Dusit Properties Achieve Excellence

Dusit Thani Manila

The majority of Dusit International’s hotels and resorts have been recognised by the world's largest travel site TripAdvisor’s 2013 Certificate of Excellence.

The award, now in its third year, celebrates hospitality excellence and is awarded to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveller reviews on the website. Only the top 10 percent of businesses listed receive the award.

To qualify for the Certificate of Excellence, businesses must maintain an overall rating of four out of a possible five as reviewed by travellers on TripAdvisor and receive positive traveller reviews. Additional criteria include the volume of reviews received within the last 12 months.

“We are proud that so many of our properties received the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence Award this year,” says Dusit International Chief Operating Officer, Mr David Shackleton. “We thank those guests who took the time to review us online and look forward to continue delivering gracious Thai hospitality to all who stay with us.”

Dusit Thani Maldives

Dusit International’s list of recipients includes:

• Dusit Thani Bangkok, Thailand
• Dusit Thani Pattaya, Thailand
• Dusit Thani Hua Hin, Thailand
• Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket, Thailand
• Dusit Thani Manila, Philippines
• Dusit Thani Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Dusit Thani LakeView Cairo, Egypt
• Dusit Thani Maldives
• Dusit Island Resort Chiang Rai, Thailand
• dusitD2 chiang mai, thailand
• dusitD2 baraquda pattaya, thailand
• Dusit Princess Srinakarin, Bangkok, Thailand
• Dusit Princess Korat, Thailand
• Pathumwan Princess MBK Centre, Bangkok, Thailand
• Royal Princess Chiang Mai, Thailand

Air New Zealand's fuel efficient A320 features at prestigious Paris Air Show

Air New Zealand unveiled the first of its brand new fuel-efficient Airbus A320 aircraft at the Paris Air Show overnight.

Air New Zealand is the launch customer for the aircraft, which features 2.4 metre high curved wing tip devices known as Sharklets that increase fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions.

Ten of the Sharklet equipped A320 aircraft will join Air New Zealand’s fleet between now and 2015.

Air New Zealand’s Chief Flight Operations and Safety Officer, Captain David Morgan, says the A320 is at the core of Air New Zealand’s domestic fleet and the airline is committed to moving all domestic flying to this aircraft type to reap the efficiency gains on offer.

“In a seat to seat comparison, the Sharklet equipped A320 will burn 18% less fuel per passenger compared with our Boeing 737-300 jets, which are scheduled to be phased out of our fleet over the next couple of years.

“From a CO2 perspective, each Sharklet equipped A320 aircraft will save 250 tonnes of carbon per year compared with an A320 without Sharklets.”

The Paris Air Show is the world’s oldest and largest aviation event and brings together industry players from across the globe to showcase the latest technological developments in the field.

This is the 50th Le Bourget Paris Air Show and Captain Morgan says Air New Zealand is proud to have its aircraft selected to be part of the Airbus display at this prestigious event.

Australia Classic 2013 Cairns

All the colour and chrome of a classic car rally! When it is held in Cairns this month, the Australia Classic 2013 Cairns promises to turn heads with a spectacle of rare and valuable cars exceeding a cumulative value of $1.5 million. Having fielded 46 vehicles from the Far North and interstate, this year’s precision car rally will navigate some of the region’s most scenic roads from Cairns to Port Douglas, the Tablelands and as far south as the Cassowary Coast over two action packed days on Saturday, 22 and Sunday 23 June 2013.

Spectators are welcome to view the starting and finishing line action on both Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 June.  The race will officially begin both days from 9am in front of the Shangri-la / Pier carpark.  Competitors are expected at the finish line from 4pm both days.

Set to make an entrance in this year’s really is a stunning line up of classic cars comprising AC Cobras, an extremely coveted and beautiful Porsche Speedster from the 50s, a modern classic Ferrari Testarossa, several varieties of the iconic Porsche 911 and a whole host of other gems like Corvettes, Trans Ams, MGs, Mercedes and Aussie muscle cars.

According to the international regulatory body FIVA (Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens) a precision rally (in other words a “regularity” rally) does not involve any risk taking but focuses more on maintaining speed averages and executing a series of coordination tasks while testing navigational skill.

