Destinations
Who Will Be A Modern Day Marco Polo
One lucky recruit is poised to follow in the footsteps of Marco Polo by landing their dream job and becoming the first foreign ambassador for Chinese tourism via a global recruitment campaign. Hangzhou in south-eastern China is the destination for the Modern Marco Polo, who will enjoy a free 15-day journey into Chinese culture and secure a €40,000 annual salary while promoting the city internationally for a year. Legendary Italian traveller Marco Polo, one of the first westerners to visit Hangzhou back in 13th century, described it as: "The City of Heaven, the most beautiful and...
Mayday, Mayday!
Usually Canada's tourism types can find something positive in just about anything relating to the tourism business. It's a positive industry. It makes dreams come true. Of course, then there's Ontario's May 1, 2014 budget. Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) president and CEO, David Goldstein doesn't pull any punches as to the industry's reaction to the 2014-2015 budget: "Canada's travel and tourism industry couldn't be more disappointed and urge the Ontario Government to reconsider its short-sighted decision to increase the aviation fuel surcharge by 150%." And...
On The Road At WTM Africa
The inaugural World Travel Market (WTM) Africa is now underway at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) in Cape Town, South Africa, reports Travelpress.com's roving reporter, Rodney Tugwell. The leading B2B exhibition for Africa's travel industry features over 350 exhibiting companies ready to bring the world to Africa and promote Africa to the world's leading source markets. "The Thebe Reed Exhibitions and Reed Travel Exhibitions teams have collaborated well and this has delivered a smoothly organized coordinated team effort to turn this beautiful exhibition venue...
Discover The Arts In Hong Kong
While Hong Kong may be the financial capital of Asia, it's a city that's not all about money making. In fact in recent years, Hong Kong has reinvented itself into a new cultural hub in the region, with a bourgeoning art scene, brought about by the collaborative effort of the private and public sectors. While headline-grabbing sales of both contemporary artworks and masterpieces in the city's art auctions have made Hong Kong the world's third largest art auction market after New York and London, various initiatives, from the ambitious development of the West Kowloon Cultural District...
Two HAL Ships to Return to Asia
From winter 2014 through spring 2015, Holland America Line (HAL) will have two ships exploring the mysteries and wonders of the Far East. The 1,432-passenger Volendam will sail a series of 14- to 17-day cruises and non-repeating itineraries, while the 1,404-passenger Rotterdam takes an epic 90-day “Passage to the Far East” journey. All of the cruises feature exotic ports of call with extended and overnight stays at some of Asia’s most iconic cities. The longer visits provide travellers ample time to explore the region’s extensive collection of historical and notable...
Good News, Bad News
In this week's Travel Courier, Mike Dunbar reports that it appears that the wheels have fallen off a five-year travel surge to the United States, with early year statistics showing cross-border overnight demand dropped 3% in February, following a 0.3% decline a month earlier. But there's still good news for the travel trade in the latest crop of numbers released by the US Department of Commerce. The air travel segment, which accounts for one-third of all arrivals, continues to hold up, posting a gain of almost 2% in the first two months of 2014. In his analysis of the figures,...
Germany Names New Director of Sales for Canada
The German National Tourist Office (GNTO) has named Antje Splettstoesser (pictured, left) as the new director of sales and marketing for Canada, joining Carina Schumacher, who has been appointed manager of public relations in the Canadian office. Splettstoesser obtained a degree in tourism from the University of Bremen and started her career working for tour operators, managing key accounts, events and trade shows. She gained knowledge of incentive, group and FTI travel, cruise ship logistics and special interest tours. Splettstoesser was exposed to the bilateral market during her time...
World’s Largest Aquarium Opens in China
Guinness World Records has confirmed that China’s newly opened Hengqin Chimelong Ocean Kingdom is the world’s largest aquarium. Located in the Guangdong province of China (pictured), the aquatic theme park has seven themed areas, each representing a different part of the ocean. In addition to being recognized as the largest aquarium in the world, the park also has the world’s largest underwater viewing dome, aquarium tank, aquarium window and acrylic panel. The theme park officially opened last month and is part of the Chimelong Hengqin Bay Hotel, the largest ocean...