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• Shares of Las Vegas Sands up on strength in China

  Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. soared Thursday after the casino operator reported impressive fourth-quarter gains because of its growth in China. THE SPARK: The company reported after the market closed Wednesday that it fiscal fourth-quarter profit jumped 35 percent, based largely on its expanding business in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau.

• Chinese Millionaire Fights Pollution With Thin Air

  

  China's foulest fortnight for air pollution in memory has rekindled a tongue-in-cheek campaign by a multimillionaire with a streak of showmanship who is selling canned fresh air.

• 'Gangnam Style' Cigarettes to Debut in Canada

  

  'Gangnam Style,' made famous by Korean pop star Psy, is now being used to market new cigarettes in Canada. The Global Post reports.

• Connecticut honored for tourism campaign

  HARTFORD, Conn.-- Connecticut's tourism advertising campaign has been honored by an international marketing group. The Hospitality, Sales and Marketing Association International gave the campaign three Adrian Awards announced Tuesday night, including a gold for television creativity.

• Here's to the Hereafter: Celebrating Life with a Party

  

  More and more baby boomers are taking life -- and death -- into their own hands, choosing to plan celebration of life parties with clear instructions of how they want to be honored, instead of leaving their families to plan a funeral.

• Voters in Bahamas reject gambling referendum

  NASSAU, Bahamas-- Voters in the Bahamas on Monday overwhelmingly rejected a referendum to legalize gambling for citizens of the archipelago off Florida's east coast, where locals were already barred from betting in casinos at the islands' tourist resorts.

• Tourists out in force despite slowdown, set for strong year in 2013-UN

  MADRID, Jan 29- Global tourism is proving resilient in the face of an economic slowdown, with tourist numbers growing at close to pre-crisis levels in 2012 and expected to increase by almost as much this year, the UN World Tourism Organisation said on Tuesday.

• SC tourism expected to reach pre-recession levels

  CHARLESTON, S.C.-- A new South Carolina tourism season is approaching, and the director of the state tourism department predicts this is the year the $15 billion industry returns to pre-Great Recession levels.

• TABLE-Hong Kong December visitor arrivals up 15.1 pct yr/yr

  Jan 28- Visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in December rose 15.1 percent from a year earlier to 4.78 million, data from the Hong Kong Tourism Board showed on Monday.

• 'Argo' Triumphs With Top Prize at Screen Actors Guild

  

  Iran hostage drama "Argo" won the top prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, while Daniel Day-Lewis and Jennifer Lawrence took acting honors, as Hollywood celebrated its own and helped sharpen the race for Oscar glory in February.

• Love Across the DMZ: Matchmaking, North Korea-Style

  

  Seoul is full of untapped customers eager to tie the knot with northern beauties. The GlobalPost reports.

• Montana awards tourism grants to 17 events

  HELENA, Mont.-- The Montana Department of Commerce says it is awarding grants to 17 local tourism-related events in 12 communities around the state. The agency's tourism office says that a total of $200,000 is going to events in Big Sky, Chinook, Ekalaka, Glasgow, Great Falls, Hamilton, Hardin, Helena, Kalispell, Missoula, Polson and Virginia City.

• Healthy hotels, rise in ancient therapies expected in 2013

  NEW YORK, Jan 16- Healthy hotels, wellness tourism and the holistic medicine system Ayurveda are expected to be the among the top spa trends in 2013, according to a report that tracks the $73 billion global industry.

• In New Delhi, Women Marry Up and Men Are Left Behind

  

  There's an unexpected problem in New Delhi's high-end marriage market - there are too few "quality" men, as a growing pool of young women with unprecedented levels of education are seeking and making matches with educated men from higher socioeconomic groups. The New York Times reports.

• Costly Productions: Not Just for Movies Anymore

  

  Television now serves as home to programming as ambitious as anything Peter Jackson can put on the screen, with the budgets to prove it. What are some of the most expensive television productions of all time? Read ahead to find out.

• Miss Alabama's Career Could See Boost from Media Blitz

  

  Katherine Webb achieved Internet stardom in a roundabout way, but career coaches say the incident could propel the beauty queen to bigger things.

• World's Oldest Person: China Versus Japan

  

  As if China and Japan didn't have enough to fight about, the two nations are now squabbling about which nation holds the record for the world's oldest person. The Global Post reports.

• Pretty Boys: Korean 'Flower Men' Embrace Makeup and Cosmetics

  

  South Korean men spent a whopping $495.4 million on skincare products in 2011, as makeup and cosmetics become more culturally acceptable. The Global Post reports.

• UPDATE 1-MGM China's new Macau casino approved by government

  HONG KONG, Jan 9- A $2.5 billion Macau casino planned by MGM China, the Chinese arm of U.S. gambling giant MGM Resorts International, received government approval on Wednesday, sending shares of MGM China to an 18- month high.

• Macau gives MGM China's new casino official stamp

  HONG KONG, Jan 9- A new $2.5 billion Macau casino planned by MGM China, the Chinese arm of U.S. gambling giant MGM Resorts, received a boost on Wednesday after the government formally approved the project in its official gazette.