GCC countries see highest worldwide hotel rate fall

By Ed Attwood Sunday, 8 August 2010 9:18 AM

The highest regional hotel rate decreases worldwide were witnessed in the Middle East region during the first half of this year, according to the biannual hotel survey carried out by Hogg Robinson Group.
While the region dipped by fifteen percent, the Gulf countries were particularly badly affected, with Dubai (-12 percent), Bahrain (-14 percent), Qatar (-22 percent) and Oman (-24 percent) also suffering major drops.

Abu Dhabi was the worst performer with a 26 percent drop.

The HRG survey said that the results were due to a substantial fall in occupancy coupled with a glut of new space coming onto the market.

That decrease meant that Abu Dhabi slipped from being the second most expensive city in terms of average hotel rate in the first half of 2009 to eighth this year. Dubai is now nineteenth, having been in the top ten last year.

Moscow retained top spot in the worldwide ranking, with Geneva rising to second, and Hong Kong, Paris and New York completing the top five.

In general, the worldwide hotel industry looks to be on the cusp of a recovery, with rates in Europe and North America stabilising.

2010 has so far proved an encouraging year for the global hotel industry,” said Margaret Bowler, director of global hotel relations at HRG.

“The average length of stay has increased by 9 percent suggesting that corporates have begun to relax their travel policies in light of the perceived improvement in the current economic climate. However, our data shows that it is not consistent around the world and it is still too early to predict how the rest of 2010 will pan out.”

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The world’s most luxurious rail experiences

The Most Expensive Blog (The home of World's Most Expensive and Luxury) presents The world’s most luxurious rail experiences.

Luxury touring company Journeys of Distinction has picked its favorite rail journeys from around the world — here, a pictoral look at some of the best.

Eastern and Oriental Express, Southeast Asia

The luxurious Eastern & Oriental Express winds through the lush landscapes of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, and on into Laos.

Maharaja’s Express, India

Claimed to be the finest train journey in Asia, the Maharaja’s Express features a lounge offering panoramic views, deluxe comfortable carriages, state-of-the-art suspension, two restaurants, lavishly decorated cabins with individual temperature controls, butler service, large LCD TV’s, DVD players, direct-dial phones and wifi internet.

Rovos Rail, South Africa

The world’s most spacious and luxurious train carries a maximum of 72 passengers in 36 suites from Durban to Pretoria.

Rovos Rail South Africa 468x257 The worlds most luxurious rail experiences

The Ghan Express, Australia

The Ghan Express (named after the Afghan explorers of Australia) route takes travelers from Adelaide to Darwin in 48 hours.

The Palace on Wheels, India

Each cabin on the Palace on Wheels is served by a personal Khidmatgar (assistant) as it winds its way from New Delhi through Rajasthan.

Rocky Mountaineer, Canada

The Rocky Mountaineer offers s comfortable journey “through the clouds” of Mount Robson, Pyramid Falls, Yellowhead Pass and the journey along the North Thompson River, the steep slopes and rock sheds along the Thompson River and the gushing waters of Hells Gate in the Fraser Canyon.

Source: Luxury Lifestyle

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Asia-Pacific most expensive for expats

The Most Expensive Blog (The home of the most expensive & luxury things in the world) presents Asia-Pacific most expensive for expats.

The cities of the Asia-Pacific region dominate the list of the most expensive places in the world for expats to live, accounting for 18 of the priciest cities on the planet.

The unwanted prize for the most expensive city in the world went to Luanda, the capital of Angola, for the second straight year.

Luanda sits atop the cost tree due to its high number of oil workers and the nation’s reliance on imports, according to the annual study by Mercer.

But it is the rising cost of living in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region that catches the eye.

Tokyo is the most expensive city in the region, with Japan’s second city, Osaka, ranked sixth on the overall list, the same as 12 months previously.

Singapore has risen three places and overtaken Hong Kong to take eighth spot, with Hong Kong static in nine.

Nagoya, one of the key industrial cities in central Japan, has leapt from 19th position to 11, while Sydney has reported a similarly impressive rise, climbing 10 places from one year ago to take 14th spot.

The Mercer rankings are heavily influenced by fluctuations in currencies and take New York as the base city for the index at 100 points.

All cities are then compared against New York and currency movements are measured against the dollar.

Seoul sinks to 19th place from 14 one year previously while Beijing is also down, from 16 to 20, although Shanghai and Melbourne share 21st spot, up from 25 and 33 respectively.

