Old Hong Kong Old Police HQ Reborn as Top Heritage and Arts Hub

A former police headquarters compound in Hong Kong has been transformed into a world-class heritage and arts hub in what is the largest heritage revitalisation project ever undertaken in the city.

Tai Kwun -- Centre for Heritage and Arts opened last Friday (May 26) with a spectacular ceremony.

Comprising 16 historic buildings and outdoor spaces on a 13,600-square-metre site in the business heart of Hong Kong, Tai Kwun is home to three declared monuments, the former Central Police Station, Central Magistracy and Victoria Prison. The local colloquial name used by police officers and the public alike to refer to the city's Central Police Station, have borne witness to over 170 years of Hong Kong history.

The project is led by the Hong Kong Jockey Club in partnership with the Hong Kong Government and the revitalisation involved the conservation of the heritage buildings and the addition of two new buildings, JC Contemporary, a gallery building with a contemporary art space, and JC Cube, an auditorium building for performing arts, film screenings and educational events.

Drawing on the advice of experts from Hong Kong and overseas, and with input from the community, the Club spent 10 years to pursue a heritage-led plan to conserve the historic site. Building-by-building, room-by-room, it has been returned to its former glory with the closest attention to detail.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Board of Stewards, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR Carrie Lam and the Club's senior executives make a toast to celebrate the opening of Tai Kwun. Source The Hong Kong Jockey Club

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Board of Stewards, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR Carrie Lam and the Club's senior executives make a toast to celebrate the opening of Tai Kwun.
Source The Hong Kong Jockey Club

"Tai Kwun reflects the club at its very best -- committed to the highest standards, undeterred by the complexity of the tasks it undertakes, and above all motivated by the desire to act, as in everything it does, for the betterment of our society," said Dr Simon Ip, Chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, who championed the project a decade ago, said: " The Central Police Station compound after more than a decade of dedication, patience and perseverance on the part of the Club and the many experts and workers involved, the people can now rejoice at the grandeur of the gift they received."

SOURCE The Hong Kong Jockey Club

All That Jazz On Norfolk Island

The Norfolk Island Jazz Festival is back again in 2018 featuring a terrific line-up of artists performing in amazing settings, including World Heritage Kingston, providing the perfect and fascinating backdrop for a fun and musical experience for everyone.

Turning up the volume on popular jazz hits will be top acts including Australia's The Jazz Factory, Stevenson's Rockets and Jazz 4 You and New Zealand's Andrew London Trio. There will also be a guest appearance from the local Baunti Byuutis Island Dancers.

Norfolk Island is long-regarded as a wonderful place to holiday with family and friends or escape with a loved one to experience the special warmth and hospitality of the people who call this place home and be immersed in the natural beauty, intriguing history, wonderful dining, countless adventures and relaxing serenity all captured in this tiny piece of paradise.

The Norfolk Island Travel Centre has announced a 7-night Norfolk Island Jazz Festival offer which includes:

·         Return economy class 'seat plus bag' Air New Zealand airfare to Norfolk Island
·         All pre-paid airline taxes
·         Arrival meet and greet at island airport
·         Return airport transfers on island
·         7 nights' accommodation
·         7 days' car hire
·         Half-day island tour
·         BONUS shopping card with free gift, mini golf and A Walk In The Wild Rainforest

The Norfolk island Jazz Festival offer is priced per person twin share from $1099 ex-Brisbane 1 – 8 December and $1119 ex-Sydney 30 November – 7 December or 3 – 10 December.

Jazz Packs are priced at $430 per person with reserved seating at all concerts including the Official Opening Concert, an evening performance and dinner Under the Banyan Tree, afternoon performance and lunch at Emily's Bay and final Evening Party with the Stars Concert plus a souvenir program and gift bag.

For bookings contact Christan Davies at Norfolk Island Travel Centre on  christan@travelcentre.nf or call Toll Free 1800 1400 66.

New inner city hotel for Sydney - The Collectionist

Sydney’s first custom design hotel – The Collectionist – has officially opened, ready to change the way guests choose to stay and experience hotels.

Located in Sydney’s inner-city Camperdown precinct, it heralds the launch of The Collectionist Hotel brand with plans to take the unique concept to other Sydney locations and interstate.

