Li Qiaozhen at her press conference in Hong Kong on Tuesday.

29 JULY: A Hong Kong tour guide who made headlines after allegedly berating a busload of Chinese tourists for not spending enough during a shopping excursion has apologised at a media conference.

A video clip showing Li Qiaozhen seemingly abusing tourists over their failure to spend up at a jewellery store sparked uproar in China when it was posted on the internet two weeks ago.

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29 JULY: A merged Jetset Travelworld/Stella entity would have about 2200 travel agents and annual total transaction value of around $5.5 billion, according to an Explanatory Memorandum (EM) sent to the Stock Exchange early this afternoon.

29 JULY: Stella chief executive Peter Lacaze issued the following note early this morning.

29 JULY: Australian Tourism Export Council md Matt Hingerty today announced his intention to retire early next year on completion of a second three-year term.

29 JULY: More Australians are taking two tours during a single North America trip, according to Insight Vacations.

29 JULY: Budget airline Jetstar Asia bumped 24 passengers from a Taipei to Singapore flight because it didn’t have enough cabin crew, according to the AsiaOne news website.

29 JULY: Two female air traffic controllers have taken Air Services Australia to court, alleging sexual discrimination, the ABC reports.

29 JULY: Singapore has posted another big monthly visitor increase.

29 JULY: De Luxe Travel Services Pty Ltd, a small retailer in the Sydney CBD, has had its membership of the Travel Compensation Fund terminated after claims were received.

29 JULY: Two baggage handlers at Luton airport north of London have been jailed for six months and three months respectively after hidden police cameras showed them stealing from passengers’ suitcases.

29 JULY: Enterprise Rent A Car will begin adding electric vehicles to its fleets across America in January, starting with 500 Nissans.

29 JULY: Yet another drug-user has found that a cruise ship doesn’t necessarily offer protection from the law.

29 JULY: A Singapore cabbie has been jailed for two weeks for kissing the hand of a 24-year-old female passenger after she arrived at her destination.

29 JULY: A World Bank report has highlighted the extraordinary growth of China’s high-speed passenger rail network.

29 JULY: Jetstar will begin daily service between Melbourne and Auckland 13 December and will begin flying three times a week between Cairns and Auckland from 12 April, it announced late yesterday.