Up in the air . . .

AIR Europa will launch new, three-times weekly flights to Colombia’s second city, Medellin, in June. The new route, operated by Air Europa’s state-of-the-art Dreamliner aircraft, will launch on the June 1st, with three flights per week between Madrid’s Barajas International Airport and José María Córdova International Airport, the international airport of Medellin.

British travellers are able to connect through Air Europa’s twice-daily flight from London Gatwick.

Visitor numbers to #Colombia have grown over recent years, with travellers enticed to Colombia by the South American country’s spectacular natural wonders, unspoiled Caribbean beaches, magnificent colonial architecture and lively local culture.

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Lanzhou City on the big screen

A video exhibiting the charming culture of Lanzhou City will be broadcast on the mega screen of the "Crossroads of the World" -- New York Times Square. The video is produced by the News Office of Lanzhou City Government, and is titled "Golden Lanzhou, the City of the Yellow River". 

#LanzhouCity is proud to share the city's image and culture with the world at this very special time, when the People's Republic of China celebrates its 70th anniversary and embarks on its path to pursue new achievements and communicate more with the world for peace and hope. Following its nation's footsteps, Lanzhou City is trying its best to protect Oriental culture as well as develop itself.


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Just Perfect!

WITH international destinations and places like Goa & Jaipur aggressively marketing themselves as wedding destinations, it comes as no surprise that wedding excitement in and around Mumbai had slowly begun to decline in the last few years. Added to that was the fact that there just didn’t seem to any viable venue options. The ones available were either too far out, unaffordable or just not grand enough.

With Discover Resorts in Karjat, this trend is gradually changing. Maharashtra is now a serious contender in the race for the ideal wedding destination. Located 10km from Matheran, 60km from Thane, 86km from Mumbai and 120km from Pune, at the foothills of the Sahyadri Mountains. Equipped with pool/mountain facing private residences and round the clock hospitality, this resort is ideal for the big day.


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Tbilisi is for the whole family

Tbilisi the Georgian capital is not only a beautiful city where unique cultural and architectural monuments are concentrated, but also a place where you can have a great time with your family. There are many entertainment centers, beautiful parks and museums for young intellectuals and don't pass by the Razo Gabriadze Puppet Theater and be sure to visit the local zoo and water park with the children.

Old Tbilisi is the most beautiful and cozy landmark place. This is the historic center of the city where you can see beautiful old buildings and cobbled streets. It's better to organize excursions and walks around the city in summer. The Georgian capital offers fun at local fairs and holiday festivals with Santa Claus in winter.  Little travelers can get a lot of vivid impressions during a trip on the cable car from where the city is visible in a bird's-eye view.


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Strawberries anyone?

STRAWBERRY production is flourishing in Chiba Prefecture,Japan home to more than 100 strawberry farms where visitors can enjoy "strawberry picking," which is quite popular with tourists.

Varieties of strawberry species are grown on many of the strawberry-picking farms, and visitors can enjoy eating the berries to compare their tastes. Notably, "CHI-BA+BERRY," a new strawberry variety that hit the stores in January 2017, is available only in Chiba Prefecture.

Chiba Prefecture sits about 40 kilometres southeast of the center of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay. There are many attractions making ii an interesting region to visit. The Chiba Urban Monorail, the longest suspended monorail in the world, Kasori Shell Midden, the largest shellmound in the world, Inage Beach, the first artificial beach in the nation and the Chiba City Zoological Park.

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Practical Paris

FOR several years, the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau has been active on the subject of accessibility, leading dedicated workshops and raising awareness among Parisian tourism professionals who are seeking to improve the welcome they offer to their visitors. Helping all visitors to enjoy and explore the French capital they have published the 2019-2020 version of its dedicated brochure Accessible Paris.

This practical 28-page guide provides visitors with everything they need to know on how to get to and around #Paris, where to stay, and also where to find adapted places for entertainment. It is also a source of information for #accessible cultural attractions and recreational activities, and suggests a sightseeing itinerary adapted to wheelchair users. The rich content of this new edition provides an increased number of accessible activities for everyone to discover.

Available in French and in English, at the Tourist Office’s information point, at City Hall (Hôtel de Ville), it is also available on request in large print or in (French) braille. In addition, it can be consulted and downloaded on the website PARISINFO.COM, in the rubric ‘Practical/Visiting Paris with a disability’.


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Focus on tourism in the Solomon Islands

THE Solomon Islands government is looking to the tourism sector to attract 60,000 visitors annually by 2025, in the process netting the country’s economy SBD1 billion. With International visitation to the Solomon Islands growing on average nine per cent annually, the destination is hopeful of achieving the 30,000 mark by the end of 2019.  

