Leading innovators from across the globe will feature in the Global Eco Asia-Pacific Tourism Conference program from 21-23 November this year in Hobart, Tasmania.
The keynote program brings together operators from five continents that have been recognised globally for their excellence and innovation and contributions to ecotourism and sustainability.
The conference theme of Fostering Innovation – Sustaining Excellence celebrates the enormous role ecotourism has played in global tourism over the past 25 years. But more importantly it seeks to set the agenda for the next quarter century of ecotourism. Creating the perfect setting for this task is the conference host – Tasmania – and the conference venue – MONA – both exemplary destinations who have woven innovation into their DNA.
A particular area of focus is the role of protected areas in ecotourism and the role of the private sector in conservation.
View the full program at:
http://www.globaleco.com.au/
The Warrumbungle National Park in New South Wales has been recognised as Australia’s first Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association, joining a list of only 36 others in the world. A Dark Sky Park is land possessing an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and a nocturnal environment that is specifically protected for its scientific, natural, educational, culture heritage and public enjoyment. The Warrumbungle National Park is renowned for its star-gazing opportunities with clear skies, low humidity, high altitude and the optical astronomy research facility at Siding
Spring Observatory.
Further information:
http://www.visitnsw.com/nsw-tales/things-to-do/10-astro-tourism-experiences-in-nsw/
Emirates has been named the World’s Best Airline at the Skytrax World Airline Awards which are based on the largest airline passenger satisfaction survey in the industry. The survey measures quality standards across 41 key performance indicators of front-line products and services including check-in service, boarding procedures and cabin cleanliness. This year’s awards were based on 19.2 million completed surveys covering 280 airlines and customers from more than 104 countries.
Further information: http://www.worldairlineawards.com/
Boeing has released its annual Current Market Outlook which shows a demand for 39,620 new airplanes over the next 20 years, worth a total value of $5.9 trillion. The single-aisle market will be especially strong with low-cost carriers and emerging markets driving growth. Boeing projects a continued shift from very large airplanes to small and medium wide-bodies such as the 787, 777 and 777X. The Asia market including China will continue to lead the way in total airplane deliveries over the next two decades.
Further information:http://www.boeing.com/commercial/market/
NewsID=1037
Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic has named the newest addition to its fleet, a luxurious state-of-the-art, purpose-built expedition vessel made for exploring coastal waters, shallow coves and fast-moving channels. The National Geographic Quest will accommodate 100 guests making it the ideal platform for sailing in the remote areas of Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, Costa Rica, Panama, and Belize.
Further information:http://www.expeditions.com/why-us/our-fleet/national-geographic-quest/overview/
Hilton Hotels has awarded more than USD$320,000 to 117 projects under the Travel with Purpose
Action Grant program which provides out-of-the-box solutions that drive value for Hilton properties and corporate offices and result in the acceleration of
the impact of Travel with Purpose around the world. The program provides a platform for properties to submit ideas aimed at tackling issues that align
with Hilton's focus areas of creating opportunities, strengthening communities and preserving
the environment.
Further information: http://cr.hiltonworldwide.com/
The Centre for Responsible Travel annual report on the state of responsible tourism draws together a collection of trends, statistics and quotes concerning the state of responsible tourism and the various sectors it encompasses from recently published reports and news stories. Specifically, it focusses on the ongoing success of two niche sectors that are closely related to responsible tourism - adventure tourism and wellness tourism.
Further information: http://www.responsibletravel.org/whatWeDo/The%
20Case%20for%20Responsible%20Travel%2020
16_Final.pdf
Tourism Western Australia has launched its latest campaign under the Experience Extraordinary brand. The ‘Just Another Day in Western Australia’ campaign will showcase a broad range of experiences through the use of film and photography. It will also allow the Western Australian tourism industry to create and distribute appealing content across the globe through cooperative advertising campaigns with airlines, travel agents and tour operators.
