Thank you Tegel: Berliners bid emotional farewell to Cold War airport

Berlin's venerable Tegel airport hosted its final flight on Sunday, a Paris-bound Air France plane that left to cheers and a fountain salute from the terminal's fire engines.

First opened to commercial aviation in 1960, Tegel was one of the main gateways linking West Berlin, an exclave of democratic West Germany deep inside Communist East Germany, with the rest of the world.

Sirens blared and hundreds of airport workers lined the airport tarmac to watch a motorcade escort the final jet to the runway, 60 years after an Air France flight became the first commercial flight to touch down on it.

Due to its Cold War history, many Berliners feel an emotional tie to the airport, which started life as a makeshift air base built by French occupying forces in a matter of weeks to send in supplies to West Berlin when Soviet forces blockaded it in 1948.

"It's very emotional," said Sabine Stuerz, there to watch the airport's closing. "Nobody understands why a city airport is being closed. But that's just the way it is."

Many wrote "Thank you TXL" on social media, referring to the airport by the abbreviation familiar from decades of air tickets.

The closure comes days after the opening, nine years behind schedule, of Berlin's new international airport on the opposite side of town.

Source - TheJakartaPost

#Cambodia - Government creates ‘great tourism zones’

Tourists visit the Wat Phnom historic site in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

A sub-decree issued Thursday coined ‘great tourism zones’, a term for areas where a wide range of tourism-related services is available.

In last week’s sub-decree, the government describes the zones as areas that have accommodation, food and beverage services, entertainment complexes, sports facilities, gardens, parks, health care centres, and other tourism-related facilities.

Great tourism zones must cover at least 100 hectares, according to the sub-decree.

Investors that wish to create great tourism zones in any part of the country must first submit an application to the Tourism Development Committee of the Ministry of Tourism, who will study and evaluate the project and submit a report to the government, the sub-decree said.

Top Sopheak, spokesman at the Ministry of Tourism, told Khmer Times that the concept of great tourism zones is modelled after special economic zones, areas that bring together facilities needed to streamline manufacturing activity.

“In Khmer, the word ‘great’ (piseth) has a similar meaning to the term ‘special’. That’s why the government chose this word,” Mr Sopheak said.

.

Booking your Flight, Hotel or Resort now  

.

“Great tourism zones are hubs that offer all tourism-related services. It is based on the same idea that special economic zones, which focus on manufacturing,” he said.

Mr Sopheak said great tourism zones cannot be established in existing tourism sites but only in new locations that show great tourism potential.

Source - Khmer Times