, hold for two beats, then release and exhale for two beats. Do that 20 times and it’s like a strong cup of oxygen coffee.


4. Feeling the pump


“If I’m working at my desk,” Anker explains, “I’ll make sure to do about five to 10 minutes of exercise every hour, just enough to feel the pump.” For those who don’t know what “the pump” is, it’s that moment when your muscles become tight and engorged, full of blood and swollen with exertion. Climbers live for it.


Some of the quickest and easiest ways to feel the pump are pull-ups and push-ups — five minutes of each should do the trick. “I also like to make sure my core gets some work every day,” Anker explains, “so I’ll plan on doing a two-minute plank at 2pm when I’m working at home.”


Honda Conrad Anker physically equipped

Photo: Cody Doucette


5. Circular motions


“A good warm-up routine is really important for me,” Anker says. “Circular motions are key, especially for the shoulders and hips.” Taking a few minutes before any type of exercise to get the blood flowing is always a good idea, especially if it’s cold outside or you’ve been sitting for a while or sleeping. At the base of every climb, Conrad swings his arms and legs in circles both ways, followed by a few grip extensions with his hands, which is basically stretching your fingers out all the way and then clenching them to make a fist.


“It’s simple,” Conrad says, “and I love how good it feels as the blood and heat starts to move through my joints.” And with that, he’s equipped, ready for adventure.

The post 5 ways to stay physically equipped for adventure appeared first on Matador Network.


http://travel.atspace.co.uk/5-ways-to-stay-physically-equipped-for-adventure/

TravelSky’s Monopoly in China Helped Boost Annual Revenues

TravelSky’s Monopoly in China Helped Boost Annual Revenues

A China Southern flight attendant helps a passenger use the on-board entertainment system. Source: China Southern csair.com All Chinese airlines use travel technology firm TravelSky's systems to manage their domestic businesses. In 2018 TravelSky, China's travel technology giant, generated $1.11 billion in revenue, representing an increase of 11 percent year-on-year. China Southern



Skift Take: TravelSky, China's state-backed airline distribution and software services company, reported solid revenue growth in 2018. But the company's insulation from market competition risks creating complacency, and some signs suggest Chinese airlines are frustrated.

— Sean O'Neill

Read the Complete Story On Skift

http://travel.atspace.co.uk/travelskys-monopoly-in-china-helped-boost-annual-revenues/

Why Online Travel Agency eDreams Odigeo Couldn’t Find a Buyer at Its Price

Why Online Travel Agency eDreams Odigeo Couldn’t Find a Buyer at Its Price

Dana Dunne, eDreams Odigeo CEO speaking at the 2019 ITB Berlin Convention. The online travel agent is coming towards the end of its turnaround plan. ITB Berlin



Skift Take: Not surprisingly, the CEO is backing his own turnaround plan, but he’ll have to deliver if the company is ever going to live up to its lofty IPO.

— Patrick Whyte

Read the Complete Story On Skift

http://travel.atspace.co.uk/why-online-travel-agency-edreams-odigeo-couldnt-find-a-buyer-at-its-price/

Extended Reality Technologies – transcript and video recording

Extended Reality Technologies – transcript and video recording



Extended Reality Spotlight Session


On March 7 2019, Fabienne was joined by Gavin Crombie, CEO of Digital Frontier, in a live session offering insight into how extended reality technologies, such as augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality, can be applied in a tourism setting. Gavin used case studies to demonstrate ways in which these technologies can be tailored according to the needs and goals of a business.


Topics covered during this session were:


  • A Brief Description of what the new Extended Realities, with their positives and negatives

  • Why you should NOT use the extended reality technologies

  • Focusing on the outcome – and matching the outcome to your individual resources – financial, time and management resources





A big thank you to our guest















Gavin Crombie


Digital Frontier











Gavin Crombie

CEO and founder of Digital Frontier

Chengdu, China


wearedigitalfrontier.com

gavin.crombie@wearedigitalfrontier.com

+86 136 9346 1202









Member only content


Video recordings of our online training sessions are available for a one off purchase and included in all Tourism Tribe memberships.


To view this page please login or select from the below options:








Purchase casual access


You can purchase one-off access to our deep dive website training package for tourism businesses Purchase now







Join Tourism Tribe


Get support & Help to grow your Tourism Business.


