Luoyang celebrates spring with vibrant display of Peony flowers

Spring has clearly arrived! Peony flowers from the Chinese city of Luoyang are being displayed alongside relics in the center of Beijing. The place is none other than the city’s top tourist attraction, the Palace Museum. Let’s take a closer look at the unique exhibition, which combines the beauty of scenery and the enduring charm of the museum’s treasures.

If you fancy peony flowers, the Palace Museum, better known as the Forbidden City for foreigners, is now the place to appreciate their beauty.

Some 60 types of peony flowers from the city of Luoyang, well-known for breeding the best peony flowers of the country, are blooming inside the gardens of the museum. The ancient imperial architectural complex lends a unique backdrop to the beauty of the flowers.

“We’ve hosted around a thousand exhibitions over the past 90 years since the museum was founded, but an exhibition like this is first of its kind,” said Shan Jixiang, Director of Beijing’s Palace Museum.

The 186 pieces of artifacts on display have been chosen from a sea of relics hidden in the museum’s treasure trove. They include porcelains, paintings and silk products. The genres of artifacts are varied, but they have one thing in common … all have peony flowers in their patterns. Some of these artifacts are being put on display for the first time.

“They are chosen from 150,000 artifacts collected by the museum. Peony is the symbol of wealth and nobility. If accompanied by different flowers, they symbolise different auspicious meanings. So it’s been a favorite theme with artists over time,” said Ruan Weiping, deputy researcher of Palace Museum.

Book now for the inspirational Conference "The Orchestra for the Earth"

Avoid disappointment and book now at The Orchestra for the Earth for this inspirational Conference on May 18 and 19, 2016. Registrations close Wednesday, May 4.

This is a unique opportunity to listen, discuss and workshop with some internationally recognised, great, spiritual minds focused on preserving the earth, its splendour and Indigenous traditions.

Keynote Speaker, Fr Frank Brennan, S. J. AO (advocate for Peace and Social Justice) will be joined by an impressive line-up of Christians, Humanists, Aboriginal Elders and Eco-Buddhist to present and discuss how we can work individually and together to peacefully preserve our planet and its people. Enjoy presentations, workshops, discussions, a Public Forum and time for Meditation and Yoga in the peace of the The Francis Retreat bordered by pristine beaches, rainforests and tranquil gardens on the NSW Mid North Coast.and 19, 2016. Registrations closeWednesday, May 4.

This is a unique opportunity to listen, discuss and workshop with some internationally recognised, great, spiritual minds focused on preserving the earth, its splendour and Indigenous traditions.

Keynote Speaker, Fr Frank Brennan, S. J. AO (advocate for Peace and Social Justice) will be joined by an impressive line-up of Christians, Humanists, Aboriginal Elders and Eco-Buddhist to present and discuss how we can work individually and together to peacefully preserve our planet and its people. Enjoy presentations, workshops, discussions, a Public Forum and time for Meditation and Yoga in the peace of the The Francis Retreat bordered by pristine beaches, rainforests and tranquil gardens on the NSW Mid North Coast.

Book Now - Registrations Close Wednesday May 4
The Orchestra for the Earth goodcompanygroup@bigpond.com via wixshoutout.com

Website: http://www.orchestrafortheearth.com/

Tickets for Expo Milano 2015 available from today through Alitalia and Etihad Airways

Alitalia and Etihad Airways, the Official Global Carriers of Expo Milano 2015, have announced that tickets for the highly anticipated six-month event can be purchased through their websites and contact centres from today.

A special early-bird promotion is also underway for Expo Milano 2015 attendees, with a generous discount of 20 per cent available on all tickets purchased before April 2015.

As Official Global Carriers of the event, which runs from 1 May to 31 October 2015, Alitalia and Etihad Airways will play a key role in bringing international visitors to Expo Milano 2015. It is estimated that eight million people will fly to Italy for the event.

Ariodante Valeri, Chief Commercial Officer at Alitalia, said: “Alitalia is proud to be associated with Expo Milano 2015. As part of our commitment to enhance tourism and trade in Italy, we will provide excellent travel connections that will encourage visitors to attend Expo Milano 2015 and therefore create strong demand for ticket sales”.

Peter Baumgartner, Chief Commercial Officer at Etihad Airways, said: “As Italy prepares to welcome visitors from all corners of the world to its landmark Expo Milano 2015 event, Etihad Airways and Alitalia are delighted to support the event as its Official Global Carriers. In addition to enhancing our travel connections between Italy and key destinations worldwide, today’s ticket sale launch will be followed by a range of exciting promotional offers in the coming months to optimise global participation.”

