New Hilton resort opens in South China

SET amidst the natural splendor of one of south China's most picturesque destinations, Hilton Huizhou Longmen Resort is now welcoming travelers to experience the ultimate in relaxation and hospitality in the region. The resort boasts modern interiors, a variety of fine dining options and is the first #Hilton property in #China to feature natural hot springs that guests can enjoy at their leisure.

The resort, located in Yonghan Town of Longmen County, is secluded from the hustle and bustle of city life while still providing easy access to travelers from across the globe. The resort is a scenic, 80-minute drive from Guangzhou or Baiyun International Airport, and is an easy trip from the Pearl River Delta cities such as Shenzhen, Dongguan and Foshan.

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk
All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

Macaw Magic in Singapore

AT THE end of November, local and international visitors will be able to get a glimpse of two of the world’s rarest macaws—the Spix’s macaw and the Lear’s macaw—in Jurong Bird Park, #Singapore Asia’s largest bird paradise. With the addition of these two species to the Hyacinth macaws that already reside in the park, Jurong Bird Park will be the only public zoological institution in the world where guests can view the complete blue macaw family. The Glaucous macaw—the last member of the blue macaw family—has not been sighted since the 1960s and is believed to be extinct.

Opened in 1971, Jurong Bird Park is Asia’s largest bird park, offering a 20.2-hectare hillside haven for close to 5,000 birds across 400 species, of which 15% are threatened. The bird park is famed for its large and immersive walk-in aviaries such as Lory Loft, Jungle Jewels and the recently revamped Waterfall Aviary. Other unique exhibits include Penguin Coast and Pelican Cove. Jurong Bird Park sees approximately 800,000 visitors annually.

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk
All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

Picture Credit: By Rüdiger Stehn from Kiel, Deutschland - 71 Spix-Ara commons.wikimedia

Aussie travellers underutilise mobile technologies

NEW research from Amadeus has found that despite Australia’s high smartphone penetration, Australian travellers are less likely to use their mobile phone when they travel, compared to their Asia Pacific counterparts. 

The research ‘Journey of Me Insights: What Asia Pacific Travellers Want,’ also found Australians prefer peer to peer recommendations, rather than a travel agent or social media, but are willing to trade personal data to receive relevant offers and personalised experiences from travel providers.

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk
All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

India making its mark

TRAVEL and tourism in #India is on an upswing as six Indian cities make it to the leading 100 destinations globally, according to the Mastercard Global Destinations Cities Index 2017. 

The six cities include Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune and Bengaluru. 

Chennai leads the pack in India, besides standing out among the top 10 destinations in Asia Pacific when it comes to overnight visitor arrivals.

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk
All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

World Science Festival hits Brisbane in March

QUEENSLAND becomes the world stage to celebrate the intersection of science and art for the World Science Festival Brisbane from March 22-26. Through conversation and performance by some of the greatest thought leaders in the world the Festival will showcase scientists and performers from around Asia Pacific and host the brightest and best from previous events in New York. 

Expect a program in which astronauts share their tips for going to the bathroom in space, kids play with computer microscopes, and food trucks compete for road space with robots. Even those without the brilliance of Einstein are bound to find something to delight and amuse.

www.worldsciencefestival.com.au

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

Double Albatross

GOLFASIAN, Asia's largest #golf tour operator handling over 12,500 golfers annually has been awarded the Asia Pacific Golf Tourism Pioneer, Thailand's Best Golf Tour Operator & Vietnam's Best Golf Tour Operator.

In recognition of providing golfers the best golf travel experience in the industry Golfasian has been singled out by the #Asia Pacific Golf Group as a pioneer in golf tourism at the 2016 Asian Golf Awards. They also scooped for the 3rd time in a row the 2016 Thailand and Vietnam Best Golf Tour Operator award at the World Golf Awards. 

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

POKÉMON GO . . . Asia

EXPLORIENT Travel Services, a leading tour operator that organises high-end vacation experiences throughout the Asia and the Pacific Rim, will be launching the travel industry's first #Pokémon Go tours to Asia beginning with #Japan and #Hong Kong with other Asian destinations to follow.

Since the initial rollout out of Pokémon Go in July 2016, this location-based reality game instantly became a worldwide phenomenon. Starting September 2016, Explorient will be rolling out a suite of "Pokémon Go" Tours that enable travelers to experience Asia in a whole new way, motivating travelers young and old to go places they otherwise probably never see.

No longer will young travelers complain about being tired or bored on long tours and airport layovers - in fact, they now look forward to them. With their beloved Pokémon friends, PokeGyms and PokesStops accompanying them every step of the way, traveling with kids just got a lot easier.

For more information about our Pokémon Go Asia Tours, please visit us at www.explorient.com/Pokémon-go-asia-tours/

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

Picture Credit: www.expolrient.com

Australia a top destination for North American luxury visitors

AMERICAN and Canadian high-end travellers are strongly contributing to the substantial growth in US visitation to #Australia, with international luxury travel network Virtuoso revealing a 20% growth in bookings out of the US for the second half of 2015. 

Virtuoso Asia Pacific managing director, Michael Londregan said the figures prove that Australia is a strong international destination in the luxury field. ‘Australia is hot on the travel agenda for American and Canadian high-end travellers. States such as Queensland (up 48%), Victoria (up 26%), and Western Australia (up 11%) were recording significantly increased bookings on 2014 and figures for the current year were showing another year of growth.’

Tourism Australia managing director John O’Sullivan says the organization had placed increased focus on building high yield markets including investing in joint campaigns and sponsoring key events at last year’s Virtuoso’s annual Travel Week in Las Vegas.

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

Boom ahead for medical tourism

THE WORLD’S medical tourism market is likely to be worth $143.8 billion by 2022, according to a report published by Allied Market Research.

Cancer treatment would continue to be the highest revenue-generating segment throughout the forecast period, and North America and Asia-Pacific are estimated to remain the main revenue-generating regions.

The major factors that boost market growth include affordability, availability, and accessibility of quality healthcare services with support from tourism departments and local governments, but limited coverage and lengthy partial reimbursement offered by insurance companies, along with difficulties associated with cross-border travel such as language barriers and visa approval issues are likely to restrict market growth.

Geographically, North America and Asia-Pacific dominated the medical tourism market in 2015. The growth of these regions is attributed to the availability of affordable medical treatments for several disease conditions in countries such as Mexico, Thailand, Malaysia, India, and Singapore. Within Asia-Pacific, India and Malaysia are two of the fastest growing countries in the medical tourism market.

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK