news to use ASIA Agency focus has Distinctive touch Tourism Update PATA UK
BY ALAN ORBELL After 35 years of trading, Journeys of Distinction has introduced agency sales and is now paying agents commission ranging from 10 to 14 per cent. To spearhead the luxury escorted touring specialist’s move, the operator has appointed former Wendy Wu Tours’ business development manager, Sue Copper, in the new role of agency sales manager. Selling a Journeys of Distinction
holiday can mean substantial commission for agents. For example, the fully-escorted 24-day
Jewels of South East Asia tour, is priced from £5,495pp, covering Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. Highlights include a guided tour of Kuala Lumpur; the Cameron Highlands
Anantara set to open in Vietnam
(pictured), the seaside city of Malacca and Penang in Malaysia; an overnight journey to Bangkok on the luxury Eastern and Oriental Express; a tour of Bangkok; Siem Reap in north western Cambodia; Luang Prabang, Laos;
Chiang Rai in northern Thailand and the Golden Triangle. Another Journeys of Distinction option is a fully- escorted 21-day The Very Best of China tour, prices from £3,595pp.
www.jod.uk.com
Tours show off Malaysia’s green side Tourism Malaysia has joined with
three tour operators to showcase the country’s many species of flowers and plants as well as to promote Malaysia as a parks and gardens destination. Funway Holidays, Audley Travel,
Anantara will open its first Vietnam
property this autumn. The Anantara Mui Ne Resort &
Spa will occupy a beachfront setting next to the town of Phan Thiet, about 198kms northeast of Ho Chi Minh City on the country’s southeast coast. The 89 rooms, suites and pool villas
will be set among a freshwater lagoon and tropical gardens. Facilities include a spa, a beach swimming pool and a fitness centre and gym.
www.anantara.com/mui-ne
ASIA NEWS IN BRIEF
Vietnam Airlines' new London link Vietnam Airlines is to start flights
from London-Heathrow to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City this winter. Four flights a week are planned initially but the airline says it hopes to increase this to a daily schedule by 2014. LOT Polish Airlines is the only other European carrier flying to Vietnam, from Warsaw.
www.vietnamairlines.com
10 June 2011 •
www.sellinglonghaul.com
Bangkok gets first St. Regis Starwood Hotels & Resorts has opened its first St. Regis hotel in Thailand. The St. Regis Bangkok, on Rajadamri Road in the heart of the city, spans 47 stories with 227 guest rooms with unobstructed views of the city skyline. The hotel features the first Elemis Spa in South East Asia.
www.stregis.com/bangkok
Families have choice in Sri Lanka Families Worldwide has availability
on its two-week Ceylon Discovery trip to Sri Lanka, departing July 23 and 30 or August 14. Priced from £1349, highlights include the caves and temple at Dambulla, a cookery lesson, the rock at Sigiriya, a game drive, a visit to a tea plantation and some beach time at Galle.
www.familiesworldwide.co.uk
and Peoples Travel have launched packages that will appeal to anyone who visited last month’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show and dropped by Tourism Malaysia’s gold-medal-winning show garden. Malaysia has a wide range of national
parks, from mangrove reserves and tropical rainforests to marine parks, and the packages have been designed to give holidaymakers the opportunity to experience the exotic flora and fauna in their pristine tropical environment. Funway Holidays' 13-night package, priced from £1,440pp, takes in the Bird Park, Butterfly Park and Orchid and Hibiscus Gardens in Kuala Lumpar; tea
ANITA SACH PATA UK Chapter Editor
ukchapternews@pata.org.uk www.pata.org.uk
In New Zealand, Christchurch is rebuilding after the magnitude 6.3 earthquake which hit the city in late- February. However, this should not stop people from holidaying in Canterbury and the South Island as the damage caused by the quake is confined largely to Christchurch's CBD and the city's eastern suburbs. Part of the central city area is still
cordoned off while safety checks and clearing takes place but this is gradually receding as more of the city is deemed safe and open for business. It is likely, however, that some isolated parts of the city will remain behind cordons for some time while rebuilding takes place. The city still has a lot to offer with
plantations, fruit and vegetable farms, a rose garden and flower nurseries in the Cameron Highlands, and a visit to Sabah to see Kinabalu Park and have an Orchid Tour. Audley Travel has a 14-night tour and Peoples Travel a seven-night tour priced from £2,995pp and £2,139pp respectively.
www.funwayholidays.co.uk www.peoples.travel www.audleytravel.com
many visitor services open, including bus services, the airport, visitor attractions and visitor information services. The earthquake had an impact on accommodation in the centre, but there is still significant capacity in the rest of the city. Many of the major tourism attractions in the city are open for business, including the International Antarctic Centre, Tranz-Alpine rail experience, Airforce Museum, Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, Tanks for Everything and Up, Up, Up and Away ballooning adventures.
SABAH TOURISM/DAVID KIRKLAND
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