View support plans


Go to the article: Extended Reality Technologies – transcript and video recording

http://travel.atspace.co.uk/extended-reality-technologies-transcript-and-video-recording/

Best Chinatowns in the North America

Best Chinatowns in the North America

There’s a certain generic image that’s associated with the word Chinatown. The neighborhoods can be found around the world and have, in many ways, made the switch from immigrant communities to full-blown tourist attractions. Chinatowns in places like San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and LA are prime examples.


But Chinatowns aren’t limited to what you see in the movies. True Chinatowns also exist, oftentimes in unexpected places like tiny farm towns and French-speaking cities north of the border. Here are nine Chinatowns around North America you might not have known existed.


1. Toronto, Ontario


Downtown Toronto has a large colorful Chinese area

Photo: Spiroview Inc/Shutterstock


To Canadians, the fact that Toronto has phenomenal Chinatowns is about as big a revelation as the fact that Maple Leafs is spelled with an F. But Americans might be surprised to learn that Toronto has not one but three Chinatowns spread throughout the city proper and its suburbs. The main one sits around the intersection of Dundas Street West and Spadina Avenue, where Mother’s Dumplings and King’s Noodle have been drawing crowds for decades.


Eventually, the Chinatown grew to form an East Chinatown on Broadview Avenue and Gerrard Street. Another popped up in Scarborough in what looks like an average suburb, but one where all the signs are in Chinese. This was the first place to introduce North America to the concept of the Chinese Mall at the Dragon Centre, which is full of restaurants and stores designed to serve the needs of Chinese residents.


As rents in the city grow, recent immigrants have settled farther out, in Markham and Richmond Hill. Here, you’ll find some of the best, most authentic restaurants in the metro area, including Ding Tai Fung Shanghai and Dragon Boat Fusion.


2. Montreal, Quebec


Chinatown Gateway at the entrance to Montreal Chinatown

Photo: Wangkun Jia/Shutterstock


Montreal’s Chinatown is geographically smaller than some of Canada’s other, more renowned, Chinatowns. It does, however, feature big, arching Chinese gates along de la Gauchetiere Street in Old Montreal that welcome everyone to the neighborhood. The Quartier Chinois dates back to the late 19th century when immigrants who’d come to western Canada for work on railroads and mines began moving east. During the World’s Fair in 1967 when de la Gauchetiere Street was closed off as a pedestrian mall, it became a legitimate tourist attraction.


Today, you can stroll under the Chinese street signs and enjoy the Montreal sunshine, snap pictures of the elaborate “May an Old Song Open a New World” mural, and try noodles and bilingual fortune cookies at Wing Hing Lung. For full-on dim sum, try Ruby Rouge or Kim Fung, or spicy Szechuan at Kanbai. Since the neighborhood has grown past a simple tourist trap, you can also peruse Chinese markets and Asian pharmacies for traditional eastern medicines.


3. Honolulu, Hawaii


Open Mall for fruits and vegetables in Honolulu Chinatown

Photo: Theodore Trimmer/Shutterstock


Theoretically, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the closest major US city to China has a pretty solid Chinatown. But tourists don’t often make it to the covered sidewalks and brick streets of America’s most tropical Asian district. For years, this area near downtown was Honolulu’s red light district, awash in casinos, prostitution, and all the other vices off-duty sailors looked for. But it’s seen a rehabilitation over the past 15 to 20 years. Returning to its roots, Chinatown is now home to Chinese fruit and meat markets where you can shop among recent immigrants from all over Asia for ingredients you’d be hard-pressed to find on the mainland.


Like so many rehabilitated neighborhoods, Honolulu’s Chinatown is also attracting artists, fancy cocktail bars, and popular restaurants, much of it centered around the iconic Hawaii Theatre. You’ll find art galleries dotting the streets alongside bars like Tchin Tchin! and the divey Smith’s Union. You’ll find restaurants far beyond traditional Chinese, like inventive, second-generation Asian fusion at Pig and the Lady, Puerto Rican-inspired French food at Grondin, and East African at Ethiopian Love. It’s a bit of a ride from the beaches of Waikiki, but it’s also the best way to see what life in Honolulu is like for people who live there.


4. Oakland, California


Chinatown in Oakland, California

Photo: EddieHernandezPhotography/Shutterstock


As with pretty much everything else in Oakland, the city’s Chinatown gets forgotten behind the more-ballyhooed one in San Francisco. But, also like pretty much everything in Oakland, you’ll find it’s less-crowded, cheaper, and easier than its counterpart across the bay. Oaktown’s Chinatown dates back to the 1850s when Chinese immigrants settled here right around the time of the Gold Rush. It’s grown to include other communities that came to California from Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and other parts of Southeast Asia.


