STAR ALLIANCE LAUNCHES CONNECTING PARTNER MODEL TO EXPAND NETWORK REACH VIA LOW-COST AND HYBRID AIRLINES. South African Airline Mango to be first airline to implement.Star Alliance is set to expand its network reach with the launch of its Connecting Partner Model. Under this new concept, routes operated by “low-cost” and “hybrid” airlines will be able to connect to the Alliance network. This will allow customers of Star Alliance member carriers to select from an even wider choice of destinations and flights.

A strategic deal to create a worldwide leader in the luxury segment An unrivalled collection of iconic hotel assets with 155 hotels and resorts, of which 40 are under development. Acquisition to provide AccorHotels with robust and global leadership in luxury hotels, a key segment in terms of geographic reach, growth potential and profitability, for long-term value creation. FRHI’s unrivalled hotel portfolio, expertise in marketing luxury hotels and sizeable footprint in North America, provide a stronger platform to continue aggressive worldwide expansion. AccorHotels will pay for the acquisition by issuing 46.7 million new Accor shares and a cash payment of $840 million (€768 million). Qatar Investment Authority and Kingdom Holding Company of Saudi Arabia are to become major shareholders, with 10.5% and 5.8% of the share capital* respectively.

United Nations declares 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has approved the adoption of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.

After recently announcing the addition of a second property to its newly refurbished flagship Dusit Thani Manila, leading Asian hospitality group, Dusit International, confirms that a third project will now join the ranks in 2019 in the Philippines. At a signing ceremony held recently, executives from Dusit International inked a second deal with developers Grand Land, Inc. to bring a dusitD2 Residence to the island of Cebu.

Thailand all set to celebrate the festive month of December 2015 with spectacular flare. December is the month of many great celebrations in Thailand, and this year is set to be even more spectacular with a long line-up of event extravaganzas, led by the highly-anticipated ‘Bike for Dad’ cycling event, followed by the grandeur and joyful Christmas and New Year festivities.

In November 2015, airberlin once again significantly increased capacity utilization (RPK/ASK) in comparison with the preceding month. While capacity was reduced by 7.4 percent, capacity utilization increased to 81.7 percent, i.e. an increase of 1.8 percentage points as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.