news to use THE NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW Personal Seychelles
THE Seychelles’ Minister of Tourism, Alain St Ange, believes that offering sun, sea and sand is no longer enough. “We’re bringing in our people, to get them to invest in the tourism industry as small investors. We want to go back to ‘grass roots’, working with tour operators but more deeply. We plan a personalised approach and to tailor-make proposals with them – and we will then support them. The success of Seychelles tourism is personalised travel. We can do that because we’re small.” The Seychelles’ newest luxury hotel, the 163-room/suite Savoy Seychelles Resort & Spa (
Savoy.sc) was due to open last month (November). UK visitors to Seychelles increased by 13% last year.
seychelles.travel
South Africa hopes for quick walk to movie stardom
BY STEVE HARTRIDGE SOUTH African Airways and South African Tourism are working together to maximise coverage of the movie Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, which is released in the UK on January 3. Based on Nelson Mandela’s
autobiography and starring Idris Elba (The Wire, Luther) as Mandela, the film was shot in over 200 locations in South Africa, including the Drakensberg in KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Town, Robben Island and Johannesburg. The film spans Nelson Mandela’s life journey from the early years, through to his inauguration as the country’s first democratically elected president. SAA has direct double-daily flights
between Heathrow and Johannesburg and flies to over 30 African destinations on a fleet of Airbus A330s.
flysaa.com
On the Ras in the UAE
BY STEVE HARTRIDGE RAS Al Khaimah, one of the United Arab
Emirates, wants to grow its reputation as a luxury and adventure travel destination. The emirate, located in the northern
part of the UAE and a 45-minute drive from Dubai International Airport,
is Kyoto: Japan’s ‘cultural pulse’
BY STEVE HARTRIDGE TRAVELLERS looking for quintessential Japanese experiences and the country’s cultural heartbeat should head to Kyoto, says Rie Doi, Director of Tourism Promotion for the Kyoto Convention Bureau. Located in the central part of the island
of Honshu, just over two hours from Tokyo, Kyoto, was the country’s capital for over 1,000 years. Reasons for a visit include 17 UNESCO
World Heritage Sites (a mix of shrines, temples and castles), over 1600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines, the Imperial Palace, ancient Ryokan – a type of traditional Japanese inn – and Zen gardens interspersed with urban living. It’s also known as the only city were ‘real’ geishas can still be seen. November,
In tourists arrive to see the autumn colours in Kyoto’s finest temples, IN BRIEF Boston to be Wow-ed: WOW air,
Iceland’s low-cost airline, will introduce transatlantic flights with the launch of new routes to Boston in spring 2014. WOW air will fly to Boston from Gatwick via Reykjavik six times a week (on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday). Flights will depart at 12.20, arriving in Boston at 18:25.
wowair.co.uk
Programmed for Zanzibar activity: The
five-star 66-villa Residence Zanzibar, a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, now offers an AI package (covering all meals, premium drinks, snorkelling, yoga, watersports etc.) and three new activity
programmes covering
photography, traditional cooking and ocean activities.
theresidence.com/Zanzibar
PNG on the up: Over 1800 UK tourists
visited Papua New Guinea last year with peak sales (April to June) up nearly eight per cent. The biggest growth was in cultural and cruise tourists with diving and bird-watching also popular. P&O, Noble Caledonia, Orion Expeditions and Silversea Cruises all have itineraries featuring PNG.
papuanewguinea.travel
gardens and parks. “Kyoto is the home of original Japanese cuisine, such as kyo-ryori, with its artful presentation and emphasis on seasonal regional ingredients,” added Doi. Other attractions on offer in and around the city include cycling and walking in bamboo forests, meditation classes with English-speaking monks and visiting temples not usually open to the public with a local ground operator. Kyoto has also been winning rave
reviews for its Michelin-starred cuisine and luxury hotels. The latest five-star hotel to open will be The Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto, in February 2014. A Four Seasons Hotel is expected to open in 2015. Inside Japan Tours has an 11-night
Kyoto and Tokyo autumn leaves and culture trip,
insidejapantours.com;
kyoto.travel priced from £2395pp.
known for its luxury hotels that range from desert retreats to beach resorts. Properties include Banyan Tree Ras Al Khaimah Beach, The Cove Rotana Resort and Al Hamra Residence and Village. The emirate also has the UAE’s first Waldorf Astoria and next year will add the Rixos Bab Al Bahr, the first phased opening of the high-profile Al Marjan Islands development. Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (TDA) Director Khalid Motik said the emirate had “clear targets” for tourism, such as growing the number of annual visitors to 1.2 million by 2016. “Our landscapes, white-sand beaches and resorts make Ras Al Khaimah the perfect getaway for leisure, adventure, and quality-value experiences. Visitors can enjoy activities climbing,
kayaking,
like mountain gourmet
experiences and world-class spas,” added Motik.
rasalkhaimahtourism.com
www.sellinglonghaul.com
December 2013 7
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