Sri lankan tourism industry

The Full Moon Party week is just wrapping on the island of Koh Pha Ngan, and while attendance was down, there was at least one special attendee that could influence the future of the party. Minister of Tourism and Sports Pipat Ratchakitprakarn visited Haad Rin, home of the iconic party that draws tens of thousands of tourists to the island each month. The minister saw the huge boost to tourism that the party brings as young tourists from around the country flock to the south of the island each month and fill accommodations, restaurants, bars, and shops and vowed to support the Full Moon Party. He observed people arriving on the island all day and well into the night on speedboats operating from Koh Samui for hours after the normal ferries have finished for the day, and saw people disappointed at early closures of what was an all-night party before Covid-19. He intends to request the Interior Ministry and Cabinet to make an exception to allow Full Moon Party to run until 4am, … [Read more...] about Tourism Minister visits Full Moon Party, supports later curfew

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin In a hyper crazy era with a hyper intense pandemic and more hyper worrisome economic news and even more hyper stressful racial tensions, we all need a break. Today, that’s not a Kit Kat. Instead, it’s hyper casual games, which are seeing hyper-fast growth right now. “We're talking about a unprecedented growth curve in an already massive industry,” Unity Vice President Julie Shumaker told me in a recent TechFirst podcast . Unity is a development platform that powers about 50% of all console and mobile games, and games built in Unity are downloaded about three billion times a month, the company says. “We saw new players go from an average of 55 million new players a week on the Unity platform to 95 million new players.” Hyper casual games are simple. They’re easy to understand. They’re fun even if you’re not a hard-core gamer. They’re also relatively cheap and easy to produce, and sometimes last for only … [Read more...] about Casual Games: ‘Unprecedented Growth Curve In An Already Massive Industry’

In 2021, a Louisville couple bought $419,000 worth of insurance coverage for their home, based on their agent’s recommendation. Now, that policy payout is only providing about half of what they need to rebuild the house they lost in the Marshall fire. In a lawsuit filed this summer, the couple blamed their agent, their insurer and the company that built the software their agent used to tell them how much coverage they needed. They’re not alone in finding fault with the software. Industry watchdogs, including Colorado Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway, say the computer programs used by insurance companies to provide replacement cost estimates to homeowners are a problem because they consistently underestimate how much families need after they lose their homes in natural disasters. Conway said he identified the issue while investigating complaints after the Marshall fire, the Dec. 30 conflagration that destroyed more than 1,000 homes in Boulder County. He said he hopes … [Read more...] about Why didn’t Marshall fire homeowners have enough insurance? Watchdogs blame industry software.

- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 15): Malaysia’s semiconductor industry, which takes up 13 per cent of global chip assembly and testing market share, is set to benefit from the United States CHIPS and Science Act. An acronym for Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act, the Act commits over US$280 billion (US$1=RM4.44) in federal funding which includes US$52.7 billion in subsidies to support semiconductor production and research in the US. Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association (MSIA) president Datuk Seri Wong Siew Hai said under the Act, which President Joe Biden signed on Aug 9, 2022, the world’s largest economy is expected to build state-of-the-art chip fabrication (fab) plants with process technology of seven nanometres or below. “If they build more leading-edge fabs like this in the US, they will need more assembly and testing services, as the current capacity will not be enough to cater to the new fab capacity. “From that … [Read more...] about Malaysia’s semicon industry to benefit from Chips and Science Act – MSIA

Representative image: Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis This Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to announce a major "Heal in India initiative", under which the government plans to take the medical tourism market, worth $6 billion in 2020, to $15 billion over the next four years. But how is India placed on the world tourism map and what all is it planning to be among the top draw for people with medical needs? What’s the status of medical tourism in India now? India is ranked 10th out of the top 46 countries in the Medical Tourism Index 2020-21 by the Medical Tourism Association. However, industry insiders like Ahmed Danish of Healthtrip, a leading company that facilitates treatment for patients in India, say India stands at number three or four in terms of drawing the maximum number of foreigners every year for medical reasons. Experts say the country’s dominance in the global medical tourism market, with its world-class healthcare facilities and … [Read more...] about MC Explains | What an initiative like Heal in India can achieve

