Garuda Indonesia has introduced more capacity from Darwin to Denpasar with the introduction of an additional service which began on June 25, 2008. The new flight is a response to the strong visitor numbers from Australia to Bali, which are up by almost 60 per cent from 2007. General manager of Garuda Indonesia, Syahrul Tahir, said Garuda’s already strong network between Australia and Indonesia will be even further strengthened with this additional flight bringing flight numbers to 28 per week between Australia and Indonesia.”
Sydney will take a lead role in the fight against lung cancer after a successful bid to host the World Conference on Lung Cancer for up to 8000 international experts in 2013. The event is one of the most prestigious on the international conference calendar and the biggest event secured by the Sydney Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB) this financial year, worth an estimated $19.2 million to the local economy. Sydney’s win was announced in Chicago by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), which chose Sydney over rival bidder Hong Kong. Sydney’s bid was led jointly by Australian Lung Foundation representative Associate Professor Kwun Fong from the Prince Charles Hospital Brisbane and Sydney Cancer Centre Director Associate Professor Michael Boyer, with the backing of the SCVB. The conference is supported by the Cancer Institute of NSW and will attract up to 8000 delegates at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre from October 27 to November 1, 2013.
Luxury Italian cruise operator MSC Cruises is taking working holidays to a whole new level with its unrivalled onboard business services. Being one of the largest operators in the world, MSC Cruises can cater for anything from 30 to 3000 people with its five-star fleet, and is suitable for all types of business events: incentive trips, bonus holidays, brand and promotional events, conventions, product launches, presentations or international events. On board, there are meeting rooms and lounges galore, a theatre, work stations, wireless connections, phones, faxes, projectors and video players. Companies that have used MSC Cruises recently include Nokia, Coca-Cola. Visit www.msccruisesasia.com for further details.
A consortium led by Guma Tourism has bid for and secured a majority stake in South African’s largest tourism company, Tourism Investment Corporation (Tourvest), which has strong ties in the corporate travel, meetings and incentive travel markets. This will make Tourvest South Africa’s largest black-owned and controlled tourism group. Tourvest has an inbound tourism services division, which includes Global Conferences Africa, an outbound travel services division, including American Express Travel Services, a retail merchandising division, and a financial services division.
Australia had a night of triumph at the inaugural World Travel Awards Australasia Ceremony at Sydney’s Observatory Hotel in June, with attendees emerging with a fistful of overall category prizes including Qantas, who scooped the coveted Leading Airline, and Sydney, which captured the much sought-after destination honour. But there was also major acclaim for New Zealand, the Cooks Islands, French Polynesia and Fiji. Australia walked away with 13 of the main awards from across the region while New Zealand’s The Spire, Queenstown, taking the Leading Boutique Resort as well as Leading Ski Resort awards.
The InterContinental Hotel in Wellington was awarded the Leading Business Hotel. Given the stiff competition on the night, perhaps the biggest achievement was reserved for the smaller destinations. French Polynesia, for example, was delighted to take the Leading Spa Resort award thanks to the Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa. The Fiji delegation also celebrated by becoming the first winners of the new category of Leading Green Hotel - presented to the Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort. A complete list of winners is available by visiting www.worldtravelawards.com.
Top
|