For this year’s rally, competitors will be required to follow a roadbook, sign by sign, for a total of 600 kilometres of driving over two days. Along the way, ‘1/100 coordination stages’ will be completed and measured to the 100^th of a second in terms of accuracy. Being one 100^th of a second too fast or too slow attracts the same penalty. These challenges will be timed by the same crew that measures the RallyCross World Championship this year, international big shot Chronomoto Limited who rely on their state of the art Tag Heuer photocell system with the aid of 20 marshals.  

Founder and Australia Classic race organiser, Zoltan Vandulek, says precision rallies are hugely popular in Europe with some countries staging their own series such as the ‘Oldtimer Supercup’ in Hungary.

“Without question, the most successful competitions are those organised by Germany’s Motor Klassik magazine. The annual Eifel Classic rally takes competitors onto the legendary Nürburgring amongst other notable locations. The Silvretta Classic is another one that takes off from Austria and cuts though the passages of the Alps.  But while Motor Klassik has pioneered this style of racing, the most famous event of this kind is probably the Mille Miglia re-enactment in Italy taking place every May.

“Precision or regularity rallies are relatively new to Australia but the country has already caught the fever with last year’s Australia Classic inspiring the legendary Targa rally series to introduce its own regularity class in this year’s program. Last year’s inaugural rally was deemed a huge success with competitors loving every minute of their experience and vowing to return again to this year’s start line. And it is not all serious; drivers have their own fun with some introducing their own brand of silliness,” he said.

Last year’s precision rally raised $10,000 for the Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal.  This year the race organisers have set a similar fundraising goal that will benefit Variety – the Children’s Charity.

Highlights are expected throughout the weekend of classic car action however spectators are invited to gather for the starting gun on Saturday 22 June that will be fired by Cairns Mayor, Bob Manning. As rally ambassador, Cairns local and Australia’s former rally champion Ross Dunkerton will provide all the starting line commentary.

The route, which is kept secret until the morning of the event, crosses diverse Far Northern landscapes and picturesque scenery from Cairns to Port Douglas, the Atherton Tablelands and Innisfail.

About the organisers

Founder of Australia Classic, Zoltan Vandulek, is a member of Cairns Porsche Club and in charge of recruiting participants.  Before moving to Australia seven years ago, Zoltan often raced in similar classic rallies in Europe. His partner, Kristina Jahshan, focuses her efforts on the rally’s event management and sponsorship. Formerly an organiser of major events from corporate retreats to festivals, concerts to boat parties, Kristina promoted Australia and Cairns in European media in 2002 - 2004 with the support of Tourism Australia and AusTrade.

About the sponsors

This year’s sponsors include the Shangri-La hotel, Joe Vella Insurance Brokers, Ireland’s motors, JAX Tyres, Passions of Paradise, Jenkins Rubber and Tyrepower providing either financial support or contributing to prizes and the raffle for Variety.

 

For more information:

Kristina Jahshan Mob: 0420 533 622 Email: info@australiaclassic.com.au

World’s Best Low-Cost Airline 5 Years Running!

World’s best again! Overnight Air Asia took out a swag of awards at the Skytrax World Airline Awards, including the big one, World’s Best Low Cost Airline for the 5th year in a row. Air Asia also took out Asia’s Best Low Cost Airline (obviously), AND World’s Best Low Cost Premium Class and World’s Best Low Cost Premium Class Seat. The Skytrax World Airline Awards is the global benchmark of airline excellence and one of the most prestigious accolades for the airline industry, so Air Asia is very proud to be voted at the top yet again. “We would like to thank all of our guests for their support. Our journey does not end here, as we strive to make flying even more enjoyable and affordable for our guests in the years to come,” said Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of Air Asia.

FIRST EVER TROP JR ROUGHCUT SYMPOSIUM ANNOUNCED

Following in the footsteps of Tropfest's famous filmmaking symposium, Trop Jr Roughcut is a filmmaking forum for budding young talent to learn from the industry's best.

Aimed at students aged 9 - 15, the day-long series of conversations will explore creativity and collaboration and give kids an enviable insight into the filmmaking industry thanks to talks from some young experts.

