The 6th M.I.C.E. Travel Expo & The 25th International Travel Expo Hong Kong (ITE & MICE 2011)

Five halls in level 1 of the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) will be bustling with thousands of people from the 9-12 June 2011 attending the ITE & MICE 2011 Expo. This is the only Business & MICE Travel Expo that is held in the Greater Pearl River Delta.

With nearly 40 official and theme pavilions and some 650 exhibitors from around 50 countries and regions,  the Travel Expo in Hong Kong has a high international profile of exhibitors. It is supported by the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TIC) Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), and event industry associations from Hong Kong and neighbouring cities. Support also comes from event industry associations and international chambers of commerce in Hong Kong and neighbouring cities, and travel agent associations in different  parts of Asia.

In 2010, the combined ITE MICE drew 11,464 trade and corporate visitors in the two trade days, with 17% from China and 9% from abroad. By sectors, some 5,500 were from travel agents or operators, over 2,800 being corporate visitors and 800 from media. That represents a three fold increase in the number of corporate visitors. The two public days attracted 70,000 visitors. Other key statistics for ITE & ITE MICE 2010 include:- Gross Exhibition Space (in five halls) 15000 SQM; Number of participating countries & regions- 46l; Number of official pavilions / participation- 33l; Number of Exhibitors- 6,25l.

Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair will be the Official Sponsoring Airlines for this year’s events. They will once again have a joint stand at the Travel Expo this year, divided into separate halves for each airline. Cathay Pacific will bring the new Business Class experience to the Travel Expo this year, and visitors will be able to try the new Business Class seats and experience their perfect balance of privacy and openness themselves. The booth will also feature Cathay Pacific and Dragonair developments in the area of online and mobile capabilities.

James Ginns, General Manager Marketing & Product at Cathay Pacific said “ ITE and MICE continue to play an important role in the development of tourism in Hong Kong and around the region and we are delighted to support these events again in 2011. As Hong Kong’s airlines, both Cathay Pacific and Dragonair are committed to building Hong Kong as an aviation hub and to further developing the city’s reputation as a leading tourism destination".

For further information see the websites

Trade: www.itehk.com / www.itehkmice.com  

Public: www.travelexpo.com.hk

0r email at travel@tkshk.com

KOTFA 2011 (The 24th Korean World Travel Fair)

KOTFA 2010

The Korea World Travel Fair is one of the major trade events in the field of travel and tourism in Korea. It will take place from the 2-5 June 2011 at the COEX Korea Exhibition Center, Seoul, Korea. KOTFA 2011 will bring together leading professional, destination management companies, hotels and convention bureaus, under one roof, from around the world.

The visitors will have the advantage of meeting experts and get exciting tips on how to find the best holiday destinations, as well as trying out new and wonderful flavours of food and drinks. The expo will provide an ideal platform to exhibitors to showcase the latest products and services to qualified buyers. Further, it will also provide excellent networking opportunities for visitors and exhibitors from the tourism industry. The 24th Korea World Travel Fair is the perfect place for people who want to get away from stress and enjoy the luxurious holiday plans.

 

The targeted visitors’ profiles at the 24th Korea World Travel Fair 2011 will include:- Restaurants, Hotels, Travel Agents, Airlines, Business Travel Agents, Travel, Management Companies, Hotel Booking Agencies, and the General Public.

The targeted exhibitors’ profiles at the 24th Korea World Travel Fair - KOTFA 2011 are from:- Tourism education & Recruitment companies, Media, Hotels, Airports, Technology & service companies, Trade Organizations, Tour Operators, Transporters (Airlines, Brokers, Car rental companies, cruise lines, coach companies), DMC's (Destination Management Companies), Incentive Houses, Insurance companies, and Tourism Boards.

 

The Organiser is the KOTFA2011 Organizing Committee and it is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture·Sports and Tourism, UN_WTO,Korea Tourism Organization, and Korean Air Lines Co. Ltd.