Addressing delegates attending the 2019 ‘Measure What Matters’ Tourism Focus in Honiara, #SolomonIslands caretaker prime minister, the Hon. Rick Rick Houenipwela said contributions from tourism in recent years had now grown to the point when the sector was now looked at to plug the gap left by the country’s former key economic drivers, including forestry and mining."

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Welcome to Britain

BRITAIN is packed full of amazing experiences all year round and 2019 is going to be no exception. From sporting events to literary celebrations, from music festivals to new gallery openings, visitors to #Britain during 2019 are in for a cultural extravaganza.

There is reassurance from both the UK Government and the European Commission that flights will continue to operate between the UK and the EU after the 29 March 2019 regardless of the wider #Brexit negotiations.

EU nationals will be able to continue to travel on ID cards until at least 2021. The expectations is that visitors who are citizens of current EU Member States and who have a valid passport will still to be able to use e-gates to make entry quick and easy. Visitors who are citizens of current EU member states will continue to be able to travel without a visa. Please check the UK government website for the latest advice.


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A destination to take your breath away

ONE of Australia’s fastest growing, must see destinations is proud to introduce ‘The Tweed Tourism Company’ (TTC) to manage the destination’s marketing, tourism experiences, product development, industry events and visitor information services on behalf of the Tweed region.

The Tweed is located in Northern NSW and offers an abundance of food, art and nature based experiences. The region boosts lush green valleys, majestic mountains, natural river streams and a vast coastline of untouched beaches. With ideal weather, pristine natural environment and a burgeoning arts scene, this is one of Australia’s most desirable travel destinations.

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Picture credit: By Froggydarb at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9592249

Celebrate in the Kings playground

KNOWN as the playground of the Kings of France, and remembered as the cradle of the French Renaissance, the #LoireValley will shine even brighter in 2019. The UNESCO World Heritage region will be celebrating the 500th Anniversary of the French Renaissance, which coincides with the anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci's death in #France. 

During the first year of Francois Ier's reign in 1515, and following his victory at Marignano, the French King met Leonardo Da Vinci. Awed by the genius, and by Italy's artistic and architectural renewal, France's great Renaissance king invited the artist to live in France. In 1516 (with the Mona Lisa, The Virgin and child with St. Anne and St. John the Baptist, all now at the Louvre Museum), Leonardo left Rome for Royal Amboise, settling at the Château du Clos Lucé, where he spent the last three years of his life.

The building of majestic Chateau de Chambord, whose staircase and design was inspired by Da Vinci's ideal city, began in 1519. This inspired later Renaissance gems like Chenonceau--of Catherine de Medici fame, Azay-le-Rideau, Valençay and Villandry. The program of events will include a large traveling digital show, an international architecture competition, banquets, and a wealth of exhibitions, including a virtual exhibit of Leonardo's 17 masterpieces at the Chateau du Clos Lucé. 


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Anemos Luxury Grand Resort with 4 TUI Awards

TUI company, one of the biggest tourism organizations in the world, honored Anemos Luxury Grand Resort in Chania with 4 TUI Awards: the TUI Holly 2019 Award, the TUI Top Quality 2019 Award, the Family Champion 2019 Award and the TUI Environmental Champion 2019 Award.

The TUI Holly is the highest accolade that can be accorded a TUI Hotel. It stands for everything that makes a TUI holiday perfect: Great attention to detail, superb service and outstanding cuisine. The hotel’s guests are the jury. The TUI Holly is the premium prize for the 100 most popular TUI hotels worldwide.

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Sweden:The Edible Country

TO highlight healthy and natural food available in nature, #Sweden, together with four Swedish Michelin-starred chefs, is launching The Edible Country - a 100-million-acre-DIY gourmet restaurant. The restaurant, with a menu created from ingredients found in Swedish nature, is free of charge and open for reservations.

In this new global initiative, Sweden is showing the world how easy and accessible healthy food can be. The Edible Country consists of a nine-course menu that visitors can prepare and cook themselves - in the wild. It is co-created by Swedish Michelin-starred chefs Titti Qvarnström, Niklas Ekstedt, Jacob Holmström and Anton Bjuhr.

As part of the initiative, seven handmade wooden tables have been placed across the country with ready-to-use kitchen kits and cooking tools. The tables are bookable between May and September through visitsweden.com/ediblecountry or bookatable.co.uk/theediblecountry


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The Louvre crowned as France’s top tourist spot

THE world’s largest art museum the Louvre hosted a record breaking 10.2 million visitors in 2018, up from 25% the previous year, with the Eiffel Tower coming in second place.

