Travel News Sept/Oct 2022
Thousands Turn Out at Botanic Gardens for 16th Mela Festival
THE 16th Belfast Mela Festival, sponsored by Sensata Technologies attracted more than 60,000 people over its new eight day format this year, culminating in its spectacular return to Botanic Gardens for Mela Day last Sunday to
celebrate Belfast’s
growing cultural diversity.
Mela reached a dramatic finale as the festival returned to its home in Botanic Gardens with thousands attending following events across venues
and spaces across the city all week.
The park was awash with colour, culture and creativity as people united together to show our collective vision for a shared and inclusive city.
Nisha Tandon, Founder of Belfast Mela and Director of ArtsEkta said:
“This has been our most successful Belfast Mela Festival yet and we have been delighted to welcome so many people back to Botanic Gardens last Sunday after a two year break due to the pandemic.
“It was an ambitious plan to move to an eight day festival this year but I am delighted that more than 60,000 people turned out across an exciting series of events this week culminating in the spectacular finale back at Botanic. “So many different communities have
made Northern Ireland their home and it has never been more important to embrace the individuality and cultural heritage of each
citizen and find strength in our diversity. Let’s continue to celebrate everything that is good about our city and its people and we look forward to bringing you another cultural extravaganza of global music, dance, food, theatre and arts in 2023.”
ArtsEkta the organisers of the Belfast Mela will be donating 5% of all ticket sales for Mela Day to a tree donation fund in partnership with Belfast City Council’s One Million Trees project, which aims to plan one million trees in the city by 2035. This is inline with the festival’s commitment to improve its eco- friendly strategy and overall sustainability entitled Green Mela. Ambitious plans are now being drawn up for next year’s festival, which will take place from 19th – 27th August 2023. Keep updated at
belfastmela.org.uk. ArtsEkta will present
its next event on the 22nd October as part of city wide Halloween celebrations. More details will be revealed soon.
Visit Japan without Guided Tour as New Rules Announced
JAPAN’S Prime Minister has announced that as of 7th of September new rules mean that tourists on non-guided package tours can visit the country.
After the news of Japan dropping the requirement for a negative PCR test for triple vaccinated travellers, Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has announced that arrivals into the country will no longer need to be on an escorted guided tour. The restrictions will ease from the 7th of September, raising the number of daily
entrants from 20,000 to 50,000, and
allowing arrivals on package tours but without the need for a guide. This will allow travellers to explore Japan without a guide, while ensuring their safety through experienced travel agents having created an itinerary. Please find more information on travelling to Japan and COVID-19 here:
www.japan.travel/en/practical-coronavirus- information/
FOLLOWING a hiatus of almost two and a half years, there were celebrations at Dublin Airport as Emirates resumed its double daily service between Dublin and Dubai. The announcement means that once again, Emirates will connect up to 720 people every day from Ireland with more than 130 exciting destinations such as Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Auckland, Melbourne, the Seychelles and the Maldives. The reinstatement of the second daily flight, which had been suspended in March 2020 with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, is good news not only for eastbound leisure and business passengers from Ireland, but for Ireland’s tourism industry too. With additional capacity on the Dublin route, there are once again more options for visitors looking to visit Ireland with Emirates, which marks ten years of operations on the Dublin – Dubai route this year.
Country manager for Emirates, Ireland,
Enda Corneille confirmed that the Dublin office had seen a fourfold increase in business to Dubai for the first seven months of 2022
UPDATES 3 Emirates’s Double Daily Dublin Service Relaunches
“The appetite for international travel has surpassed our expectations and traffic to Dubai for the current period is up 448% on the same period last year,” said Enda Corneille. “The popularity of Dubai with its year-round sunshine, outdoor lifestyle and wide range of activities and accommodation options has surged and it is one of the top destinations for Irish tourists. But in addition to Dubai, we have seen huge growth in bookings for Australia as families and friends reconnect following the reopening of Australian borders. While we all know how tough the past two years have been, we have a lot of very happy passengers onboard right now.
“This demand has been building for several months and once we could ensure that our second flight would be supported with all of the on-the-ground infrastructure and logistics needed for us to provide a premium service, we set the 1 September date. I would like to thank all of the stakeholders who have helped make this happen. We have been looking forward to this day for a very long time.” For further information
www.emirates.ie
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*Save up £200 per booking. Save £200 with code HOLIDAYSALE200, min spend £2000 or save £100 with code HOLIDAYSALE100, min spend £700. Spend/saving amount is per booking based on the total price and code must be applied on the ‘extras’ page of
easyJet.com/holidays. Promo code valid for new bookings made between 9am on 5th September 2022 and 11pm 13th September 2022 for holidays completed by 31/10/23. Offer applies to all easyJet holiday destinations from any UK airport, subject to availability. Prices are subject to change. Offer may be changed or withdrawn without notice. Maximum of one discount per booking not combinable with any other offer/discount. If a booking including this discount is changed/cancelled, the discount will no longer be valid on the new/amended booking. Booking Conditions apply. easyJet holidays Ltd (ABTA Y6633) is ATOL protected (11694)
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