Alitalia will triple its service frequency between Italy and Abu Dhabi in March 2015 with new daily services from Milan and Venice. As a result, the two airlines will offer a combined 35 frequencies per week between Italy and Abu Dhabi, with double-daily flights to Milan and Rome, and a daily service to Venice.

Etihad Airways will codeshare on Alitalia’s new Milan and Venice routes and connect the services to other destinations across its international network. Its ‘EY’ code was also recently added to 15 of Alitalia’s domestic Italy routes, as well as additional routes beyond Rome within Europe, offering travellers even more choice and convenience.

Furthermore, Alitalia will offer a number of new routes for summer 2015, especially on its intercontinental network, enhancing the opportunities for visitors to reach Expo Milano 2015.

Both airlines will exhibit at next year’s Expo with a joint pavilion measuring 1,150 square metres. Empowered by modern technology, visitors to the Alitalia and Etihad Airways pavilion will be encouraged to delve into the social media world and learn more about the airlines’ destinations, aircraft, products and services, as well as the event’s key themes.

Tickets for Expo Milano 2015 go on sale today via alitalia.com and etihad.com, and can also be purchased by calling the airlines’ global contact centres.

Discover ELANTICA at VIVID 2016

Spot the shimmering LED peaks of these electronic islands, protruding from the waters of Sydney Harbour.

Catch the opening night of #VividSydney on May 27 and is on until June 18.

‪#‎VividSydney‬

Travel Demand for Asia Pacific to grow by 4.6% each year until 2020

International visitor demand into the Asia Pacific region is forecast to grow at an average rate of 4.6 percent each year to reach in excess of 657 million by 2020. This is the top line prediction contained within the Executive Summary Report of the PATA Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts 2016-2020 released today.

Covering 38 key destinations within the Asia Pacific region, these annual PATA forecasts are well regarded for their overall accuracy and reliability in terms of highlighting shifts and trends in international visitor demand for travel in and across the region.

According to Mr. Mario Hardy, Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), “Actual foreign arrival numbers into Asia Pacific at the aggregate level have been within two percent of predictions made in the last few PATA forecasts, so we know that the numbers are realistic, reliable and valid.

“In addition, this last series of predictions again highlights the rapidly approaching need for aggressive and appropriate visitor management processes to be installed and operational before we literally destroy our destinations with our love and desire to interact with them.”

Asia will continue to increase its relative dominance of foreign arrivals into the Asia Pacific region through to 2020, increasing its relative share of these arrivals from 72 percent in 2015 to better than 73 percent by 2020. This, at a time when the absolute volume of arrivals into Asia Pacific generally is predicted to rise from 528 million to 647 million over the same period.

Southeast Asia will continue with its dramatic rise in foreign arrivals, improving its relative share from just under 20 percent in 2015 to around 22.5 percent by 2020, when it will rival the share of the Americas at that time (22.6%).

Asia will also continue to generate more international arrivals into Asia Pacific, increasing its count from 355 million visitors in 2015 to around 448 million by the end of this decade. That will see the Asian component of arrivals into Asia Pacific – as defined in this summary report – increase from 66 percent (2015) to over 68 percent by 2020.

However, it is Northeast Asia that remains the workhorse for Asia Pacific, generating an expected 333 million international arrivals into the region in 2020 – more than half of the total foreign inbound volume expected in that year.

Intra-regional flows will continue to remain strong for most of the Asia Pacific regions, but across the region, the influence of the Asian source market is undeniable and will only grow stronger, at least in the majority of cases.

The Americas and Europe will continue to play important roles in Asia Pacific travel and tourism, not just in the volume of arrivals they each generate but also in terms of additional metrics that they bring to the sector – more for some destinations than others, but still significant none the less.

The Americas itself is expected to generate around 113 million arrivals into the Asia Pacific region in 2020 driven largely by North America which will contribute close to two-thirds of that volume in its own right.

The 47 million arrivals from Europe expected in 2020 will come from firstly West Europe (19.5 million) but also by North Europe (14.7 million) – together, these two origin sub-regions will generate close to two-thirds of the total arrivals from Europe by the end of the forecast period (2020).

Mario Hardy added, “The predictions are positive but there will be some substantive changes in origin market structure into a number of destinations. Forewarned is forearmed.”

Source:- PATA

Learn about the “new Sydney” with six-part video series

Following the NSW Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events’ keynote address at IMEX Europe on how business events can fulfill political optimism, Business Events Sydney has launched the first of a six-part video series that showcases the city’s changing landscape and approach to collaboration.