Oakland has a highly unheralded street mural program, much of which is visible walking along the main drag on 8th Street with depictions of colorful birds, tigers, and other animals. You can stop in and take a tour of Oakland’s famous fortune cookie factory, which costs only $1. Shan Dong is the go-to for fresh noodles, and you can get some of the best banh mi in America at Cam Huang. Hit the neighborhood early in the morning, and you’ll also catch locals practicing Qi Gong and Tai Chi in Madison Park.


5. Houston, Texas


Hong Kong City Mall

Photo: Hong Kong City Mall/Facebook


America’s fourth-biggest city often doesn’t get enough credit for, well, pretty much anything but space and oil. It’s a fantastic, multicultural place, and among its more underrated attributes is its thriving Chinatown, which is now more of a pan-Asian enclave with Vietnamese, Korean, Malaysian, and even Pakistani residents.


The city’s main Asian enclave sits west of the city along the Sam Houston Tollway. But driving long distances is as Texan as cowboy boots, so once you’ve made the trek you’ll be rewarded with the best multi-ethnic neighborhood in America. You can try Cajun-Vietnamese fusion at Crawfish & Noodles, Taiwanese dumplings at San Dong Noodle House, or go southwest Asian at Avesta Persian Grill. You’ll find the Asian mall at the Hong Kong City Mall, where you can shop for Japanimation stuff at Moshi2 then try everything from bubble tea to taro ice cream.


6. Richmond, British Columbia



This Vancouver suburb is adjacent to the International Airport and doesn’t have a Chinatown per se, but it is the most predominantly Asian city in North America with nearly three-quarters of its 190,000 residents claiming Asian ancestry. Over half the population is Chinese, so if you’re visiting Vancouver, your best bet for Chinese food is going to be outside the city in Richmond.


Richmond is the only city on the continent with a dedicated dumpling trail, which takes you through 19 of the city’s best restaurants sampling everything from gyoza to shumai. For something different, head to the Golden Village neighborhood where restaurants specialize in foods from different regions of China, leading some food critics to call it the best Chinese food in the world outside Hong Kong.


7. Locke, California


The Locke Foundation

Photo: The Locke Foundation/Facebook


Chinatowns aren’t limited to big cities. The oldest rural Chinatown is in the river delta city of Locke. The entire city is a historic district, designated to preserve the architecture and culture dating back to 1915. The ramshackle wooden buildings along Locke’s main street once housed gambling halls, fish markets, grocery stores, and brothels. Now the population is down to about 80, maybe 10 of which are Chinese.


That said, it’s one of California’s great, if lesser-known, roadside attractions. Dai Loy Gambling House Museum, the Locke Chinese School Museum, and the Jan Ying Museum tell the story of a rough-and-tumble farm community a century ago. You’ll find the most action if you go in May for the Locke Asian Pacific Spring Festival, complete with lion dances and scores of traditional Chinese food.


8. Las Vegas, Nevada


Lion Dance Performance during the Chinese New Year celebrations held in Las Vegas

Photo: Kobby Dagan/Shutterstock


As Sin City morphs into actual city, its Chinatown has become the most exciting new district in America. About two miles off the Vegas Strip on Spring Mountain Road, a giant Chinese gate frames The Wynn in the distance, where the smell of garlic and pork cuts through the dry desert air. The smells are likely coming from Chengdu Taste, a Sichuan-style spot that serves eating-challenge-spicy food rich with garlic and chilies.


Like most newer Chinatowns, Vegas’s offers food from other Asian countries, and a trip into the Mountain View Plaza gives you the opportunity to try Vietnamese food from District One and Mongolian specialties off a conveyor belt at Chubby Cattle. You’ll also find sushi better — and cheaper — than the chic spots in the casinos at Yui Edomae.


The architecture here is interesting as well, as the typical Vegas strip malls are topped with orange pagodas. While it does still feel a little like suburban sprawl, it still has enough character to make it a distinct part of the city.