The day will be made up of a series of sessions with each focusing on different aspects of filmmaking.

Starting logically at Inspiration, the first sessions will be given by Matthew Chuang and Toby Morris, two full-time content creators for the film industry. They both entered filmmaking at a young age and aim to inspire others to follow a similar journey.

Once the excitement of inspiration over, it's time to consider Filmmaking on a Budget, DIY Filmmaking, Tips & Tricks with Jason van Genderen. Recently taking out the Nokia Award at Sundance, London, Jason will demonstrate creative ways to make films without fancy equipment and share his top ten do's and don'ts for filming on a budget.

Of course one way of getting around budget constraints is to focus on Animation, as Eddie White will explain in his session. His award-winning film The Cat Piano (narrated by Nick Cave) won awards at The Melbourne International Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Adelaide Film Festival and Australian Film Institute Awards as well as awards overseas. In this session he'll talk about becoming an animator, winning awards and how to get started with animation.

Guy Gross, one of Australia's leading film and television composers and BAFTA-nominated composer of the score for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert will talk about that ever-important element of filmmaking, Music, and will discuss his career, his beginnings and how music can influence on-screen storytelling. Guy was also awarded ‘Best Music’ at Tropfest 1999 for his work on the film ‘Uno Amore’, which also took out First Prize at the Festival.

Likely one of the more popular sessions, session five will be an Actors Panel with a selection of some of Australia's brightest names in acting, in a general Q&A format. Young actors will speak about how they started, how they collaborate together, highs and lows, dreams and aspirations.

Trop Jr Roughcut is set to be an exciting day of information, education - and entertainment! - for Australia's next generation of creative minds. With all these sessions and more, it's set to be a great experience for anyone with a passion for making film.

Trop Jr Roughcut is proudly supported by Major Partner, The Australian Children’s Television Foundation.

The event also has the support of Lend Lease Theatre Darling Quarter as its venue partner.

Dates and Venues

SYDNEY - 8 August, 2013
Lend Lease Theatre, Darling Quarter

MELBOURNE - 1 August, 2013
The Wheeler Centre, Melbourne

Bookings

Ticket Price: $20 (plus $1.49 booking fee)
Trop Jr Roughcut offers one free teacher’s ticket for every ten paying students.

Please visit the Sydney www.tropjrsydney.eventbrite.com.au and Melbourne www.tropjrmelbourne.eventbrite.com.au event pages to book.

Aberdeen Highland Games 2013

It’s almost time for the 2013 Aberdeen Highland Games and we are expecting it to be the best year yet. This year's games will feature great Scottish displays and activities for the whole family, including Pipes and Drums Bands, Highland and Country Dancing, the Tartan Warriors Competition, Tug of War Competition and novelty events for everyone to participate in. There is also the traditional Ceilidh to follow the main activities - always a favourite!

Program

Burns Supper - Thursday July 4th

A Robbie Burns Supper will be held at the dining room facilities of the Muswellbrook Race Club on the evening of July 4. This will celebrate the life and times of Scotland’s best know and best loved bard, Robbie Burns. This event, hosted by St Andrews Muswellbrook Royal Arch Chapter will, in format, form the traditional Burn’s Supper. The piping in of the haggis is followed by a sumptuous meal. There will be singing, poetry and other items on the programme. Bookings are essential as numbers are limited. Phone Charles Cooke on 02 6545 8141 or email charles_cooke@esat.net.au.

Tartan Golf Day - Friday July 5th

The Tartan Golf Day will be hosted by the Aberdeen Ladies Golf. This is a Canadian Foursome Ladies or Mixed Pairs. Tartan dress is optional but highly recommended to get into the spirit of the day. This event is sponsored by Radar Auto Electrical and Mechanical Repairs. To enter or find out more please phone Toni Partridge 02 6543 7315.

Muswellbrook RSL Ceilidh - Friday July 5th

Ceilidh band Coolfinn Mac and Hills District Pipe Band entertaining guests. Meals available at Bistro. Courtesy Bus. Bridge Street, Muswellbrook phone 02 6543 1700.