Described as a real-life “choose-your-own-adventure”, the eclectically designed hotel will set a new standard in individualised guest experiences. Opting away from standardised décor in rooms, The Collectionist commissioned the talents of seven designers from four leading design studios, and 13 artists, to create 39 individually designed rooms and lobby space. Instead of rooms being allocated, guests are invited to peruse available rooms on check-in and choose their room based on the style, colour, texture and design - just as they would a work of art.

This is a revolutionary change to the traditional hotel check-in process, where rooms are pre-allocated; and to room design, where the variety is limited. The Collectionist’s digital booking process is carried through at check-in with access codes to rooms communicated via email and SMS. However, the personal touch remains an important element with social drinks hosted by a bartender between 4pm and 8pm.

“We have purposely set about creating rooms that will challenge the ‘norms’ on hotel room design,” says Daniel Symonds, CEO & Co-Founder of Collectic Hotels, who headed up the development.

“We are expecting divided opinions on some of the designs but we are confident that everyone will find a room that appeals to them.”

In recognition of the unique design of each room, they have been given imaginative names that reflect the room’s ambience. Guests can choose to stay in the 'La Chambre Noir'; the 'Queenie Fah Fah'; the 'Cloud Runner' or the 'Kyoko' rooms, for example, each with their own unique story to tell.

Rooms are grouped in four categories based on their size and whether an outdoor space is included. The categories include:

• The Bootstrap - from $200 per night
• The Tinkerer – from $220 per night
• The Moonshiner – from $240 per night
• The Artisan – from $260 per night

Bookings and further information available at www.collectionisthotel.com.au

The ‘choose your own’ experience that Daniel Symonds has made available at The Collectionist Hotel was Inspired by a car-hire experience in the US - which allowed an up-close inspection on a variety of cars at pick-up and the choice of the style of car he hired, right down to the colour. Symonds was impressed by the flexibility, choice and control it gave him, which led him to question why hotels couldn’t operate the same way.

Symonds says: “I realised that people are very particular about the car they drive, the colour they choose, the style they want. It’s a very personal choice, so why didn’t we make hotel rooms that catered to these different tastes rather than offering standardised rooms and no choice in the room type a guest prefers? By providing guests with a more tactile way of choosing their room, they are directly involved in their stay experience.”

The design teams credited with bringing The Collectionist concept to life include Andrew Cliffe from The World is Round; Yasmine Ghoniem and Katy Svalbe from Amber Road; Susie Willis and Matt Sheargold from Willis Sheargold; and Josh Cain and Lily Goodwin from Pattern Studio; while the overall construction is being managed by Unita.

Daniel Symonds and business partner, Toby Raphael, are also responsible for the pop-up accommodation concept, FreeSpace - which utilises vacant rooms on university campuses in peak periods and revamps them as quality accommodation. Freespaces was named in the AFR's Fast 100 List in 2017. They were also behind the rejuvenation of the old Newtown RSL building which has now been converted into The Urban Newtown hotel.

Kirsty Lucas appointed National Sales and Partnership Manager at Scoot

Australia's demand fuels growth in headcount

Kirsty Lucas has been appointed National Sales and Partnership Manager at Scoot, Singapore Airlines' low-cost airline, reporting to Jared Simcox, Country Manager Australia, effective immediately.

Kirsty joins Scoot with over ten years travel and tourism industry experience, including an extensive background in sales, marketing and media, originally based in Perth, before relocating to Sydney in 2015.

Prior to her new appointment, Kirsty was the Regional Manager, Australia at TravMedia and has previously held positions in a variety of tourism-based businesses, including TFE Hotels and Rottnest Fast Ferries in WA.

Kirsty will be based in Sydney, and in this newly created role, Kirsty will work closely with the General Manager, Australia Jared Simcox and Scoot's head office, to manage existing key trade accounts and develop new partnerships as Scoot continues to step up their growth in Australia.

Scoot General Manager Jared Simcox says, "It's an exciting time in Scoot's journey being able to welcome Kirsty to the team, as a direct result of a huge growth in trade sales across the region. We're in an accelerated phase of development and I'm thrilled to have someone with Kirsty's expertise, passion and inventiveness on board, and to take the reigns on a number of key initiatives."

Scoot is gearing up to launch its new services to Berlin via Singapore on 20 June 2018, and has also introduced several new initiatives recently. Scoot is now fully on KrisFlyer, the frequent flyer programme for the Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group portfolio of airlines. Scoot customers can directly earn KrisFlyer miles when they purchase and travel on Scoot's flights, as well as redeem their KrisFlyer miles for Scoot flights.

