Fantasea Coastline Cruise now includes Whale Watch guarantee

Fantasea Cruising Sydney, operators of Sydney Seven Wonders Coastline adventure cruises, a day trip covering the seven most iconic sights on Sydney's waterways and coast, have added whale watching as a no-cost bonus - with a guarantee.

Angus Campbell, General Manager of Fantasea Cruising Sydney announced "From May to November, our whale watching season, all guests travelling with us on a Seven Wonders cruise will also get the opportunity to see humpback whales as we return from Port Hacking back to Sydney Harbour. We are so confident they will see whales we are offering our Whale Watching Guarantee. If you don't see a whale then we will provide you with a complimentary ticket on one of our Fantasea Whale Watching cruises."

"The Seven Wonders Cruise provides the opportunity to experience the harbour and coastal highlights of Sydney in one day. From inner harbour sites to historical monuments plus whales, there is no better way to experience what the city has to offer. Adding to the experience, our onboard team will provide expert commentary, pointing out places of special interest as we move from place to place. With access to a secluded beach to relax and unwind, this is a trip that has something for everyone.

The highest rating of all Fantasea Cruising Sydney coastal adventures, the Seven Wonders Cruise is popular with interstate and overseas travellers. Sydney locals too are now also enjoying exploring from the water - a special way to introduce visitors to Sydney, harbour and coast.

The six hour Seven Wonders adventure cruise departs Darling Harbour on Thursdays and Sundays at 10.30am, providing spectacular views of the Harbour Bridge, Opera House, Sydney Heads and Bondi Beach, before heading to Botany Bay and Captain Cook's first landing place where he first stepped ashore in 1770.

After lunch ashore in Port Hacking, time is spent at Bundeena in the Royal National Park viewing ancient indigenous rock carvings, before heading back to Sydney Harbour to view Manly and Middle Head, returning to Darling Harbour. Throughout the tour the crew are constantly looking for opportunities to spend time with the marine wildlife, especially during the whale migration season.

Note:
*In the interest of passenger safety, departures are subject to sea and weather conditions with 24 hours notice.
**Minimum age for travel is 5 years old.


Fantasea Seven Wonders Coastal Adventure information:

Lasting approximately 6 hours, voyages run daily with departure at 10.30am / returning at 4.30pm. Embarkation is conveniently located at Darling Harbour (King Street Wharf #9). Further information available at www.fantasea.com.au
Each cruise provides the opportunity to enjoy the foreshores of Sydney Harbour, exiting Sydney Heads for Port Hacking and then returning to search for and observe the numerous pods of whales.

Fantasea Cruising Sydney reports it has already had plenty of recent humpback and southern right whale sightings and anticipates this will be a full-on season all the way through until early November.

Pricing: Adults $165 / Child 5 to 15* $100 / Family (2 adults, 2 children) $495.

* Minimum age for travel is 5 years old.

Fantasea Seven Wonders whale sighting guarantee - if on the Seven Wonders adventure cruise whales are not sighted then guests will receive a free Fantasea Whale Watch experience valid between June and October 2016. Cruises operate daily during this period and depart from Darling Harbour and Circular Quay

Background:

Fantasea Cruising Sydney is part of the Riverside Marine Group of Companies; an Australian, family owned company, established in 1928.

With over 30 years of experience in tourism, Fantasea's modern fleet provides half a million guests a year from across Australia and around the world with authentic Australian experiences. Fantasea is reinvigorating Sydney Harbour cruising with its friendly, knowledgeable team, providing memorable and enjoyable experiences that take in some of Australia's most recognised sites.

The fleet of 23 boats, varying in capacity from 1 to 400 provide a range of charter opportunities for social events - Christmas parties, birthdays and anniversaries, corporate events, educational excursions as well as special events that include regular Seven Wonders exploration voyages, the Bledisloe Cup, Sydney to Hobart Boxing Day Yacht Race, Vivid from the harbour, and New Year's Eve fireworks experiences.

Other services include Fantasea Water Taxis, the largest fleet of water taxis on Sydney Harbour; Fantasea Cruising Magnetic car and passenger ferries from Townsville to Magnetic Island in Queensland; and Fantasea Cruising Pittwater, the regular ferry service for the Northern Sydney beaches and Central Coast.