The Aberdeen Highland Games - Saturday July 6th

The Aberdeen Highland Games is held at Jefferson Park on the banks of the Hunter River in beautiful Aberdeen, New South Wales. Access is via the New England Highway with free car parking provided. The main events including Band Parade, Massed Band Salute, Highland and Country Dancing, Strong Man and Novelty events will be held on Harrison Oval with a multitude of stores and stands surrounding the area selling all manner of Scottish heirlooms and souvenirs, clothing and garb, and food and drink to complete your day. Make sure you get there early so you don't miss any of the festivities! The games will commence with a Grand Parade in the Oval at 9am.

The Aberdeen Highland Games Ceilidh - Saturday July 6th

A traditional Ceilidh will be held at The Multipurpose Centre, Scone High School, Scone commencing at 6.30pm and will feature the band, Coolfinn Mac, live dance music, full Haggis presentation and pipe band display. Included in the ticket cost of $65 per head will be a two course dinner, tea and coffee. BYO for ALL drinks. Booking through Scone Visitor Information Centre 02 6540 1300 or by visiting the Ceilidh page.

Sunday July 7th - The Kirkin’ of the Tartan

St Mark’s Church, Aberdeen, 10.30am followed by morning tea in the St Mark’s Hall.

Tickets

The 2013 Aberdeen Highland Games are coming up fast, so don't forget to pre purchase your tickets for considerable savings over the gate price. Prepaid tickets can now be ordered online and swapped on the day for a wristband to allow you to come and go from Harrison Oval as you please. The 2013 Aberdeen Highland Games are set to be a fun filled day for the whole family, so we hope to see you there!

	Cost at Gate	Prepaid Tickets
Adult	$20	$15
Concession Concession Card or Child 13 to 18	$15	$10
Children 12 + Under	Free	Free
Family	$45	$40

Contact

As an initial point of contact for all enquires on the Aberdeen Highland Games please contact the Scone Visitor Information & Horse Centre   Phone: (02) 6540 1300 Fax: (02) 6545 3089 Address: Aberdeen Highland Games Inc. PO Box 79, Muswellbrook, NSW 2333 Email: sconevic@upperhunter.nsw.gov.au

Vivid Sydney 2013 Draws Record Crowd

NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Trade & Investment Andrew Stoner today announced Vivid Sydney 2013 an unprecedented success, with preliminary estimates showing record attendance of more than 800,000 people across the 18-day event. 

Visitors flocked to the biggest Vivid Sydney ever, which included the largest Vivid Light Walk expanding into North Sydney with the lighting of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and Darling Harbour showcasing Australia’s first spectacular water show performances.

The Vivid Music program also expanded into new venues and Vivid Ideas featured more than 180 events with over 6,000 tickets sold. Over 40,000 tickets were sold for Vivid LIVE at the Sydney Opera House.

Mr Stoner said, this year, Vivid Sydney achieved record results for NSW, with crowds significantly larger than last year.

“Vivid also reached audiences in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide through extensive media coverage. I am confident Vivid Sydney will have delivered this year well in excess of the estimated $10 million in economic impact,” Mr Stoner said.

“Vivid has huge appeal and has been successful in attracting visitors not only from this State and across Australia - where domestic travel packages were up 8% - but also internationally, with over 11,000 travel packages sold, including 7,200 from China.

“Bringing so many visitors into Sydney for this Festival also delivered terrific results for local retailers who all embraced Vivid. Some of the waterfront restaurants at The Rocks saw a 300% increase in diners, with reports of their capacity last seen during the Olympics. Many Darling Harbour restaurants also experienced similar growth.”

The Southern Hemisphere’s biggest annual festival of light, music and ideas is a signature event in the NSW Events Calendar, owned and managed by Destination NSW, the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency.

Destination NSW CEO Sandra Chipchase said the most successful Vivid Sydney yet was great testimony to the way the festival has been embraced by Sydneysiders and visitors alike, and the creative services industry. 

“So much enthusiasm and passion is invested in making Vivid Sydney a wonderful winter event by not only the creative practitioners involved in the Festival itself, but the hundreds of thousands of people who attended.  To be able to hold an event which attracts so many visitors, not only domestically but also from all over the world is very special, and of course is an important contributor to the goal of doubling overnight expenditure by 2020.  During Vivid Sydney we hosted 76 media and 284 international travel buyers,” Ms Chipchase said.