For more information see the website:- http://www.kotfa.co.kr/eng/exhibition/01.htm

Macau International Dragon Boat Races

This old Chinese festival commemorates the heroic poet Wat Yuen who protested against corruption by drowning himself. Today all celebrations are concentrated on the famous Dragon Boat Races, which in Macau takes place on the Nam Van Lake. Many local teams and foreign teams take part in this colourful event.

About 2300 years ago the Dragon Boat Race began as a search for the poet. It got its highest recognition as a full-fledged international sport at the fourth East Asian Games in Macau. Dragon Boats participating in Macau are narrow vessels, like a rowing boat, but decorated with some Oriental flair. The participant racing crafts are styled with colourful dragon heads featuring whiskers, golden scales and brown horns, as well as a tail. Every boat has a built-in cheerleader a drummer to keep the crew in rhythm.

The Macau International Dragon Boat Races have been jointly organised by the Sport Development Board and Macau China Dragon Boat Association. Dragon boating is a widely popular festive activity in Macao during the Dragon Boat Festival. The Macau International Dragon Boat Races have grown to become an important sports event in the territory. Year by year, the event has become larger in scale and attracts an increasing number of participants. Thousands of skilled athletes from home and abroad gather annually in Macao to participate in this significant event.

 

The Macau International Dragon Boat Races will be held the 4th, 5th and 6th of June 2011 at the Nam Van Lake Nautical Centre. They are organised: by the Macau Sport Development Board and the Macau, China Dragon Boat Association. Collaborators are the Civic & Municipal Affairs Bureau and the Civil Service Bureau.

For more information see the websites:-

http://www.sport.gov.mo/en/sites/dragonboat

http://www.macautourism.gov.mo/en/events/majoreventsdetail.php?rid=61

Asia’s Only Double Bill Event

IT&CMA and CTW 2011 will take place 4-6 October 2011 at the Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld, Bangkok Thailand and will focus on M.I.C.E. and Corporate Travel.

IT&C MA is the premier international MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) show in the Asia-Pacific region and will feature the largest collection of Asia-Pacific MICE products suppliers and buyers. It is especially for MICE Exhibitors, Buyers and the Media

CTW (Corporate Travel World Asia-Pacific) is a conference and exhibition on Travel & Entertainment (T&E) management for the Asia-Pacific region. CTW will be the first and leading ROI event on T&E management in the Asia-Pacific region. It will be a global arena for hundreds of corporate travel managers, travel agencies and suppliers meet to discuss the impact of global and regional issues on the development of business travel into and out of Asia Pacific. It is especially for Corporate Travel Managers, Conference Delegates, Exhibitors and Media.

For further information see the website:- http://itcma.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

1,000 Readers Milestone of "The Holiday and Travel Magazine"

Even though "The Holiday and Travel Magazine" website has only been going for a few short months, the 1,000th person has read this website last Thursday the 26 May 2011 at 11.28am. 1,000 readers, amazing! Thanks to all those people who take the time to read about the tourism topics featured in Muswellbrook and other parts of the Upper Hunter Valley in N.S.W. Australia, or an overseas destination.

The monthly readership has increased from 10 people in January to 150 in February, 149 in March, 260 in April, and 431 so far in May up to the 1,000th person.

"The Holiday and Travel Magazine"  readers have not only come from Australia, but from countries around the world. The figures for each country are:- Australia 489, China 152, USA 147, New Zealand 65, Malaysia 49, Germany 12, UK 9, Sweden 7, Russia 8, South Africa 3, and various other countries from around the world with one person.

I am still working on ways to improve "The Holiday and Travel Magazine", so would appreciate any feedback from readers with their ideas. I am still pondering the possibility of placing paid advertisements in the Magazine, just to offset some of its production costs. I hope to travel to selected destinations in Australia and Overseas in the second half of this year and next year so that I can write first-hand articles of hotels, flights, cities, conferences & expos, and tourist attractions.