9 Monterey Park, California


San Gabriel Chinatown in LA

Photo: Feng Cheng/Shutterstock


No surprise that the birthplace of bedroom communities also claims the first “suburban Chinatown” in North America. The LA suburb of Monterey Park went from a neighborhood primarily made up of Mexican and Japanese farmers to the “Chinese Beverly Hills” when the Chinese community left Downtown LA’s original Chinatown and headed about eight miles east. Because this Chinatown has seen a number of cultural iterations, it’s also home to the Vincent Price Art Museum, with a huge collection of Mesoamerican art, as well as loads of Spanish revival architecture and the Garvey Park Ranch Observatory.


That said, driving through the streets of Monterey Park the feel is distinctly Chinese. Asian characters fill the signs and restaurants like NBC Seafood and the Mandarin Noodle House. In fact, the San Gabriel Valley is one of North America’s best places for Chinese food. In January, you’ll come across one of the biggest Lunar New Year parties in America, with a parade, Chinese dragons, and plenty of delicious street food.



The post The 9 most underrated Chinatowns in the US and Canada appeared first on Matador Network.


http://travel.atspace.co.uk/best-chinatowns-in-the-north-america/

Tribal Gathering festival in Panama

Tribal Gathering festival in Panama

The knowledge and traditions of indigenous cultures around the world is invaluable yet always at risk of disappearing in the face of both systemic oppression and younger generations losing interest in maintaining these traditions. One festival is trying to celebrate and preserve this indigenous knowledge by bringing together 60 tribes from 30 different countries to share their rituals and traditions: Tribal Gathering, an 18-day festival in Playa Chiquita, Panama. A noble cause, for sure, but there’s just one potential problem in the execution: It’s combined with an EDM festival.



Tribal Gathering has been dubbed a “conscious festival.” What sets these apart from your average music festival is that they often integrate a daytime program of workshops, speakers, and activities, generally having to do with personal growth and spirituality. Attendees can choose to buy a ticket for either part or the entire festival. The first part is focused on sharing indigenous knowledge. Each day the tribes hold a full schedule of sacred rituals, ceremonies, and talks on their way of life.




The second part is your typical psychedelic trance, or psytrance, music festival. During this time, almost all of the tribes leave, and a new stage opens up to play psytrance music (a subset of EDM) almost 24/7. The vibe of the festival changes as the focus shifts from learning to partying.


In theory, the two sides of the festival are meant to have a church-and-state separation, with the first half of the festival being fully dedicated to the indigenous tribes and a large emphasis being placed on respecting their culture. The dancing, drinking, and drugs are meant to come after. In reality, the partying mentality seeps into the entire festival, with potentially problematic consequences. But beyond the partying, there’s also the issue of whether this community of non-indigenous, primarily white festival-goers deserve to take part in such sacred traditions, regardless of their positive intentions.




In the new Matador Originals film Tribes and Trance, I investigate the blending of these ancient and modern-day cultures at this festival. What emerges is the question of whether these two worlds belong together or if it’s simply impossible for the two to coexist without being exploitative to the tribes. Decide for yourself by watching our short documentary below.




The post This festival brings together 60 Indigenous tribes with EDM partiers — but should it? appeared first on Matador Network.


http://travel.atspace.co.uk/tribal-gathering-festival-in-panama/

TravelSky’s Monopoly in China Helped Boost Annual Revenues

TravelSky’s Monopoly in China Helped Boost Annual Revenues

A China Southern flight attendant helps a passenger use the on-board entertainment system. Source: China Southern csair.com All Chinese airlines use travel technology firm TravelSky's systems to manage their domestic businesses. In 2018 TravelSky, China's travel technology giant, generated $1.11 billion in revenue, representing an increase of 11 percent year-on-year. China Southern



Skift Take: TravelSky, China's state-backed airline distribution and software services company, reported solid revenue growth in 2018. But the company's insulation from market competition risks creating complacency, and some signs suggest Chinese airlines are frustrated.

— Sean O'Neill

Read the Complete Story On Skift

http://travel.atspace.co.uk/travelskys-monopoly-in-china-helped-boost-annual-revenues/

Why Online Travel Agency eDreams Odigeo Couldn’t Find a Buyer at Its Price

Why Online Travel Agency eDreams Odigeo Couldn’t Find a Buyer at Its Price

Dana Dunne, eDreams Odigeo CEO speaking at the 2019 ITB Berlin Convention. The online travel agent is coming towards the end of its turnaround plan. ITB Berlin



Skift Take: Not surprisingly, the CEO is backing his own turnaround plan, but he’ll have to deliver if the company is ever going to live up to its lofty IPO.