The historic museum is home to many renowned pieces such as Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Théodore Géricault's 19th century masterpiece the Raft of the Medusa, not forgetting many antiquities and sculptures.

Frances’ tourism industry took a sharp decline after terrorist attacks claimed 230 lives between 2015 and 2016, but figures have recently increased, with #Paris once again becoming a European hotspot for tourists.

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Fill your bags with Emirates

SHOPPERS can fly higher with this year’s Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) thanks to a special offer from Emirates, the world’s largest international airline. Economy class ticket holders can enjoy additional baggage allowance on return flights during the biggest shopping festival of the year, running until 2 February. 

Emirates passengers booked on an Economy class round-trip ticket to #Dubai can shop without limits, and return home with the latest fashion bargains at no extra costs incurred, affirming Dubai #Shopping Festival as the city’s most generous mega sale.

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The True Spirit of Alaska

BEAR Viewing in #Alaska with the assistance of Captain Mel Erickson and his famed boat aptly named the Alaskan Gamefisher can help you to discover the true spirit of the location and its natural inhabitants namely the bears. You get the opportunity to watch the beautiful creatures in their own habitat without being threatened in the least.

While Alaskan Brown bear viewing might be your primary objective, the Alaskan Gamefisher enables you to widen your experience by permitting you to fish for the choicest salmon and halibuts in the icy waters of Alaska as well. 

The proficient guides accompanying you are quick to show you the tips and tricks of digging clams while the astounding sight of five magnificent snow-covered volcanic mountains all around the National Park area is sure to make you wonder at the magic of nature.


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Engaging in rural tourism

CHINA has been encouraging poor villages to develop tourism by providing them with subsidies. In 2007, the number of tourist visits to rural areas exceeded 2.5 billion, benefiting 9 million rural households. 17.5 percent of the people who have risen above the poverty line have done so through engaging in rural tourism.

51 year old Chang Ying is a resident of a remote desert village in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. He has three daughters, and had almost no source of income. Opportunities came in the summer of 2014 when a tourism company came to invest and turned the desert land into a scenic spot where villagers like Chang can make money by offering tourists horse or camel rides.

It turned out that the revenue from one horse could reach 700 to 800 yuan a day. Apart from that incentive, each poor household is eligible for a subsidized loan of up to 50,000 yuan with which they joined the operation of the scenic spot and get a yearly dividend of 5000 yuan. This policy has helped to greatly improve the life of poor households.


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Explore the beauty of Prague

PRAGUE Airport, CzechTourism, Prague City Tourism and the tourism hub for Central Bohemia have launched an advertising campaign in New York.

The campaign aims to present #Prague and Central Bohemia in the US as an attractive and safe #destination and promote incoming tourism from the country.

The campaign to promote tourism in Prague and Central Bohemia includes approximately 1,000 advertising spaces on New York underground trains and 80 advertising spaces in the underground station on 53rd Street and 5th Avenue, right in the centre of Manhattan.

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Amazing Thailand New Year Countdown Display

MORE than one and a half million people turned out in Bangkok to watch a spectacular, five-minute fireworks display that ran along the length of Bangkok's Chao Phraya River for more than 1,400 metres at midnight on 31st December 2018 as part of the Tourism Authority of Thailand's "Amazing Thailand Countdown 2019" celebrations to mark the arrival of 2019.

The dazzling New Year countdown display, the largest of its kind ever organised in #Bangkok, lit up the sky along the river. It was viewed by locals and international visitors from riverside hotels and unique travel destinations. 



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Up in the air . . .

AFTER two years of construction, Van Don International Airport opened on December 29, in Quang Ninh province – home to the UNESCO world Heritage site Halong Bay – just 220 kilometres from the capital Hanoi.

This is the first ever international airport in #Vietnam to be developed by a private company, namely, Sun Group, as a new gateway for both domestic and international travellers coming to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Halong Bay, the airport will receive an estimated 2 to 2.5 million passengers annually for the next two years and five million per year by 2030.


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Picture Credit: eddy_28125270@N00/6637953837 via photopin

Dominating tourism in the Caribbean

THE Islands Of The Bahamas continues to dominate tourism in the #Caribbean. So says Caribbean Journal, the largest website covering Caribbean tourism, which bestowed on the destination two key awards in its Caribbean Travel Awards 2018: Best Caribbean Destination and Best Caribbean Tourism Minister.

But it is better in #TheBahamas, and according to officials, the destination had the most impressive growth in the region. "While several islands had particularly strong growth in 2018, none has been more impressive than The Bahamas," officials said on the destination's website.



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