Further information: http://justanotherday.westernaustralia.com/
Qantas and Tourism Australia have signed a $20 million three year deal to attract more international visitors to Australia with a focus on the United States, Asia, the United Kingdom and Europe. The new agreement will joint campaigns that will be supported through digital, public relations, social media and trade activities to better reach customers considering travelling to Australia. Qantas invests more than $80 million in promoting Australia to the world including marketing partnerships with New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and Northern Territory marketing agencies.
Further information: http://www.tourism.australia.com/news/news-stories-18064.aspx
In a collaboration with Tourism New Zealand, Oscar Winning Filmmaker James Cameron and his wife Suzy Amis Cameron are fronting a new global video. Filming took four days and features the natural wonders of New Zealand's spectacular South Island including the Tasman Glacier, Dart River Canyon, Blanket Bay, Routeburn Track, Lake Pukaki and Mount Alfred. The video will roll out in key markets around the world.
Further information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TdKLyvesVE&
feature=youtu.be
The AccorHotels Group has officially announced the acquisition of the prestigious luxury hotel brands Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel. This positions AccorHotels as a leading player in the global luxury hotel market, increases long term growth potential and profitability, and significantly expands the company's footprint in North America. The majority of Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel's 154 hotels and resorts spanning 34 countries are operated under long-term management contracts with an average term of nearly 30 years.
Further information:
http://pressroom.accorhotels-group.com/accorhotels
-officially-welcomes-fairmont-raffles-and-swissotel/
John Lewis and Airbnb have combined their expertise to create The Perfect Host masterclasses proving particularly popular with Airbnb visitors. Held in John Lewis’ London Oxford Street and Birmingham stores, The Perfect Host masterclass combined the brand’s knowledge of home products with the Airbnb experience. Research by John Lewis and Airbnb found that one of the biggest worries hosts have is what effect hosting would have on their daily routine.
Further information: http://oxfordstreet.co.uk/john-lewis-and-airbnb-masterclasses/
The South Australia Tourism Commission has unveiled a new series of videos and case studies featuring tourism operators and businesses around South Australia who are building the profile of tourism. The Tourism Champions videos highlight tourism operators running financially successful businesses, creating jobs and supporting local communities and industries.
Further information: http://www.tourism.sa.gov.au/tourism-champions.aspx
The Mobile Travel Tracker is a global study of 9,200 travellers across 31 countries undertaken by One Poll on behalf of Hotels.com in May 2016. The survey examines the impact mobiles are having on booking and travel including the influence on last minute bookings.
Further information: http://mobiletraveltracker.hotels.com/
The 11th edition of the SITA Passenger IT Trends Survey delves deeper into the human factors that impact the use of technology by passengers during travel. Findings are based on an online survey with more than 9,000 respondents from 19 countries across the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, which together represent around three quarters of global passenger traffic.
Further information: http://www.sita.aero/resources/type/surveys-reports/passenger-it-trends-survey-2016
Progressive Personnel, a global travel and hospitality recruitment leader, recently conducted research aimed at assessing the general satisfaction of international travel and hospitality staff in the workplace. The Happiness Index survey was distributed to travel and hospitality professionals in key global markets to gauge their happiness in three key areas of happiness at work, work/life balance and future prospects.
Further information:
http://surveys.progressive-personnel.com/
According to a new report by Visa, over 109 million Asia Pacific households are expected to take at least one international trip per year by 2025. The report Mapping the Future of Global Travel and Tourism in Asia Pacific forecasts travel and tourism trends in the next 10 years. It also identifies some key drivers expected to impact global travel including a growing middle class, greater internet connectivity, improved transportation infrastructure and an aging global population with more time for leisure travel.
Further information: https://usa.visa.com/partner-with-us/visa-performance-solutions/global-travel-and-tourism-insights.html
Consultation is now open for the Draft International Education and Training Strategy to Advance Queensland 2016-2026. The strategy provides
a framework for industry and government to work together to grow the industry and enhance the reputation of Queensland as a leading global provider of international education and training services. The strategy is backed by expert research and analysis from Deloitte Access Economics,
as well as input from education and training
industry leaders.