“There has been excellent collaboration with key partners and sponsors as well as hundreds of local businesses and communities to make Vivid Sydney a success, and something that is looked forward to every year.  It’s a hallmark event for Sydney and Australia, and is also increasing its fan base internationally.”

Vivid Sydney also saw success digitally, with almost 40,000 downloads of the free Vivid Sydney, more than 1 million people who visited the vividsydney.com website from May 1, a 200% growth in Vivid Sydney Facebook fans and a huge 2,800% growth of Vivid Ideas fans.

Vivid Sydney 2013 Highlights

Stepping into the history books with Sydney Harbour Bridge: the western façade was lit for the first time by Vivid Sydney partner Intel Australia and 32 Hundred Lighting, with North Sydney Council.  It captured the imagination of everyone and even supported the NSW Blues ahead of the first State of Origin Game when Minister for Tourism and Major Events, George Souris, turned the bridge blue with NSW State of Origin vice-captain Robbie Farah.

Extending into Darling Harbour for the first time: more than 200,000 people enjoyed the dancing water fountains and dazzling light and water shows. The show was created especially for Vivid by French artists Aquatique Show International, and staged in collaboration with Destination NSW, the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority and the Darling Harbour Alliance. The event was supported by Citibank, which hosted customers at its Pop-Up Bar.

The celebration of the 50^th Anniversary of the world’s most iconic space traveller, Doctor Who: legions of costumed fans attend the one night only 3D-mapped projections on the façade of Customs House on Saturday 1 June. The projections, created by Sydney’s own The Spinifex Group, saw Doctor Who travel through space and time, pursued by some of his greatest enemies.  The Spinifex Group also created the projections on the Sydney Opera House called Play, and Collaboration #3 with renowned artist Gemma Smith at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.

Vivid Ideas cemented its position as a champion of Sydney and Australia’s creative industries: it showcased Sydney as the place to collaborate, foster business connections and showcase new ideas.  Headquartered on the sixth floor of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia with events at more than 25 venues across Sydney, Vivid Ideas grew in 2013 from 100 to 122 unique events and boasted a wealth of creative local and international talent including keynote talks by UK artist and Turner Prize nominee David Shrigley; IDEO’s chief creative officer Paul Bennett; street wear entrepreneur Johnny Cupcakes and big data artist Jonathan Harris.

More than 6,000 people attended 18 days of talks, workshops, panels and meet-ups at the Vivid Ideas Exchange with thousands more attending key creative industry events as part of Vivid Ideas including Semi-Permanent, AMPlify, Australian International Design Festival, Reportage Photography Festival, ISEA 2013, SPARC International Lighting Event, Mumbrella360, X|Media|Lab and more.

Over 40,000 tickets were sold to the 10-day music celebration Vivid LIVE at the Sydney Opera House: audiences were attracted by a stellar line-up that included the world premiere of Empire of the Sun’s highly anticipated second album, Ice on the Dune, in addition to the eight sell-out Kraftwerk retrospective 3D shows, The Catalogue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, and the Australian debut of r’n’b soul legend Bobby Womack.

Vivid Music, a new addition to Vivid Sydney sold more than 5,400 tickets for a program that featured leading-edge electronic dance and house music at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, a two-day program of innovative and experimental music at the Seymour Centre, dance music at The Argyle and the sold out performance of datamatics 2.0 by Japanese artist Ryoji Ikdea at Carriageworks for ISEA 2013. 

2,000 people danced in front of Customs House to Move your Building: while thousands watched wild horses run across buildings and engines rev out of walls at the Audi installation Speed of Light, the Spinifex Group transformed the historic façade of the Australasian Steam Navigation Company building into a feast of light, colour and speed. Creative light sculptures and installations were selected from around the world, including artists from Germany, England, Italy, France, USA, Korea, Malaysia and New Zealand. Australian light artists featured from Sydney, Queensland, Victoria and regional NSW including Nowra, Wagga Wagga and Tuggerah.