Australian cities are conspicuous in the top 50 this time around, primarily as a result of the Australian dollar’s 14 percent increase against the US currency.

Consequently, Perth has risen 30 places to take 30th spot and Brisbane is up to 31 from 55. Living in Canberra has also become more expensive, with the Australian capital up to equal 34, with Rome, from 74th spot.

Noumea, the New Caledonia capital, is in 38th position, followed by the Chinese city of Guangzhou. The Asia-Pacific entries in the top 50 are rounded out by Shenzen, Adelaide and Baku in Azerbaijan.

The survey covers 214 cities around the planet and uses the comparative cost of 200 items – including housing, transport, food, clothing and entertainment – to rank the entrants.

Karachi was listed in 214th place on the list, three times cheaper to live in for expatriates than Luanda.

Source: AFPrelaxnews

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World’s most expensive city? Try Luanda

The Most Expensive Blog (The home of the most expensive & luxury things in the world) presents World’s most expensive city? Try Luanda.

 
Angola’s capital Luanda retained the unenviable title of the world’s most expensive city for expatriates, narrowly edging out Tokyo, according to a new survey.

The Mercer group‘s study named the Pakistani port Karachi as the least expensive city, with living around three times cheaper than in Luanda.

Oil-rich Angola is a magnet for foreign workers who push up already high prices inflated by a reliance on imports.

The southern African nation’s domestic production lags behind its neighbours due to the effects of a 27-year-long civil war on its infrastructure.

Another African city, the Chadian capital N’Djamena, was placed third with Moscow fourth and Geneva fifth.

Paris dropped 10 places to 27th while London dropped one place to 18th. New York at 32nd was named as the most expensive metropolis in the United States.

Mercer senior researcher Nathalie Constantin-Metraln said: “In most Western European cities the cost of living for expatriates has remained relatively stable over the last 12 months.

“However, many of the region’s cities have still dropped in the ranking. In large, this is because all cities are compared to New York and price increases there have been more significant than in most European cities,” she added.

Australian cities jumped sharply in the ranking, reflecting the local currency’s 14 percent gain against the US dollar.

The report, which is published annually to help companies assess compensation allowances for expatriate workers, compared the cost of over 200 items including housing, food and transport in 214 cities, using New York as a reference.

Source: AFPrelaxnews

 

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Eiffel Tower is Europe’s most valuable monument

The Most Expensive Blog (The home of the most expensive & luxury things in the world) presents Eiffel Tower is Europe’s most valuable monument.

 
The Eiffel Tower has been declared the most valuable monument in Europe – worth 435 billion euros to the French economy, a new study claims.

The venerable Paris landmark was estimated to be worth six times its nearest rival, the Colloseum in Rome, valued at 91 billion euros.

The study by Italy’s Monza and Brianza Chamber of Commerce based its findings on a monument’s “image, brand and visibility”, calculated by cross-referencing 10 different parameters from various analysts and statistics bodies.

Criteria included a “tourist index”, which took into account “the economic value of the location, the fame of the monument, the flux of visitors to the territory and monument” and an “economic attractiveness index”, comprising factors such as the number of jobs it created and its export value.

The huge value of the “Iron Lady” – as the 1,050ft tall edifice is affectionately known, amounts to almost a fifth of France’s entire annual gross domestic product.

Built in 1889 as the entrance arch to the World Trade Fair, the Eiffel Tower is the most visited paid for tourist attraction in the world which last year saw 7.1million people climb to one of its three viewing platforms.

200 million visitors have now visited the landmark since it opened and the tower is still the tenth tallest lattice style building on the planet.

Source: telegraph.co.uk
 
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PrivateJet.com domain sells for $30 million

The Most Expensive Blog (The home of the most expensive & luxury things in the world) presents PrivateJet.com domain sells for $30 million.

 
Nations Luxury Transportation, LLC, has agreed to acquire the domain name PrivateJet.com from Don’t Look Media Group for $30.18 million in cash and stock.

Nations Luxury Transportation’s goal is to deliver the most efficient platform to facilitate worldwide chartering, aircraft acquisitions, and the selling of private jets.

By the end of 2012, it is expected that PrivateJet.com will be generating over 250,000 unique visitors per month from over 52 countries worldwide.

“PrivateJet.com is a phenomenal asset and when integrated with our proprietary technology, it will help us revolutionize the super luxury segment of Private Jet transportation,” said Nations CEO Kenneth Starnes.