Corporate members of SIA's HighFlyer programme, for small and medium enterprises, can also now earn HighFlyer points when flying on SIA or SilkAir itineraries with connections onto Scoot.

W www.flyscoot.com

Australians going abroad without travel insurance. Would you?

It's true. The latest Thomas Cook Money (TCM) Travel Report reveals 30 per cent of Australians traveling overseas do not have travel insurance.

In response, the newest player in the travel insurance and finance sector, Thomas Cook Money, has today announced it will offer a suite of user-friendly travel money services specially designed for Aussies on the go, including travel insurance, foreign exchange and a pre-paid travel card. Free global wifi* will soon be offered as part of the travel insurance packages, enabling internet connections for globe-trotting customers.

As part of Thomas Cook Money’s entry into Australia their first locally commissioned consumer research, the TCM Travel Report provides some interesting findings. While a high proportion of Australians travel frequently overseas each year, almost 30 per cent choose not to purchase travel insurance. And only 18 percent of respondents take out travel insurance when travelling domestically.

Overwhelmingly, consumers looked for low price (45 percent) and a low claim excess (35 percent) when choosing a travel insurance policy, while 37 percent looked for an easy application process.

Just as important in travel financial decisions are bank fees, with almost 95 percent of overseas travellers reporting international fees and exchange rates as an important consideration when deciding to use a debit card, credit card or to buy foreign currency. One in three travellers used a credit card overseas, with another one in three using local cash.

Managing Director of Thomas Cook Money Asia Pacific Mark Tarring will lead the Australian operation as a springboard to new markets in the Asia Pacific region.

Tarring said Thomas Cook Money was committed to helping its customers manage their holiday budgets year-round, making holiday planning easier and more sustainable with new, user-friendly digital technologies.

“Thomas Cook Money is leveraging the company’s extensive heritage in the global travel industry to deliver fairer, simpler and digitally-led products that look after holiday money for 365 days of the year, not just when you are on holidays. We’re not a bank. We’re a holiday company with a mission to help make holiday money easier to manage for everyone,” Tarring said.

Planning your next adventure? First step might be to head to https://www.thomascookmoney.com.au-

Sydney Film Festival

#sydney

From Wednesday 6 June to Sunday 17 June 2018, the 65th Sydney Film Festival offers Sydneysiders another exciting season of cinema amidst a whirlwind of premieres, red-carpet openings, panel discussions, international guests and more. Each year the Festival’s programming team curates 12 days of cinema sourced from world-famous film festivals, including Cannes, Sundance, Toronto and the Berlinale; as well as Australia’s finest local productions.

Sydney Film Festival also presents an Official Competition of 12 films that vie for the Sydney Film Prize, a highly respected honour that awards a $60,000 cash prize based on the decision of a jury of international and Australian filmmakers and industry professionals.

The Festival takes place across greater Sydney: at the State Theatre, Event Cinemas George Street, Dendy Opera Quays, Dendy Newtown, Art Gallery of NSW, Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace Cremorne, Casula Powerhouse, the Festival Hub at Sydney Town Hall and SFF Outdoor Screen.

The Festival is a major event on the New South Wales cultural calendar and is one of the world’s longest-running film festivals. For more information visit Sydney Film Festival.

The 65th Sydney Film Festival is supported by the NSW Government through Screen NSW and Destination NSW, the Federal Government through Screen Australia and the City of Sydney.

Hawai'i's Natural Beauty Shines from All Angles and Elevations

- Incredible land, sea and air adventures await on six distinct islands -

The diversified landscapes of the Hawaiian Islands offer an abundance of opportunities for inspiration and rejuvenation. From witnessing volcanic activity at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park on the island of Hawai'i and soaking in views of Mount Wai'ale'ale while water tubing through the rainforests of Kaua'i, to viewing the sunrise at the 10,023-foot elevation summit of Haleakalā volcano on Maui and an adventure park experience on O'ahu's west side, a wide-range of exploration and excitement awaits.

Whether you prefer exploring the Islands in the company of clouds, beneath the ocean surface, or somewhere in between, here's a sampling of multiple ways to experience Hawai'i's natural beauty and diversity by land, sea and air.