Brad Pitt (Image: Reuters) Hollywood star Brad Pitt has dropped a major hint that he might soon be calling quits on his acting career after spending more than 30 years in the entertainment industry. The Oscar-winning actor told GQ magazine in a profile interview that he is going through the ”last semester or trimester” of his career. ”I consider myself on my last leg… this last semester or trimester. What is this section gonna be? And how do I wanna design that?” Pitt said. The 58-year-old actor started his journey in Hollywood in the late 1980s and found fame with 1991’s ”Thelma & Louise”. Over the years, he delivered critical and commercial hits such as ”Fight Club”, ”Ocean’s” series, ”Troy”, ”Mr & Mrs Smith”, ”The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, ”Inglourious Basterds”, ”Moneyball”, and ”Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (2019), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Pitt most recently had a cameo appearance in Sandra Bullock and … [Read more...] about I consider myself on my last leg: Brad Pitt hints at retirement

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin An August 16, the Lemonhaze Invitational Golf Classics series resumes on the East Coast as states like New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut tee up their legal markets. Lemonhaze , the popular events company and self-described “architects of exclusive experiences connecting the cannabis space,” will host another of its golf invitationals for cannabis executives and other movers and shakers in Galloway, New Jersey this coming Tuesday at Seaview Golf Club. Against a backdrop of 670 acres of coastal and woodland scenery, attendees will have a chance to compare notes and even broker multimillion-dollar deals on the green (as has previously been known to happen). “Lemonhaze events provide the opportunity for any business in the cannabis industry to connect with the influencers and decision-makers they need to grow their businesses,” explained Lemonhaze COO Penny Cook in a statement. Then, just as the weather … [Read more...] about Lemonhaze Puts Both Veteran And Canna-Curious Execs On The Green

- A + A SERDANG (Aug 14): The Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agro-Tourism (MAHA) Exhibition 2022 that ended on Sunday (Aug 14) recorded spectacular response with over 1.4 million visitors and registering sales of over RM260 million, exceeding its set targets. Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee said that this year’s exhibition was the biggest in terms of visitors and sales, with 1.2 million physical visitors and 266 virtual, and the sales recorded included direct sales, online sales and business matching between eight foreign marketing companies. This year’s event provided the chance for petty traders to sell their products after the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and managed to spur the spirit of entrepreneurship among youth, he said, adding that this year’s event also showcased various modern Industrial Revolution 4.0 innovations in the agrofood sector. “Overall, MAHA 2022 showcased 22 specific segments to lift the … [Read more...] about MAHA 2022 records spectacular attendance of over 1.4m visitors, RM260 mil sales

- A + A PUTRAJAYA (Aug 14): On Monday (Aug 15), the country’s highest court is scheduled to hear former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s appeal against his conviction and sentence for misappropriation of RM42 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds. It is Najib’s final appeal after a three-man bench of the Court of Appeal on Dec 8 last year upheld the Pekan MP’s conviction and sentence of 12-year jail and RM210 million fine imposed on him by then High Court Judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali on July 28, 2020. It is understood that the Federal Court will first hear Najib’s application to adduce new evidence in the SRC case, in his bid to ultimately seek a retrial. If Najib fails in this application, the Federal Court is expected to proceed with the hearing of Najib’s appeal against his conviction and sentence. The court has fixed Aug 15 to 19 and 23 to 26 to hear the appeal. The 69-year-old politician changed his legal team just 21 days prior to … [Read more...] about Federal Court to hear Najib’s final SRC appeal on Monday

- A + A KUALA LUMPUR: PLUS Malaysia Bhd (PLUS) and Volvo Trucks Malaysia (Volvo) have joined hands to improve driving safety and co-create sustainable solutions for the heavy vehicles industry in the country. The collaboration was enabled through a signing ceremony by the managing directors of PLUS and Volvo, Datuk Azman Ismail and Anthony O' Connell respectively, at Persada PLUS recently. In a statement on Saturday (Aug 13), Azman said the collaboration involves developing a heavy vehicle safety programme to equip drivers with better safety knowledge and handling of heavy vehicles, which will be extended to PLUSTrack members to further enhance their safety on the highways. "The programme aims to uplift the experience of our commercial vehicle customers whilst adding value via loyalty rewards, privileges and educational sharing by our partners," he said. Meanwhile, Azman added that the collaboration will facilitate the future development of electric vehicle … [Read more...] about PLUS, Volvo collaborate to improve driving safety