Many thanks to everyone who has helped me produce "The Holiday and Travel Magazine" website, and to every reader who has taken the tome to read it. I eagerly await the 2,000th reader!

9th Annual APacCHRIE Conference in Hong Kong

The 9th Annual Conference of APacCHRIE will be held from the 2 - 5 June 2011.in Hong Kong, the birthplace of the organization. The venue for the Conference will be Hotel ICON, a brand new teaching and research hotel of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. This year the Conference is hosted by School of Hotel and Tourism Management, and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

APacCHRIE (the Asia-Pacific Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education) was founded in Hong Kong in 2002 by Professor Kaye Chon. Since its inception in 2002, APacCHRIE has played an instrumental role over the past years in promoting academic and research exchange in the Asia-Pacific region.

The 9th APacCHRIE Conference will focus on the following:

- Trends in hospitality, tourism and foodservice management and education.

- Methodological development and innovations in hospitality, foodservice and tourism research.

Professor Kaye Chon, Chairman

- Conceptual development and advancement in the study of hospitality, foodservice and tourism.

- Educational development of students in hospitality, hotel, foodservice and tourism management.

- Program administration in hospitality and tourism schools.

- Technologies in teaching and learning.

- Experiential learning and work-integrated-education in hospitality and tourism.

- University and academic collaboration in research and education.

- Managing facilities for student learning.

- Innovative research on students learning and development.

- Issues of common concerns by educators and industry practitioners in hospitality, hotel, foodservice and tourism fields.

              

The theme of this year’s conference is “Hospitality and Tourism Education: From a Vision to an Icon.” The theme aptly suggests advancement in the rapid development of hospitality and tourism education in the Asia-Pacific region. With the equally rapid development of the industry, hospitality and tourism education in the region has eventually been recognized with more respect and given more support. Vision, once crafted for the future, is being realized and transformed into an icon –  a meaningful symbol of excellence.

Hotel Icon

The Conference will be held at Hotel ICON, 17 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Hotel ICON is a refined world of style conveniently located in Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong, which is one the most exciting sites in Hong Kong. The Hotel is at the hub of Hong Kong's efficient transportation network ensuring easy access to key business addresses. From glamorous shopping arcades to fascinating street markets, cultural heritage sites to entertainment complexes, local restaurants to international clubs, guests are no more than 15 minutes away from major attractions. A confluence of traditional and modern Asian culture, Hotel ICON will bring a fresh interpretation to traditional Asian hospitality.

For more information about The 9th Annual APacCHRIE Conference see the website:-  http://www.wix.com/apacchrie2011hk/main

Vivid Sydney 2011

Sydney will once again be transformed into a spectacular canvas of light, music and ideas when Vivid Sydney takes over the city after dark from 27 May -13 June 2011.

Vivid Sydney will colour the city with creativity and inspiration, featuring breathtaking immersive light projections on the iconic Sydney Opera House sails, performances from local and international musicians as part of Vivid LIVE and a free outdoor exhibition of interactive light sculptures.

This winter Sydney will once again be transformed into a vibrant canvas for light, music, art and ideas during the 2011 Vivid Sydney festival. Approaching its third birthday, Vivid Sydney promises to be infused with more creativity and innovation than the city has ever seen before.

The Fire Dance display in Campbells Cove is just the beginning of what Vivid Sydney has to offer. A playful show of flaming geysers will perform five times each night of the festival, the flames strong enough to spread a little warmth to viewers admiring from the harbour in the chilly winter air.

You won't believe your eyes as the streets, skyscrapers and sidewalks become the stage for breathtaking light shows and installations after dark, illuminating every nook and cranny of the city from the sails of the Opera House to the walls of the iconic Customs House. This year, the festival is even infiltrating various storefronts, restaurants and bars throughout The Rocks that will have special Vivid window displays, menus and cocktails.