— Patrick Whyte

Read the Complete Story On Skift

http://travel.atspace.co.uk/why-online-travel-agency-edreams-odigeo-couldnt-find-a-buyer-at-its-price/

Extended Reality Technologies – transcript and video recording

Extended Reality Technologies – transcript and video recording



Extended Reality Spotlight Session


On March 7 2019, Fabienne was joined by Gavin Crombie, CEO of Digital Frontier, in a live session offering insight into how extended reality technologies, such as augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality, can be applied in a tourism setting. Gavin used case studies to demonstrate ways in which these technologies can be tailored according to the needs and goals of a business.


Topics covered during this session were:


  • A Brief Description of what the new Extended Realities, with their positives and negatives

  • Why you should NOT use the extended reality technologies

  • Focusing on the outcome – and matching the outcome to your individual resources – financial, time and management resources





A big thank you to our guest















Gavin Crombie


Digital Frontier











Gavin Crombie

CEO and founder of Digital Frontier

Chengdu, China


wearedigitalfrontier.com

gavin.crombie@wearedigitalfrontier.com

+86 136 9346 1202









Member only content


Video recordings of our online training sessions are available for a one off purchase and included in all Tourism Tribe memberships.


To view this page please login or select from the below options:








Purchase casual access


You can purchase one-off access to our deep dive website training package for tourism businesses Purchase now







Join Tourism Tribe


Get support & Help to grow your Tourism Business.


View support plans


Go to the article: Extended Reality Technologies – transcript and video recording

http://travel.atspace.co.uk/extended-reality-technologies-transcript-and-video-recording/

Best Chinatowns in the North America

Best Chinatowns in the North America

There’s a certain generic image that’s associated with the word Chinatown. The neighborhoods can be found around the world and have, in many ways, made the switch from immigrant communities to full-blown tourist attractions. Chinatowns in places like San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and LA are prime examples.


But Chinatowns aren’t limited to what you see in the movies. True Chinatowns also exist, oftentimes in unexpected places like tiny farm towns and French-speaking cities north of the border. Here are nine Chinatowns around North America you might not have known existed.


1. Toronto, Ontario


Downtown Toronto has a large colorful Chinese area

Photo: Spiroview Inc/Shutterstock


To Canadians, the fact that Toronto has phenomenal Chinatowns is about as big a revelation as the fact that Maple Leafs is spelled with an F. But Americans might be surprised to learn that Toronto has not one but three Chinatowns spread throughout the city proper and its suburbs. The main one sits around the intersection of Dundas Street West and Spadina Avenue, where Mother’s Dumplings and King’s Noodle have been drawing crowds for decades.


Eventually, the Chinatown grew to form an East Chinatown on Broadview Avenue and Gerrard Street. Another popped up in Scarborough in what looks like an average suburb, but one where all the signs are in Chinese. This was the first place to introduce North America to the concept of the Chinese Mall at the Dragon Centre, which is full of restaurants and stores designed to serve the needs of Chinese residents.


As rents in the city grow, recent immigrants have settled farther out, in Markham and Richmond Hill. Here, you’ll find some of the best, most authentic restaurants in the metro area, including Ding Tai Fung Shanghai and Dragon Boat Fusion.


2. Montreal, Quebec


Chinatown Gateway at the entrance to Montreal Chinatown

Photo: Wangkun Jia/Shutterstock


Montreal’s Chinatown is geographically smaller than some of Canada’s other, more renowned, Chinatowns. It does, however, feature big, arching Chinese gates along de la Gauchetiere Street in Old Montreal that welcome everyone to the neighborhood. The Quartier Chinois dates back to the late 19th century when immigrants who’d come to western Canada for work on railroads and mines began moving east. During the World’s Fair in 1967 when de la Gauchetiere Street was closed off as a pedestrian mall, it became a legitimate tourist attraction.


Today, you can stroll under the Chinese street signs and enjoy the Montreal sunshine, snap pictures of the elaborate “May an Old Song Open a New World” mural, and try noodles and bilingual fortune cookies at Wing Hing Lung. For full-on dim sum, try Ruby Rouge or Kim Fung, or spicy Szechuan at Kanbai. Since the neighborhood has grown past a simple tourist trap, you can also peruse Chinese markets and Asian pharmacies for traditional eastern medicines.