Further information available at www.fantasea.com.au

For bookings and information call 1800 326 822 / email info@fantasea.com.au or visit the Fantasea Flagship Store, Pier 26, Darling Harbour Sydney NSW 2000

The Savoy Suite, An Artist’s Residence New Two-Bedroom River View Suite At The Savoy

Featuring Curated Art Programme And Artist's Salons

The Savoy, a Fairmont Managed Hotel, has unveiled The Savoy Suite, a new two-bedroom suite on the sixth floor of the riverside of the hotel.

As well as providing the setting for an authentically London stay, The Savoy Suite will feature a changing private art collection by a contemporary artist adorning the walls of the suite. Guests staying in the suite will have the unique opportunity to enjoy their own private exhibition within their accommodation. The Savoy Suite, an Artist's Residence will also host regular Artist's Salons, a chance for the artist whose work is displayed in the suite to introduce their work to guests during an informal evening event.

First to display their work in The Savoy Suite will be renowned artist Ralph Heimans, the only artist chosen to paint an official portrait of Her Majesty the Queen in her Diamond Jubilee year. In association with publisher Random House, Heimans has painted a series of portraits of celebrated authors commissioned to rewrite a Shakespeare play in prose, as part of Shakespeare400. The remarkable portraits, known collectively as 'Shakespeare Revisited', feature Margaret Atwood, Tracy Chevalier, Gillian Flynn, Jo Nesbø and Anne Tyler, and will be transferred from the Globe to the walls of The Savoy Suite for summer 2016.

Open and light-filled, the layout of The Savoy Suite, an Artist's Residence exaggerates the unrivalled views of the River Thames and iconic London landmarks across two large windows. It was this same view that inspired Claude Monet to paint his famous series of London bridges as he resided in this same suite for the first of three lengthy stays at The Savoy between 1899 and 1901. Since then, so prominent are The Savoy's links with the art world that it was deemed appropriate to honour all artists, both past and living, who have been inspired by, and continue to take inspiration from, The Savoy.

Throughout the European summer in 2016, guests of The Savoy Suite will have the unique chance to visit Westminster Abbey with artist Ralph Heimans for a private viewing of his portrait of The Queen, which can only be viewed by special invitation only. Ralph is also available for portrait commissions and will be available for sittings within the suite. Price on request.

The Savoy Suite, an Artist's Residence is available to book and starts from AU$12,700 per night.

Interior Notes:

Award-winning designer, Pierre Yves Rochon and ReardonSmith Architects have returned to head up the design of The Savoy Suite, maintaining the grandeur of The Savoy whilst adding a modern elegance for 21st century clientele. Edwardian influences are combined with a colour palette of creams, ivories and blacks in keeping with the 1930's, which run through other areas of the hotel. A bolder, contrasting cinnamon tone will provide warmth and complement the wood used throughout the suite.

The Suite, boasting unrivalled views of the River Thames and iconic London landmarks, will comprise an entrance foyer, master bedroom, en-suite bathroom and master dressing room, lounge with fireplace and private luxury bar and pantry, and a hydraulic table that can be installed for modern, flexible dining. An adjoining suite is to be incorporated into the design to make for a more spacious, two-bedroom suite, in recognition of the growing trend of guests requiring larger guest suites. Guests will also benefit from 24-hour Savoy Butler service.

Citizenship of the Great Barrier Reef up for grabs

People around the world will be mobilised to become advocates for the Great Barrier Reef through a global campaign to be launched in Cairns in December.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) Chief Executive Officer Alex de Waal welcomed the announcement by Federal Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch that a re-elected Malcolm Turnbull government would invest $1.3 million to launch the Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef campaign.

Diver meets another citizen of the reef at Lady Elliot Island (Diveplanit) 

"Warren has been an advocate for promoting Tropical North Queensland and the health of the Great Barrier Reef and we thank him for his support for this important campaign," he said.

"People from around the world will be invited to become Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef to galvanise the symbiotic relationship between education, conservation and tourism.

"The campaign aims to empower current and future generations of the world with the knowledge, experience and ability to protect and enjoy the Great Barrier Reef.

"Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef will be delivered through a central online platform where people can apply for membership and it will showcase Great Barrier Reef education, conservation, tourism resources, activities, partners, benefits and participation opportunities.

"We want people of all nationalities to emotionally and financially buy into the protection, promotion and enjoyment of this World Heritage area.

"This is an opportunity for the people of Tropical North Queensland to show leadership by calling on the rest of the world to join them in this campaign to be an advocate for the Great Barrier Reef.

"Pre-register at citizensgbr.org/take-action/ to show your support for the campaign and become a Citizen of the Great Barrier Reef.

"Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef has been initiated by Tourism Tropical North Queensland with the support of founding partners James Cook University and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

"The Great Barrier Reef Foundation will facilitate all donations and investment in research projects funded by Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef.

"Other content partners will include the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre and Reef HQ Aquarium.

"The co-founder and founding CEO of Earth Hour, Andy Ridley, will support the development and implementation of the Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef program and will serve on the Strategic Management Committee.

"Both Tourism Australia and Tourism and Events Queensland have committed to utilise the full weight of their digital assets to promote the Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef movement.

"Thought leaders like Jean-Michel Cousteau and Barack Obama will be approached to lead the campaign's social media engagement which will devised by Rumble Creative & Media's James Burchill and Nancy Hartley who were the creative directors for the Best Job in the World viral social media campaign.

"With support from the Cairns Regional Council, a public artwork will be commissioned to feature on The Cairns Esplanade as the 'Citizens Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef'.

"This Gateway will be digitally interactive and provide a view to the Great Barrier Reef on the horizon.

"It will be highlighted in all campaign activity to encourage visitors to photograph this iconic sculpture and engage in social media communication about their visit to the Reef."

The objectives of Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef are:

·        PARTICIPATION: Empower citizens and organisations of the world to demonstrate ownership, leadership and responsibility for preserving and experiencing the Great Barrier Reef.

·        CONSERVATION: Promote, foster and support research and management activities that contribute to best-practice conservation of the Great Barrier Reef for current and future generations.

·        EDUCATION: Increase local and global awareness of the Great Barrier Reef and its universal value, and communicate initiatives and progress towards its sustainable existence.

·        TOURISM: Encourage sustainable tourism experiences and visitation to the Great Barrier Reef and through visitation, increase advocacy for its value and conservation.

Solomon Islands visitor arrivals continue to build

Honiara, Solomon Islands – A continuing strong performance across March has seen the Solomon Islands close off Q1 with a 14.5 per cent increase in international visitor arrivals including a marked 19.4 per cent increase in Asian-based traffic.

Official Solomon Islands government statistics released this week show a total of 5,037 international visitors arrived over the Jan to March period.

This compares with the 4,399 figure achieved for the same period in 2015.

Australian figures continued to dominate, the 2024 figure recorded across Q1 a 15.6 per cent increase on the 1750 total recorded last year.

US visitor arrivals again showed strong growth with a 9.11 increase backing up the 41.0 per cent growth recorded in February and March.

Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau (SIVB) CEO, Josefa ‘Jo’ Tuamoto said he was particularly gratified with the marked growth for the destination’s combined visitor arrivals from Asia.

In February Mr Tuamoto led an SIVB to Port Moresby where he held talks with Air Nuigini CEO, Simon Foo to discuss way in which both organisations could collaborate to increase the flow of Asian visitor arrivals via the carrier’s services ex-Bali, Hong Kong, Manila, Singapore and Tokyo into Port Moresby and onwards to Honiara.

“We are still working off quite low numbers but slowly and surely, Asian visitor arrivals are starting to pick up as our reputation particularly as a world-class dive destination in the massive Asian dive community continues to build.”

Solomon Airlines’ Dash 8 resumes service

After a three-month absence, Solomon Airlines' Dash 8 aircraft (H4-SOL) has resumed full operation on the national carrier's domestic services as of Friday, 11 June 2016.

The aircraft, affectionately known as 'Megapode', had been undergoing its heavy C-Check maintenance program under contract with Hawker Pacific based in Cairns, Queensland.

Solomon Airlines General Manager - Operations & Commercial, Gus Kraus said that after close on three months out of operation it was with a great sense of pride that the carrier welcomed the Dash 8 back into service.

