HOBOKEN, New Jersey (AP) ― Google is buying the Frommer’s brand of travel guides.Google Inc., which bought the Zagat restaurant review service in September, plans to use Frommer’s guides to hotels and destinations around the world to complement the Zagat listings.Google is buying Frommer’s from publisher John Wiley & Sons Inc. in a deal that includes John Wiley’s other travel-related businesses. Financial terms were not disclosed in Monday’s announcement.Frommer’s got its start in 1957 with the

Aug. 17, 2012

The luxury resort in Thailand will hold the annual World Gourmet Festival on Sept. 10 with award-winning American celebrity chef Michael Mina.Mina will present a special dinner course to the selected 25 customers. The dinner course will consist of modern American cuisine paired with top wines. The resort also offers a special accommodation package at the luxury villa with a private pool, breakfast for two and two tickets to Mina’s special dinner for tourists coming for the gourmet festival. For

Aug. 17, 2012

The Korea Tourism Organization has published a traditional market guide book for Chinese tourists as part of its efforts to revitalize tourist visits to traditional markets in Seoul.The guide book focuses on Gwangjang market, Tongin market and Gongdeok market and suggests interesting experiences available there through a format based on SBS’ famous entertainment show “Running Man.” The book consists of different missions that can be completed by visiting food vendors or different stores.

Aug. 17, 2012

Korea Railroad Corporation will hold a vacation package contest for college students to come up with creative vacation packages and a better way to promote the rail company. University students can apply for three categories ― vacation packages ideas, video promotion for KORAIL and poster promotion. Entries for the contest are open till Sept. 2 at www.korail.com.Winners will be announced on Sept. 12 on the website. Winners will receive awards of 1 million won, 500,000 won and 300,000 won in the

Aug. 17, 2012

Air Busan will operate charter flights between Busan and Xian, China twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, from Sept. 28-Nov. 20 to meet growing demand. The budget carrier is also adding one daily round trip flight between Busan and Fukuoka and between Busan and Osaka from November and increasing round trips between Busan and Cebu to seven flights a week.

Aug. 10, 2012

The Korea Tourism Organization is conducting a survey of favorite tourism destinations that Koreans wish to visit for summer vacation. Participants can vote through Aug. 31 for their favorite places among the 29 places in the poll at korean.visitkorea.or.kr. The KTO said it will offer special prizes of a robotic vacuum cleaner and tickets to water parks to respondents.

Aug. 10, 2012

The Korea Tourism Organization is offering a 15 percent discount on accommodation at Benikea chain hotels for employees of Hyundai Card and the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea. From August, about 6,000 employees of two organizations are expected to receive discounts up to 15 percent when they make reservations at 29 Benikea chain hotels across the country. Benikea chain hotels are a group of reasonably priced hotels in Korea whose services are approved by the state tourism agency.The hote

Aug. 10, 2012

More than 1 million foreign tourists visited South Korea in July, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Sunday, marking the first time the monthly figure has topped the 1-million mark.“The number of foreign tourists who visited the country in July is estimated at 1.02 million,” a ministry spokesman said. “It is the first time more than one million foreign tourists have visited the country on a monthly basis.”The previous record was 970,000 set in April.Ministry officials attributed th

Aug. 5, 2012

Koreans travelers feel the most welcomed in Japan, Thailand and Australia, according to a recent survey conducted by the hotel booking website Hotels.com. The top three popular destinations preferred by the 1,000 Korean tourists surveyed also include Japan (36 percent), followed by China (27 percent) and Thailand (17 percent). The respondents also voted Japan as the best culinary destination with the best local food, followed by France and Italy. They also said they spend about 25 percent to 49

Aug. 3, 2012

Frankfurt Museum Fest, one of Europe’s largest cultural festivals, will be held from Aug. 24-26 in Frankfurt, Germany. The festival features arts and crafts stalls, live music, and culinary highlights from around the world on Main River, where a cluster of museums are located. During the festival period, visitors can enter all museums free of charge with the special “MUF Fest badge,” available for four euros at tourism information centers in the central train station and Romerberg Plaza. Visitor

Aug. 3, 2012

Since the Korea Railroad Corporation began offering a 42 percent discount on the airport express last month, the number of passengers increased more than two-fold, officials said. KORAIL, which has been selling airport express tickets at 8,000 won since July 1, has seen its daily passengers increase from 899 to 1,749 on average.The airport express runs nonstop from Incheon International Airport to Seoul Station. The trip takes 43 minutes. Passengers leaving for international flights can go throu

Aug. 3, 2012

ROME (AFP) ― Long-delayed repairs to the 2,000-year-old Colosseum will begin in December in a project funded by Italian billionaire Diego Della Valle to save the crumbling monument, officials said on Tuesday.The culture ministry said the first contract for the restoration project ― an 8.3-million-euro ($10.2-million) tender to clean up the facade of the Roman amphitheatre blackened by passing traffic ― was awarded last week.The restoration of the Colosseum will last two and a half years and the

Aug. 3, 2012