3. Honolulu, Hawaii


Open Mall for fruits and vegetables in Honolulu Chinatown

Photo: Theodore Trimmer/Shutterstock


Theoretically, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the closest major US city to China has a pretty solid Chinatown. But tourists don’t often make it to the covered sidewalks and brick streets of America’s most tropical Asian district. For years, this area near downtown was Honolulu’s red light district, awash in casinos, prostitution, and all the other vices off-duty sailors looked for. But it’s seen a rehabilitation over the past 15 to 20 years. Returning to its roots, Chinatown is now home to Chinese fruit and meat markets where you can shop among recent immigrants from all over Asia for ingredients you’d be hard-pressed to find on the mainland.


Like so many rehabilitated neighborhoods, Honolulu’s Chinatown is also attracting artists, fancy cocktail bars, and popular restaurants, much of it centered around the iconic Hawaii Theatre. You’ll find art galleries dotting the streets alongside bars like Tchin Tchin! and the divey Smith’s Union. You’ll find restaurants far beyond traditional Chinese, like inventive, second-generation Asian fusion at Pig and the Lady, Puerto Rican-inspired French food at Grondin, and East African at Ethiopian Love. It’s a bit of a ride from the beaches of Waikiki, but it’s also the best way to see what life in Honolulu is like for people who live there.


4. Oakland, California


Chinatown in Oakland, California

Photo: EddieHernandezPhotography/Shutterstock


As with pretty much everything else in Oakland, the city’s Chinatown gets forgotten behind the more-ballyhooed one in San Francisco. But, also like pretty much everything in Oakland, you’ll find it’s less-crowded, cheaper, and easier than its counterpart across the bay. Oaktown’s Chinatown dates back to the 1850s when Chinese immigrants settled here right around the time of the Gold Rush. It’s grown to include other communities that came to California from Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and other parts of Southeast Asia.


Oakland has a highly unheralded street mural program, much of which is visible walking along the main drag on 8th Street with depictions of colorful birds, tigers, and other animals. You can stop in and take a tour of Oakland’s famous fortune cookie factory, which costs only $1. Shan Dong is the go-to for fresh noodles, and you can get some of the best banh mi in America at Cam Huang. Hit the neighborhood early in the morning, and you’ll also catch locals practicing Qi Gong and Tai Chi in Madison Park.


5. Houston, Texas


Hong Kong City Mall

Photo: Hong Kong City Mall/Facebook


America’s fourth-biggest city often doesn’t get enough credit for, well, pretty much anything but space and oil. It’s a fantastic, multicultural place, and among its more underrated attributes is its thriving Chinatown, which is now more of a pan-Asian enclave with Vietnamese, Korean, Malaysian, and even Pakistani residents.


The city’s main Asian enclave sits west of the city along the Sam Houston Tollway. But driving long distances is as Texan as cowboy boots, so once you’ve made the trek you’ll be rewarded with the best multi-ethnic neighborhood in America. You can try Cajun-Vietnamese fusion at Crawfish & Noodles, Taiwanese dumplings at San Dong Noodle House, or go southwest Asian at Avesta Persian Grill. You’ll find the Asian mall at the Hong Kong City Mall, where you can shop for Japanimation stuff at Moshi2 then try everything from bubble tea to taro ice cream.


6. Richmond, British Columbia



This Vancouver suburb is adjacent to the International Airport and doesn’t have a Chinatown per se, but it is the most predominantly Asian city in North America with nearly three-quarters of its 190,000 residents claiming Asian ancestry. Over half the population is Chinese, so if you’re visiting Vancouver, your best bet for Chinese food is going to be outside the city in Richmond.


Richmond is the only city on the continent with a dedicated dumpling trail, which takes you through 19 of the city’s best restaurants sampling everything from gyoza to shumai. For something different, head to the Golden Village neighborhood where restaurants specialize in foods from different regions of China, leading some food critics to call it the best Chinese food in the world outside Hong Kong.


7. Locke, California


The Locke Foundation

Photo: The Locke Foundation/Facebook


Chinatowns aren’t limited to big cities. The oldest rural Chinatown is in the river delta city of Locke. The entire city is a historic district, designated to preserve the architecture and culture dating back to 1915. The ramshackle wooden buildings along Locke’s main street once housed gambling halls, fish markets, grocery stores, and brothels. Now the population is down to about 80, maybe 10 of which are Chinese.


That said, it’s one of California’s great, if lesser-known, roadside attractions. Dai Loy Gambling House Museum, the Locke Chinese School Museum, and the Jan Ying Museum tell the story of a rough-and-tumble farm community a century ago. You’ll find the most action if you go in May for the Locke Asian Pacific Spring Festival, complete with lion dances and scores of traditional Chinese food.


