news to use THE NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW Macau plans to make an event of it
BY STEVE HARTRIDGE MACAU hopes to lever its leading annual festivals and events to attract more Asia- or Australia-bound Brits. With casinos, beaches and a Portuguese- Chinese heritage, Macau has emerged as a viable one- or two-night Asian stopover in recent years but hopes to position itself as a destination worthy of a longer stay, said Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of Macau Government Tourist Office. “With our Formula Three Grand Prix and associated motorcycle races, and Food Festival, both of which run at the same time in November; our International Music Festival in October/November and our International Dragon boat races in June, we have a line-up of events that attract thousands
of tourists from our
neighbouring countries but the challenge is to draw more European visitors,” she said. The Macau International Fireworks Festival, which marks its 25th running in September with the addition of music and a laser show, will this year attract over 10 international teams, including one from the UK. Also, the Chinese New Year
Rainbow life lessons
RAINBOW Tours has teamed up with the Lessons for Life Foundation to offer a new nine-day ‘Give Back to Africa’ itinerary, which sees visitors spend three days mentoring children at the Kusasa Project, a charity supported by the Lessons for Life Foundation, near to Franschhoek in South Africa.
Guests spend their time
participating in a wide range of activities
including art and play,
celebrations in January/February 2014 will again feature a parade of floats which de Senna Fernandes hopes will also attract international interest. If demand does rise there will be plenty
of new hotel rooms over the coming years to cater to the influx. Macau presently has 28,000 hotel rooms and while few new hotels are planned this year and next, 2015/16 will see a boom, with at least six new hotels, including a Ritz Carlton and a
Capri adds third Asian property in Malaysia
Marriott, scheduled to open. Wendy Wu is seeing rising interest in Macau. “Bookings have increased since we gave Macau its own page in our brochure. It’s an easy fit with Hong Kong, said Managing Director Laurence Hicks. “Our five-day Hong Kong and Discovery
tour combines two nights in each with a mix of guided touring and free time…plus we have a new Chinese New year package for 2014.”
Macautourism.gov.mo
sports, reading with the children and assisting with homework. The holiday begins with a three- night stay at the Cape Grace Hotel in Cape Town, on the Victoria and Alfred waterfront, followed by three nights in Le Quartier Francais, a country auberge in Franschhoek,
where
guests experience three days as a volunteer. The final three days are spent at the Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, on the edge of Kruger National Park, with game drives and bush walks. Prices are from £4,430pp for travel until September 2013.
Rainbowtours.co.uk
THE
New St Vincent hotel and air options CANOUAN Resort
& the
Grenadines Estate Villas on Canouan Island in St Vincent & The Grenadines is due to open in the third quarter of this year. Previously a Raffles Hotel the site has undergone a huge re-design. The new, as yet un-named, resort will
THE CAPRI by Fraser hotel apartment brand, which combines the facilities of a hotel with the space of home, is to open a new property in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia later this year. It will join the existing Capri by Frasers in Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Singapore offers 313 studios, all with kitchenettes, while Ho
6 July/August 2013
Chi Minh City has 126 studio to two- bedroom
accommodation. Both
properties feature a gym, pool, steam room and sauna and all-day dining. The first Capri by Fraser units in Europe will also open in Germany – in Frankfurt and Munich – over the next couple of years.
Fraserhospitality.com
be a collection of two- to six-bedroom villas with views over the lagoon and many also overlooking the 18-hole Jim Fazio designed golf course. Resort services including five restaurants and bars, a luxurious gym, a spa with nine hillside and two over- water treatment rooms, a kids
or Sunday to benefit from the Jet transfers from Barbados. Meanwhile,
Mustique Airways has
launched a new flight service for guests of Petit St Vincent flying from Barbados to Union Island. Argyle International Airport (AIA) is due
to open in 2014; the airport will be able to accommodate flights from the UK to St Vincent.
discoversvg.com
club,
several boutiques and a villa concierge. (
canouan.com/resort.asp) In conjunction with the new villas, the
new Canouan Jet package includes transfers by private jet from Barbados for stays of seven nights or longer. Guests must arrive or depart on Friday, Saturday
www.sellinglonghaul.com
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