News 06.11.18
Italy puts focus on Milan and Matera
Two cities in the north and south of Italy (EU200, EU50) will have renewed interest for visitors in 2019. Milan will be the centre of celebrations to mark the 500th anniversary of Leonardo Da Vinci’s death, while the southern town of Matera becomes a European Capital of Culture.
Da Vinci’s anniversary will be marked by a major nine-month series of events beginning in May. The artist lived in Milan for about 20 years and produced his most important works there. The Milano e Leonardo programme will launch on May 2 with the reopening of the Sala delle Asse in Castello Sforzesco after a long period of restoration of the murals.
A multimedia path will guide visitors around Leonardo’s Milan, depicting the city as it would have been between 1482 and 1512. The itinerary will include geo-referenced visual mapping of what is still preserved.
Another key exhibition in Milan PROPERTIES LAUNCH
Boost for Ontario
New luxury hotels and increased airlift are set to boost Ontario’s (NA400) profile in 2019.
Toronto will gain a new boutique property, the Ace hotel. The 13-storey 124-room hotel will be the Portland brand’s 12th worldwide and is currently under construction between China Town and the Fashion District. Toronto will also get Canada’s first Nobu hotel and restaurant by 2020.
Meanwhile, Ottawa now has a Le Germain hotel, with 115 rooms, including eight suites. Another key opening is the 30-room Elora Mill Hotel & Spa, in Elora, 31 miles west of Toronto, which launched this summer after a $27 million renovation project. Gabriele Kotz, Destination
12 06.11.2018
Toronto is set to reap the benefi ts from new hotel and attraction openings
Ontario’s marketing and trade consultant, Europe, said: “The past few years have been really exciting for Ontario in terms of our growing luxury hotel offerings.”
Another boost to Toronto is the opening of the Museum of Illusions, set to be the biggest permanent attraction to open in five years. In airlift, Toronto will next year gain a budget flight from Ireland with the start of Norwegian’s first
route to Canada from Dublin, on March 31. The daily service will land at Toronto’s secondary airport Hamilton, which offers easier access to Niagara Falls than the main hub. A new touring option has also been added with Le Boat, Europe’s largest self-drive boating company, which has launched in Smith Falls. Guests can follow a suggested itinerary from Ottawa to Kingston from May to October.
Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper
will present Da Vinci’s 16th-century Last Supper on tapestry – normally housed in the Vatican Museum – following its restoration.
Southern Italy will also be in the spotlight when Matera becomes one of two capitals of culture. The town is famous for its sassi – caves that were once homes and have now been converted into hotels, bars and restaurants.
Matera was granted Unesco World Heritage Site status in 1993 and begins its Capital of Culture year with an opening ceremony on January 19. Four major exhibitions will take place, including the first significant investigation into the history of rock architecture, SubCulture; which will examine how this type of dwelling has been used since Palaeolithic times plus its future usage. New visitor itineraries include a tour of the southern region’s main cave housing and rock worship sites, a literary trail and a trail of Middle Age and Baroque art and architecture found nearby. A spokesperson for Enit, the Italian tourist board, said the country’s wider 2019 focus was “slow tourism”.
“It can mean eating the local food in the place of origin, visiting a spa or yoga retreat, trekking or walking in the woods,” she said.
Enit will open new tourist offices in Dubai and Munich in the coming months, taking its presence to 31 locations worldwide.
RAS AL KHAIMAH PLAN
Visitors set to triple
Ras Al Khaimah (ME500) plans to triple annual visitor numbers to three million by 2025 with a programme of hotel building.
The United Arab Emirate is revealing its Destination 2019-21 strategy at WTM London. Haitham Mattar, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority chief executive, said the emirate was “on track to exceed our projection of one million visitors by the end of the year”.
He added: “Our focus remains on sustainable development with new products and accommodation to meet the growing demand.” Plans are in place to add 5,600 rooms to the 6,500 currently available with the debut of major global brands including Marriott, Movenpick, Sheraton, Anantara, Rezidor, Intercontinental, Hampton by Hilton and Crowne Plaza over the next three years.
The aim is to further grow to more than 12,000 hotel rooms by 2022. The 37-room Luxury Mountain Camp is due to open in December 2019 at Jebel Jais, the UAE’s highest mountain.
“Jebel Jais remains core to our proposition as we look to capitalise on the global adventure tourism industry and secure further interest from investors in this growing segment,” Mattar said.
The mountain is home to Jebel Jais Flight, the world’s longest zip line. The 100mph, 1.75-mile ride will next year feature an additional zip-line cable to enhance capacity, together with an adventure park. A virtual reality simulation of the ride is on the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority’s stand.
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