BESydney CEO Lyn Lewis-Smith said, “Minister Ayres delivered a very well received address at the IMEX Politicians Forum. He focused on the importance of matching business events with trade, investment and export policies, and on the utmost importance of infrastructure.

“Infrastructure changes the way we connect and communicate. Our video series will help people around the world understand how we do business in Sydney and how current infrastructure projects will drive economic and social outcomes.”

Throughout the six-part series viewers will be introduced to some of Sydney’s newest infrastructure projects, such as the highly anticipated International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) opening December this year; Barangaroo, the heart of Australia’s financial and professional services; and the rapidly expanding transport network.

Sydney’s emerging industries, such as fintech and the strong startup ecosystem, are also featured.“We wanted to demonstrate the collaborative values of our people. This approach to doing business, coupled with our strong knowledge economy and focus on supporting trade and investment, talent attraction and retention, and sustainable growth are also highlighted,” said Ms Lewis-Smith.“We have been excited about the evolution of our city for some time. These videos are a great prelude to the unveiling to come,” said Lewis-Smith.

Festival highlights ethnic cultural colours

Northern mountainous market

A festival featuring ethnic cultural colours will be held from April 30 to May 3 at the Culture Tourism Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups in Ha Noi, announced the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on April 25.

The festival, part of activities to celebrate the 41st anniversary of the liberation of south Viet Nam and national reunification (April 30) and the 130th International Labour Day (May 1), will highlight the cultural space of the Northern uplands region’s markets.

The Northern mountainous market will include over 40 pavilions on local special foods from the ethnic minority groups of Mong, Dao, Thai, Muong, and Kho Mu in the provinces of Dien Bien, Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Bac Kan, and Hoa Binh.

Ethnic folk games, folklore singing and dance performances, and shows on cultural and daily life ethnic minority groups in the North-West and the Central Highlands will also be held during the festival.

COUNTDOWN ON FOR BATLOW CIDER FEST

Set within the picturesque Tumut Shire, the township of Batlow is preparing for its annual CiderFest celebrations, to be held on the third weekend of May.

The Batlow CiderFest street party on Saturday 21 May is a festival of celebration. It occurs at the end of the apple harvest, providing growers, cider producers, locals and visitors, a chance to enjoy the autumn weather and tones before winter sets in.

This year’s street party promises to deliver something special, with talented local entertainers performing on stage, buskers and street theatre along with a plethora of market stalls focussing on ciders, gourmet foods, locally grown produce, and tempting homemade delights.

A cider industry conference attracting delegates from across Australia will be held on the Friday before the festival. Last year’s conference was a huge success with tickets selling out before the event.

The conference is a great learning and networking opportunity for existing and aspiring cider growers, producers and marketers.

Supported by Destination NSW through the Regional Flagship Events Program, the Batlow CiderFest is a perfect way to spend an autumn day on the south west slopes of NSW.

http://batlowciderfest.com.au/

Japan’s inbound tourism to hit top slot by 2030

China may be the story for the great outbound travel boom, but its neighbour Japan is the home for inbound visitor growth. Despite being one of the world’s most populous nations, with a high GDP and rich culture, Japan has hardly registered with visitor arrivals. That is quickly changing. Between 2010 and 2015 Japan added 11 million annual visitors. Japan ended 2015 with 19.7 million visitors, five years ahead of its goal to have 20 million visitors in 2020. Tokyo has now doubled its goals: by 2020, Japan wants another 20 million, and then 30 million more in the next decade after that. Before the end of the decade, Japan expects to crack the list of 10 most popular countries for tourism. By 2030, it could be in the top five.

China and other Asian markets are driving most of the growth: in early 2016, they account for 87% of visitor arrivals, up from 62% in 1998. Long haul markets to Europe, North America and Australia/New Zealand have experienced a corresponding decrease. Japan’s new tourism goal is to rebalance and gain stronger growth from these long haul markets. Yet the capacity is not there.

Overall long haul capacity has been reduced over recent years. Virgin Atlantic and Austrian cancelled service while Iberia and LOT enter, yet Air France-KLM and Lufthansa are making steep reductions. American Airlines has added a flight but Delta is withdrawing more long haul capacity in 2016 than any airline. Japan may consider re-evaluating the joint ventures it has approved, or to be more liberal with fifth freedom rights.

In 2011 Japan set out to grow tourism rapidly, as one initiative to improve the economy. In 2010 Japan received only 8.6 million visitors but had planned to grow that to 20 million by 2020 and 30 million by 2030. Those targets proved to be too conservative.