The curator of Vivd LIVE, Stephen Pavlovic, has selected an extraordinary team from France, who will push the lighting the Sydney Opera House sails further than it has ever been taken before. The multi-disciplined, multi-talented art & design collective, SUPERBIEN create sumptuous environments of animation, photography, light, space and graphic design. Their incredibly compelling work has been transmitted virally at speeds approaching the light it’s made from. These young, innovative, restless perfectionists are the ideal embodiment of the spirit of Vivid in 2011. Unique and gripping, each of their creations is an immersive experience, seamlessly integrating every possible technique into new forms of multimedia expression. Come down to the harbour and watch this compelling artwork unfold before your eyes. See Sydney Opera House come alive like you’ve never seen before, and never will again. As someone said about the Sydney opera House - "It's the iconic image that beams around the world"

The Customs House will turns into glass, mercury, paper and water in a dizzying state of the art projection. Nothing is as it seems as one of Sydney’s most stunning colonial buildings, Customs House, turns into glass, mercury, paper and water in a dizzying state of the art projection display. Large-scale image projection experts The Electric Canvas will transform this iconic sandstone architecture with a series of 3D-mapped animation sequences. Unfamiliar Customs was created entirely on a virtual model using powerful computers driven by the visibly smart 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ Processors.

Vivid Sydney will include over 40 stunning light art installations from local and international artists in a free outdoor exhibition where children are encouraged to climb on interactive sculptures and aspiring photographers can put their night camera settings to the test. People of all ages will enjoy this sensory experience, interacting with diverse and colourful sculptures including an enormous sketchpad where you can draw your own light art, a giant crystal spiderweb shimmering in the dark, a social network of friendly fireflies that that react to torch light and a group of rainbow life-size men.

In 2011 the festival will also include a range of artistic collaborations, public talks and debates from leading creative thinkers from Australia and around the world, celebrating Sydney as the creative hub of the Asia Pacific.

To top it all up there's Vivid Live, an extraordinary lineup of eclectic bands and performances that will be on throughout the festival, all coordinated by Modular's Stephen Pavlovic. This lineup is bound to have something for everyone. Among the hit acts announced to perform are Bag Raiders, Architecture in Helsinki, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Wolfmother, The Avalances, Tame Impala and the Presets. And that's not even half.

For more information about Vivid Sydney 2011 see the website http://vividsydney.com/

Broadway Revisited - A Great Night Out

A talented group of theatre performers from across the Wollongong region will join to perform a concert of Broadway favourites to honour one of the city's oldest musical theatre organisations. It will featuring special guests Donna Lee (Menopause the Musical) and Shannon Brown (Ten Tenors).and include song and dance numbers from the soon to be performed "A Chorus Line" musical. It will be held at 7.30pm on Saturday 28th May at the IMB Theatre in Wollongong, NSW, Australia. Tickets are $25 (A $4.50 transaction fee applies to phone and internet bookings.) For booking details see the website:- http://www.merrigong.com.au/shows/broadway-revisited.html

Sydney Ski Expo

The temperatures have dropped, snowfalls have already occurred, and many people are anticipating a skiing trip to the snowfields in Australia or Overseas. It is always worthwhile checking out new possibilities for skiing holidays, so it may be worthwhile visiting to the Travelplan's 24th annual International Ski Travel Expo. These will be held in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney in May 2011. A feature will be the ski movies that will be shown throughout the day. Entry is FREE.

The Sydney Expo will be held the Australian National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour, Sydney on Sunday May 29th 2011 from 11am to 4pm. Prizes are to be won throughout the day, including the Grand Prize of  a Whistler Blackcomb ski holiday for 2 flying Air Canada.

