Brunei hosts ASEAN Travel Forum
Brunei will in January 2010 host the ASEAN Travel Forum, southeast Asia’s largest tourism event when ministers and the travel trade meet for a week of seminars and discussion. According to Sheik Jammaludin, Head of Brunei Tourism, hosting the event will give Brunei the opportunity it needs to showcase its cultural and natural assets. Marketing promotion will emphasise Brunei as a relaxing and safe destination, ideal for family tourism. Some 100,000 visitors take their holidays in Brunei each year.
Spaceport in New Mexico
New Mexico will be the first destination in the world to open a ‘spaceport’. Due in 2010, Spaceport America will be capable of taking tourists into space, and will be home to Virgin Galactic, the space tourism company created by Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic. Built in the desert around the historic El Camino Real mission trail (was the name of a series of pre-automobile highways linking the various New World colonies of Spain) the spaceport is expected to comprise a spaceship hangar and an astronaut terminal control room as well as more conventional visitor facilities.
Singita – conservation and sustainability
Singita Game Reserves offers nine low impact high end lodges in the Kruger National Park and Sabi Sand in South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The focus of Singita is not only game viewing, cuisine and luxury, but also a dedication to conservation and sustainability, which includes several significant community projects. It’s Pamushana Lodge in the 130,000 acre Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve in south eastern Zimbabwe opened recently after extensive refurbishment. The lodge supports the local community through various development initiatives spearheaded by the Malilangwe Trust, which currently feeds 25,000 school children daily. Pamushana is reached by a direct two hour flight from Johannesburg to Buffalo Range airport.
Centara property opens in Maldives
Thailand hotel group Centara Hotels & Resorts is to open and manage a new property in the Maldives, which will be the first property of Centara Hotels & Resorts outside Thailand. Scheduled to open next month, Centara Grand Island Resort and Spa Maldives, located on South Ari Atoll, will deliver a premium four star resort experience. The resort is a 25 minute flight from Male Airport or 85 minutes by speed boat. The resort is aimed towards couples, families and diving enthusiasts. Guests can choose from seven categories of beachfront and over-water accommodation, which will range from 76 sq m beach suites.
Emirates and Amadeus sign up with Emirates
Amadeus has signed a five year worldwide agreement with Emirates Airline to ensure travel agents have access to the airline’s full range of content. The full range of Emirates’ fares, schedules and inventory made available through the Amadeus system will be the same, and under the same conditions as that offered through any indirect or direct channel, distribution provider or website. “We believe that Emirates’ choice to offer agents unhindered access to their content will help agents immeasurably as they continue to service travellers in key growth areas such as Australia, Europe and the Middle East,” said Philippe Chereque, executive vice president, commercial, Amadeus.