Further information: http://www.tiq.qld.gov.au/export/export-industries/education-and-training/international-education-and-training-in-queensland/
The New South Wales Government will invest
$43 million over four years in the creation of six
new Destination Networks, a regional conferencing
unit within Destination NSW and an increase in funding for the Regional Visitor Economy Fund
and Regional Flagship Event Fund. The new networks were created after consultation with 93
key industry associations and stakeholders on
ways to improve the outcomes for the Regional NSW visitor economy.
Further information: http://www.destinationnsw.com.au/our-industry/destination-networks
Ecotourism Australia is staging the 24th Global Eco Asia-Pacific conference at the award winning MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) in Hobart. The world’s leading ecotourism conference is being held 21-23 November 2016. The conference will celebrate 25 years of Ecotourism Australia and 20 years of Eco Certification.
Registration fees have been held at the same price as 2015.
It’s no coincidence that Global Eco attracts the
world's leading ecotourism operators, protected area
managers and tourism professionals.
This year the theme is Ecotourism: Fostering Innovation – Sustaining Excellence - pushing the boundaries to
provide travellers with outstanding tourism
experiences in a way that respects the
environment, the local community and the culture
of the destination.
Further information: http://www.globaleco.com.au/
The Sustainable Economic Development for Regional Australia (SEGRA) Conference will be held at the Albany Entertainment Centre from 26-28 October.
The conference is celebrating its 20th year with a progressive, future driven agenda. It will be focusing on the natural strength of regions and how they can be increased or concentrated to ensure future prosperity and good growth.The theme for 2016 is Naturally Stronger Regions: realising the potential.
The SEGRA conference provides a single forum in which people with a deep commitment to regional Australia can discuss issues and advance options and solutions for the future. Drawing over 200 delegates from across Australia, it is now recognised as the nation’s most credible and independent voice on issues affecting regional Australia.
Further information: http://2016.segra.com.au/
The annual Hawai'i Tourism Conference will be held at the Hawai'i Convention Centre from 26-29 September 2016. It will feature local, national and international experts covering current trends, market development and issues occurring in the global visitor industry.
Further information: http://www.hawaiitourismconference.com/
The 7th International Conference on Cinema and Tourism will be held in Portugal from 19-20 October 2016. The conference brings together researchers and practitioners interested in the application of audio-visual media, destination image, branding and co-creation for tourism marketing.
Further information: http://www.aptur.net/conference/index.php
The Interpretation Australia Conference will be held in Canberra at the National Museum of Australia from 19-21 October 2016. The conference will be held over three days and focus on the theme of ‘Rules of Engagement’ in making, breaking and reshaping the rules of connection with our audience.
Further information: https://www.interpretationaustralia.asn.au/
Streets and roads are dotted with herders slowly leading their cows and goats to a livestock auction market. This is where livestock herders, people in meat business, brokers, breeders and local small enterprises meet. They are all here to make a kill out of the fast growing cattle auction market at Marigat town in Baringo County.
A temporary enclosed area fenced with wood and partly metal with brown dust, cow dung and goat dung smells welcomes one to this market of Marigat Livestock market. A loud handheld sound amplifier which at some point produces a distorted sound fills the ambience. The speaker is talking very fast in the local Tugen dialect. At the entrance mostly men are lining up as they carefully try to contain livestock to move in one direction. A man from the County Government of Baringo Revenue office dishes out receipts after payment of 300 ksh on every person that brings in livestock of sale.
On the other sides of the market, many types of business people have beautifully displayed their goods. There are small hotels serving food under trees, shoes, clothes and transport. People are all set to make their kill for the day. This market takes place twice a month and therefore many who take advantage of it have strategically positioned themselves to get a share of the growing economy in livestock market. People come as far as Nairobi, Narok, Uasin Gishu and other towns.