"'Megapode' has been sorely missed," Mr Kraus said.

"Solomon Airlines would like to thank our valued travellers and the general public for their patience and understanding during the Dash 8's absence.

"We look forward to the aircraft once again providing a safe and comfortable return to a service that provides a vital air link for the people of the Solomon Islands.

"Naturally much more can be done with this level of commuter aircraft in the Solomon Islands and with government assistance we see much potential in opening up further ports in the Solomon Islands to a Dash 8 service."

These areas Mr Kraus said included Taro, Seghe and Lata.

The airline was also looking at the possibility of providing Dash 8 services to Manaoba and Lomlom subject to those ports being commissioned and operationally approved.

For enquiries or bookings please visit www.flysolomons.com or contact the airline's Travel Centre in Point Cruz, Sales Offices and Sales Agents or call the airline's toll free number on 177.


W: www.flysolomons.com  

F: www.facebook.com/flysolomons

First look at new luxury hotel development for Hobart

ONE CLICK CLOSER TO BOOKING AUSTRALIA'S BEST NEW HOTEL

MACq 01 launches official microsite and the first immersive look at the 114-suite hotel

·       Coming soon: MACq 01 is set to open doors in mid-2017
·       It's BIG: The hotel will boast 114 rooms across several categories – The smallest room is 43m2 and the largest the largest room is huge at 105m2
·       It's luxurious: A 35 million dollar development, the hotel will offer 20 luxury waterfront suites
·       A hotel like no other: Each of the rooms will be linked to an infamous Tasmanian 'character'
·       Take a look at the newly launched site here www.macq01.com.au

Hobart's newest hotel development, MACq 01 has today announced the launch of their immersive microsite.

The latest development from Federal Group - Tourism (Saffire Freycinet, The Henry Jones Art Hotel) is set to open doors in mid-2017 in the heart of the historic Hobart waterfront, MACq 01 will be a luxury hotel combining premium accommodation with an element of unforgettable storytelling. Capturing the essence behind the stories of Tasmania is what the interiors of MACq 01 Hotel are all about. From the 114 Rooms to the reception, restaurant and cocktail bars, there is an underlying emphasis on warmth and a genuine quality. The design is an eclectic mix of elements from the luxurious to the rustic to the unexpected, that play off one another and come together to really capture a feeling.

"There are so many interesting stories that help you get to know the characters that exist in the hotel. As designers, we've created spaces that pick up on the emotion behind the story of Tasmania, and express them in the most delightful and unexpected way" said interior designer Amanda Pike (of Pike Withers Interior Architecture).

Accommodation will be available in a variety of luxurious suites and rooms, along with a restaurant, bar, tastings, cocktail classes, gym, spontaneous entertainment (stay tuned!) and much more. Centrally located, with gorgeous views of River Derwent, MACq 01 will be the perfect place to start exploring the magic and mystery of Tasmania.

Each of the hotel's 114 rooms will be linked to a real Tasmanian character central to the story of our most southern state – heroes, villains, explorers, inventors, convicts, bushrangers, first people, industrial giants, political mavericks and much more – which means everyone who stays at MACq 01 will forge an unforgettable connection with the people and stories of Tasmania.

"With the launch of our microsite, we wanted to create an experience and not just a holding page.  I encourage prospective visitors and guests to jump online and take a look at the site," said Matt Casey, General Manager, Federal Group - Tourism

"People will leave the site with a genuine understanding of what MACq 01 is all about."

 FACEBOOK/MACq01 // INSTAGRAM/MACq01

MTA ‘Bulas’ from Fiji

Pictured MTA- Mobile Travel Agents' Wanita Thompson enjoying a visit to Fiji's idyllic Likuliku Lagoon Resort and its famous overwater bungalows in the Mamanuca Islands.

Wanita visited the land of the Bula Spirit as part of an Island Escapes study tour designed to showcase Fiji's key tourism locations and update agents on the ongoing developments on the resort scene taking place within the destination.

Her seven-day program also included a luxury-oriented overview of properties in Pacific Harbour, the Coral Coast and the main tourism hub of Denarau.


W: www.mtatravel.com.au

F:   www.facebook.com/mobiletravelagents