Anticipated ski resorts include:- USA: Aspen Snowmass, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Crested Butte, Deer Valley, Heavenly, Jackson Hole, Keystone, Park City, Snowmass, Steamboat, Telluride, The Canyons and Vail. CANADA: Banff, Big White, Fernie*, Marmot Basin Jasper*, Lake Louise, Silver Star, Sun Peaks, Sunshine Village Banff and Whistler Blackcomb. JAPAN: Asahidake, Furano, Kamui Ski Links, Niseko, Hakuba, Shiga Kogen, Nozowa Onsen, Myko Kogen, Naeba and Tomamu. SOUTH AMERICA Bariloche, Portillo, Villa La Angostura, Valle Nevado and Termas de Chillan. EUROPE: Ski Club Med will be representing for all Club Med European ski destinations. Other representatives will also include:- Steins World Ski Tours, YES Ski Improvement, Carrera Sport, CMH Heli-Skiing, Head Skis, Methven Heli-Skiing, Skiers Edge Fitness Systems plus local ski store.

For further information see the website http://www.travelplan.com.au/skiexpo.html or http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=139296489466467

WELLYWOOD Sign For Wellington, New Zealand

A proposal to erect a giant “WELLYWOOD” sign in Wellington has created quite a stir. The Wellington Airport proposes to erect the sign on the hills above Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. It will be 30m long and 8m high. It is meant to be a fun thing, to highlight Wellington's success in the film industry. The massive “WELLYWOOD” sign will greet tourists as they fly into the Wellington.

Wellington Airport will pay for the construction of the sign on the Miramar site which it owns.The project has already received resource consent and final installation is expected to happen in June.However, it has created quite a deal of debate about its desirability. Is it just a blatant copying of the Huge “Hollywood” sign in California, USA, or a brilliant idea???

The Airports chief executive Steve Fitzgerald said it was a "wonderful celebration of the city's talent and success" of movie making. Sir Peter Jackson, the director of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the Hobbit, currently in production in New Zealand, supports the sign.Sir Peter Jackson said that despite the gloomy economy it was good to see there was still room for some "cheeky fun"."It's Kiwi tongue-in-cheek humour at its very best, but beneath the leg-pulling is genuine pride."Several of the most popular films ever made were born in Miramar. Within a mile of the sign is the birth place of Middle-earth and Pandora."

However, many people strongly dislike the idea of the huge sign. More than 24,582 people have joined the "Wellingtonians Against the Wellywood Sign" page on Facebook saying that it is cheap, ugly and tasteless. The while the "Hey, let's NOT have a "WELLYWOOD" sign in Wellington" group has 15,823 members, and "A WELLYWOOD sign on the Miramar Cutting hill is a STUPID idea" page has many members.

Wellington people have staged their own protest by driving their cars around the Airport on Monday night displaying signs like "Wallywood" and "Wellywon't". A local comedian Raybon Kan said the sign "will make us Lord of Cringe". A New Zealand brewery has 15 cases of beer to anyone who successfully destroys the sign, "no questions asked". The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce threatening legal action to protect its trademark.

Celia Wade-Brown is the current Wellington Mayor and she does not support the sign.  However, Kerry Prendergast, the former Mayor of Wellington, said the giant sign would capture the essence of the capital."The sign will be one of the first things people will see when they arrive in Wellington. They will be left in no doubt that this is the heart and soul of New Zealand's film industry."  Tours of film-related facilities in Miramar are emerging as one of the city's prime tourist attractions, with about 100,000 people last year visiting the Weta Cave – Weta's mini-museum, theatrette and shop.The film industry pumps an estimated $285 million a year into Wellington.

The Airport still intends to go ahead with the huge sign. Airport board chairman David Newman said: "I just wish people would lighten up a bit. It is done with a sense of humour."

It will be interesting to see if the sign is erected or the idea not followed up, and how long it survives if it is erected.The controversy about the sign is really about how a country welcomes its visiting tourists. Is the erection of a huge the best way, or is it the welcoming attitudes of the locals to tourists?

The facebook sites are:-   
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wellingtonians-Against-the-Wellywood-Sign/186318884753869

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=354085372690

'The Legend of Shangri La' Coming From China

'The Legend of Shangri La' has been over 5000 years in the making...