Vivid Sydney’s Illuminating Quick Facts

·         Over 800,000 cumulative attendees

·         More than 200,000 attendees to Darling Harbour

·         Media coverage in over 200 countries

·         Over 40,000 tickets sold for Vivid LIVE

·         More than 6,000 people attended Vivid IDEAS

·         Over 5,400 tickets sold for Vivid Music

·         11,304 international packages sold

·         7,200 of these international packages from China  

·         8% increase of domestic package sales

·         284 international trade familiarisation visitors (205% increase on last year)

·         40,000 people downloaded the Vivid app

·         More than 1 million visitors to www.vividsydney.com

·         200% growth on Vivid Sydney Facebook page

·         2,800% growth on Vivid Ideas Facebook page

*package sales over the Vivid period generated via JTG

Broadcast materials can be downloaded from: https://vimeo.com/vividsydney/

Vivid Sydney stills are at Destination NSW Media Centre: http://www.vividsydney.com/media-centre/

LocalGuiding Launches World’s First Free App to Find Local Tour Guides

First iPhone app to find and book personalised tours by local guides - instantly

LocalGuiding, has launched the world’s first travel app allowing users to discover and book any tour directly from an iPhone.

LocalGuiding is an online marketplace connecting travellers with local tour guides in over 600 destinations in 100 countries worldwide.

The LocalGuiding app provides a detailed profile of each guide with user reviews and ratings, to create a trusted community of global travellers and tour guides.

It provides information on the usual attractions and also those that only a local would know about.

These can include city walks through little known Paris, river rafting in the Swiss Alps, Mexican tasting and cooking tours, dining at a ‘real’ Chinese restaurant in Beijing or history of Wall Street tours in Manhattan.

LocalGuiding co-founder Robert Blessing said :

“Using a tour guide can sometimes be like going on a blind date with all the uncertainty that this involves.

“LocalGuiding works because the tourist and the tour guide get to know each other in advance and plan exactly what to do and see on any tour.

“Every tourist will want something different from a tour and that’s why the LocalGuiding tour guide tailors each and everyone.” 

Downloading the LocalGuiding app

The LocalGuiding app for iOS is available for free on the Apple App Store.

http://travelblog.localguiding.com/mobile/

Key Features of the LocalGuiding iPhone app

Key Features of the LocalGuiding iPhone app include the opportunity to :

• book 4,000 tours, activities and things to do in 600 cities directly from an iPhone in a few simple clicks
• arrange activities in advance or at the last minute including same-day bookings
• search  for experienced local experts in 600+ destinations across more than 100 countries
• message the guide direct to tailor an itinerary, or design a custom tour
• find things to do while travelling including finding tours nearby using the iPhone’s GPS location

About LocalGuiding

LocalGuiding, which launched in 2012 and has offices in Munich, Germany and Montevideo, Uruguay, provides an online community and marketplace to book unique travel tours and activities directly from local tour guides.

It allows users to connect with passionate local experts and create tours that provide a unique experience in 600 destinations in 100 countries worldwide.

The LocalGuiding goal is to help change the way people travel – to experience the local life rather than the tourism offering.

Local people provide a real insight into the places to visit and things to do and which often do not appear in travel guides.

LocalGuiding won the Outside Magazine award for the Best Travel Site 2012.

Visit www.LocalGuiding.com

Join in on the Alaska Summer Celebrations

Alaska communities celebrating Summer Solstice

The summer equinox on June 21 marks an important observance statewide for Alaskans thriving on 20+ hours of daylight. Nome will celebrate the summer solstice on Saturday, June 22, with the Midnight Sun Festival featuring a themed parade, a polar bear swim and a folk festival organized by the local arts council (www.visitnomealaska.com/eventscalendar.html).

Fairbanks' annual Midnight Sun Festival on June 23 shuts down part of downtown for a 12-hour party, barbecue cook off, more than 180 booths with crafts and art for sale, a river slalom race and more (downtownfairbanks.com/events/midnight-sun-festival).

Anchorage's annual Downtown Summer Solstice Festival includes a variety of activities including the Hero Games, a friendly competition between Alaska's first responders dueling it out over relay races and obstacle courses; activities for children including a puppet show, a kayak pool and a giant sandbox; and even a chainsaw art competition (www.anchoragedowntown.org).