Demand was restrained by onerous visa procedures for Asian countries. Reducing or liberalising those in mainland China and Southeast Asia ushered in growth in visitor arrivals and for airlines in the marketplaces. Other improvements – wifi access, foreign languages, tax-free shopping – were softer touches while all markets benefitted from a weakened Japanese yen. Japan benefitted from improved relations with China, which made Japan an unpopular destination for a while.

Once Japan was essentially willing to let more visitors enter, visitors arrived in numbers well above Japan’s expectations. Japan nearly reached its 2020 goal (20 million arrivals) five years early, with 19.7 million visitor arrivals in 2015. There was talk of Japan boosting its 2020 goal to 30m, but the plan announced at the end of Mar-2016 was to double the goals: from 20 million to 40 million visitors for 2020, and from 30 million to 60 million visitors in 2030.

Japan will need to add 4 million visitors a year through 2020, a shocking sum from the perspective that Japan crossed the 4 million mark in 1997, and then 8 million in 2007. The growth of the past decade must be achieved annually for the next five years. Barring any major incident, Japan can be comfortable (but has work ahead). The additional visitors in 2015 were 6.3 million.

Japan intends to further relax visas for China, the Philippines, India, Russia and Vietnam. Most of the increase in visitors means growth for aviation, but Japan is also eyeing a larger cruise industry. (There are also efforts to boost outbound flows, which will be overshadowed by inbound arrivals).

In 2014 and 2015 it was mainland China that made the largest contribution to increased visitors. Of the additional visitors to Japan in 2014, 36% were Chinese. In 2015, it was 41%. There is further growth to unlock, but also a need to diversify.

The post-2020 environment may need revising. After adding 4 million visitors for the rest of this decade, Japan will need to add half as many (2 million) for the following decade. This will occur after the 2020 Olympics, which Japan hopes will significantly boost its profile.

There are questions about what a tourism industry can, or wants to, handle. On the soft side, there are growing concerns within Japan that the tourism influx is disturbing the quality of life. Elsewhere, Japan’s 60 million target for 2030 would rank it one of the world’s most popular tourism destinations.

Based on UNWTO’s 2014 rankings, only three countries – France, the United States and Spain – had more than 60 million visitors in 2014. This ranking has undergone limited changes, reflecting the disruption Japan wants to bring but also the challenge ahead to have a tourism industry that can go from being insignificant to one of the world’s most powerful.

MCEC to host inaugural world congress to eradicate malaria

World Malaria Day was yesterday on Monday 25 April. Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) is excited to reveal an inaugural world congress is being established by international experts to reinvigorate the fight to eradicate malaria.

The congress, Eradicate Malaria 2018, will take place at MCEC from 18 to 22 February 2018.

Professor Alan Cowman FAA FRS, Congress Co-Chair, Head of the Division of Infection and Immunity at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI), and one of the world’s leading malaria experts believes it is timely to hold a major congress to galvanise and better connect the entire spectrum of those involved in combating and eliminating malaria.

“Even with the burden of the disease decreasing in the past decade, malaria remains a major global health problem.

“While there has been tremendous progress, there are many obstacles that have slowed down the progress of eradicating malaria. This inaugural congress is essential to strengthen the efforts required to eliminate this terrible disease.

“The congress will be the first international event on the disease that aims to bring together the broad global community including implementers, scientists, funders, governments, policy makers and those directly affected by the disease,” Professor Cowman said.

Burnet Institute Director and CEO, and Club Melbourne Ambassador, Professor Brendan Crabb AC holds the Congress Co-Chair position alongside Professor Cowman.

As a Club Melbourne Ambassador, Professor Crabb was able to utilise the program and its expansive network to gain local support for the world congress.

“There are currently no conferences around the world that address malaria holistically from research at the molecular level, to transitional drug discoveries and the implementation in the field, to policy development, funding and advocacy. Ambitious as it is, we hope to achieve all that with Eradicate Malaria 2018,” Professor Crab added.

MCEC Chief Executive, Peter King said the venue was looking forward to delivering a world-class event and hopes this inaugural will help pave the way for many more.

“Eradicate Malaria 2018 is a terrific example of why creating inaugural events is important. Not only will it play a vital role in combatting this disease, but it will also help to generate lasting legacies for our industry and the city of Melbourne,” Mr King said.

Club Melbourne works with their Ambassadors to support the creation of new business events in Melbourne, in line with the Victorian State Government’s priority sectors.

“Fostering the creation of inaugural events is a key focus for our venue and one that we look forward to growing over the years to come,” Mr King added.