PrivateJet.com will provide 24/7 in depth coverage of everything related to the ultra high net worth lifestyle and will entertain thousands of private jet users all around the world with its daily editorials, breaking news and Private Jet Travel Specials.

 
Source: luxuo.com

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The Most Expensive Cruise Ever

The Most Expensive Blog (The home of the most expensive & luxury things in the world) presents The Most Expensive Cruise Ever.

The Boeing jet features mahogany panelling and gold-plated fixtures, a spacious lounge and bedroom. It even has a dining room, which is serviced by a top Michelin starred chef who will create a 10-course tasting menu.

Once at sea the pair will stay in Silver Whisper’s Royal Suite, which has two bedrooms, two marbled bathrooms, dining area and two balconies.

The cruise package also includes four night at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles and four nights in a suite on Sunset Island, Miami.

The trip leaves the US in January 2013. It will set travellers back a whopping $1.5 million per couple ($12,000 per day).

Via Dailymail 

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Top 10 Most Expensive Cities In The World – 2012

The Most Expensive Blog (The home of the most expensive & luxury things in the world) presents Top 10 Most Expensive Cities In The World – 2012.

Photo: Zurich, Switzerland

For the first time in at least two decades of reporting the worldwide cost of living survey Zurich sits atop the ranking as the world’s most expensive city.

An index swing of 34 percentage points pushed the Swiss city up 4 places compared to last year to overtake Tokyo which remains in 2nd place.

Geneva, the other Swiss city surveyed saw a 30 percentage point rise in the cost of living to move up six places into joint third alongside Osaka.

The authors of the bi-annual report said both Japan and Switzerland have seen strong currency movements over the last few years which have made them relatively more expensive.

Currency movements in Australia also explain the presence of both Sydney and Melbourne in the list of top ten most expensive cities to live.

Hong Kong, which has long been noted as an expensive place to live, is surprisingly ranked at 22, much lower than its third-placed position a decade ago.

The survey of 130 cities worldwide compares more than 400 individual prices across 160 products, including food, clothing, transport, rents and private schools.

The price of a litre of petrol for example varies hugely from city to city. In its breakdown, the EIU shows that it is $2.17 in Paris but only $0.96 in Moscow.

Despite eurozone weaknesses, western Europe still accounts for 24 of the most expensive cities in the top 50, with 14 hailing from Asia.

Top 10 Most Expensive Cities In The World – 2012

1. Zurich, Switzerland
2. Tokyo, Japan
3. Geneva, Switzerland
4. Osaka, Japan
5. Oslo, Norway
6. Paris, France
7. Sydney, Australia
8. Melbourne, Australia
9. Singapore, Singapore
10. Frankfurt, Germany

Source luxuo.com

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Singapore family books $1 million Virgin space flight

The Most Expensive Blog (The home of the most expensive & luxury things in the world) presents Singapore family books $1 million Virgin space flight.

 
A Singaporean businessman, his wife and two children have paid $1 million to become the first Asian family to fly together on space-tourism airline Virgin Galactic.

“I had lunch yesterday with a guy who got in touch with us in Singapore, and over lunch he signed his contract for not just a seat, but for a whole flight,” Virgin Galactic commercial director Stephen Attenborough said.

Attenborough said the customer handed over a cheque for $1 million and asked to remain anonymous because “apparently he hasn’t told his wife yet.”

“So he is going to become, or he and his family will become, the first family from Asia to become astronauts together,” Attenborough said.

Virgin Galactic has sold bookings since 2005 at $200,000 per seat even though it has not yet set a firm timetable for space flights to be launched from New Mexico.

Attenborough told AFP in an interview that the Singaporean businessman chartered one exclusive flight for his family on the six-seat aircraft SpaceShipTwo.

The SpaceshipTwo is designed to be launched by a transport plane called White KnightTwo and will be guided by a rocket motor before gliding back to Earth.

Nine out of nearly 500 tickets sold worldwide had been bought by customers in Singapore, which has one of Asia’s highest concentrations of millionaires.

Customers from the Asia-Pacific region now account for “approximately 15 percent” of ticket sales despite a ban on Virgin Galactic selling seats in China.

“The space vehicle is US technology and they fall under a set of regulations in the United States which means that there are some countries where at the moment we’re not permitted to sell tickets,” he explained.

In anticipation of burgeoning future demand for space tourism, Attenborough said Virgin Galactic had already ordered more spacecraft.

From www.luxuo.com

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