Seldovia's Summer Solstice Music Festival takes place June 20-23 and consists of two full days of workshops, jam sessions, evening performances and features visiting and local performers (seldoviamusicfestival.wordpress.com).

For more information on visiting Alaska, go to www.TravelAlaska.com.

The NSW Best Job in the World - Chief Funster Finalists Touch Down in Sydney

Brittany Macleod

The Top Three finalists in the running for the Best Job in the World – the NSW Chief Funster – have touched down in Sydney to commence the final stage of the selection process. Andrew Smith and Brittany MacLeod from the USA join Holly Easterbrook from the UK to contest the coveted six-month role with Destination NSW, the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency.

Sandra Chipchase, Destination NSW CEO has welcomed the finalists to Sydney revealing details of the challenges the three Funsters will face over the four-day NSW Challenge period in Sydney and Regional NSW.

“We’re delighted to welcome to Sydney the Top Three applicants for the Chief Funster role for what will be the most challenging and exciting phase of the selection process yet. This is their chance to get hands on and experience what is involved in being Destination NSW’s Chief Funster,” she said.

“Challenge highlights include a rare and exclusive Behind the Scenes experience with Bangarra Dance Company at Sydney Opera House, one of the most iconic arts and cultural venues in the world. Plus Bangarra Artistic Director Stephen Page will personally meet the finalists and brief them on the significance of Bangarra to Australian culture,” she said.

“This will be followed by a visit to Pacha Sydney for a red carpet evening of extravagance with the world’s leading Creative Director Ignatius Jones, who is also Destination NSW’s Creative Advisor for the Vivid Sydney Festival.”

The Chief Funster finalists will then travel to Port Stephens on the NSW Central Coast, with a crew from MTV Australia, to film a segment for www.mtvtravelco.com focussing on the regions “Hotspots” profiled to MTV’s 150 million global Facebook fans and online networks. Some of the soft adventure activities planned include quad biking, sandboarding, swimming with dolphins, parasailing and horse riding.

Returning to Sydney the finalists will spend the evening with local Sydney Funster and media celebrity Shelly Horton who will provide them with some vital local knowledge and tips, before they attend the 2014 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifier – Australia vs Iraq at Sydney Olympic Park - with four local “friends” they have to invite through social media.

The announcement of the winner will take place in Sydney on Friday 21 June with Destination NSW CEO Sandra Chipchase set to reveal the lucky candidate who will relocate to Sydney to take up the role.

“We’re looking for several key attributes when we’re judging these three young people as they complete the challenges including:

1) How they showcase and communicate their experiences through social media including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter;
2) The level of engagement and influence they are generating on social media;
3) Writing and media presentation skills; and
4) Their interaction and engagement with key industry partners.

“I wish all three candidates the best of luck as they complete the challenge and encourage everyone to follow their adventures through social media,” said Ms Chipchase.

Follow the Chief Funster adventures at:

Facebook: facebook.com/chieffunsterNSW
Twitter: twitter.com/chieffunsterNSW
Instagram: Instagram.com/chieffunsterNSW
#ChiefFunster; #SeeSydney; #NSWGetaways

“This is a fun competition designed to deliver what is a very focused outcome – to double overnight visitor expenditure by 2020. With the youth market an important contributor, the Chief Funster will be promoting travel to Sydney and Regional NSW,” Ms Chipchase added.

Tourism Australia’s ‘Best Jobs in the World’ competition was launched in March, and is part of a campaign to promote tourism opportunities provided by Australia’s Working Holiday Maker (WHM) program. Applicants chose from six jobs from states across Australia, with NSW’s Chief Funster receiving 124,000 applications, the highest number of any state in Australia.

In the year ended March 2013, NSW received 196,600 WHM visitors or 66.9% of total WHM visitors to Australia, the most of any State, and 30.8% of WHM nights. WHM travellers contributed 6.7% of visitors and 21.3% of nights in the State. The average length of stay in NSW by WHM visitors was 74.1 nights spending $778.3 million in the State (incl package expenditure). This represented 30.8% of total WHM expenditure in Australia. WHM visitors spent over 14.6 million nights in the State.