8. Las Vegas, Nevada


Lion Dance Performance during the Chinese New Year celebrations held in Las Vegas

Photo: Kobby Dagan/Shutterstock


As Sin City morphs into actual city, its Chinatown has become the most exciting new district in America. About two miles off the Vegas Strip on Spring Mountain Road, a giant Chinese gate frames The Wynn in the distance, where the smell of garlic and pork cuts through the dry desert air. The smells are likely coming from Chengdu Taste, a Sichuan-style spot that serves eating-challenge-spicy food rich with garlic and chilies.


Like most newer Chinatowns, Vegas’s offers food from other Asian countries, and a trip into the Mountain View Plaza gives you the opportunity to try Vietnamese food from District One and Mongolian specialties off a conveyor belt at Chubby Cattle. You’ll also find sushi better — and cheaper — than the chic spots in the casinos at Yui Edomae.


The architecture here is interesting as well, as the typical Vegas strip malls are topped with orange pagodas. While it does still feel a little like suburban sprawl, it still has enough character to make it a distinct part of the city.


9 Monterey Park, California


San Gabriel Chinatown in LA

Photo: Feng Cheng/Shutterstock


No surprise that the birthplace of bedroom communities also claims the first “suburban Chinatown” in North America. The LA suburb of Monterey Park went from a neighborhood primarily made up of Mexican and Japanese farmers to the “Chinese Beverly Hills” when the Chinese community left Downtown LA’s original Chinatown and headed about eight miles east. Because this Chinatown has seen a number of cultural iterations, it’s also home to the Vincent Price Art Museum, with a huge collection of Mesoamerican art, as well as loads of Spanish revival architecture and the Garvey Park Ranch Observatory.


That said, driving through the streets of Monterey Park the feel is distinctly Chinese. Asian characters fill the signs and restaurants like NBC Seafood and the Mandarin Noodle House. In fact, the San Gabriel Valley is one of North America’s best places for Chinese food. In January, you’ll come across one of the biggest Lunar New Year parties in America, with a parade, Chinese dragons, and plenty of delicious street food.



The post The 9 most underrated Chinatowns in the US and Canada appeared first on Matador Network.


http://travel.atspace.co.uk/best-chinatowns-in-the-north-america/

Tribal Gathering festival in Panama

Tribal Gathering festival in Panama

The knowledge and traditions of indigenous cultures around the world is invaluable yet always at risk of disappearing in the face of both systemic oppression and younger generations losing interest in maintaining these traditions. One festival is trying to celebrate and preserve this indigenous knowledge by bringing together 60 tribes from 30 different countries to share their rituals and traditions: Tribal Gathering, an 18-day festival in Playa Chiquita, Panama. A noble cause, for sure, but there’s just one potential problem in the execution: It’s combined with an EDM festival.



Tribal Gathering has been dubbed a “conscious festival.” What sets these apart from your average music festival is that they often integrate a daytime program of workshops, speakers, and activities, generally having to do with personal growth and spirituality. Attendees can choose to buy a ticket for either part or the entire festival. The first part is focused on sharing indigenous knowledge. Each day the tribes hold a full schedule of sacred rituals, ceremonies, and talks on their way of life.




The second part is your typical psychedelic trance, or psytrance, music festival. During this time, almost all of the tribes leave, and a new stage opens up to play psytrance music (a subset of EDM) almost 24/7. The vibe of the festival changes as the focus shifts from learning to partying.


In theory, the two sides of the festival are meant to have a church-and-state separation, with the first half of the festival being fully dedicated to the indigenous tribes and a large emphasis being placed on respecting their culture. The dancing, drinking, and drugs are meant to come after. In reality, the partying mentality seeps into the entire festival, with potentially problematic consequences. But beyond the partying, there’s also the issue of whether this community of non-indigenous, primarily white festival-goers deserve to take part in such sacred traditions, regardless of their positive intentions.




In the new Matador Originals film Tribes and Trance, I investigate the blending of these ancient and modern-day cultures at this festival. What emerges is the question of whether these two worlds belong together or if it’s simply impossible for the two to coexist without being exploitative to the tribes. Decide for yourself by watching our short documentary below.




The post This festival brings together 60 Indigenous tribes with EDM partiers — but should it? appeared first on Matador Network.


http://travel.atspace.co.uk/tribal-gathering-festival-in-panama/