Anantara Hoi An Resort Offers Full Moon Lantern Festival Experience

Known for its quiet back streets and beautifully preserved Ancient Town, Hoi An, on Vietnam’s central coast line, also lights up in colour once a month when locals and curious travellers join together to celebrate the lantern festival. The monthly institution in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hoi An bursts to light on the 14th day of every lunar month when the moon is brightest.

As a complement to Hoi An’s monthly lunar lantern festival, Anantara Hoi An Resort is celebrating the town’s luminous appeal with a Full Moon Lantern Festival package.

Situated a short walk from the old town, Anantara Hoi An is offering guests the chance to sample a truly unique and authentic experience with a one-hour cruise down the Thu Bon River in a lantern-decorated sampan through the town. Guests will be given the opportunity to light a candle in a paper lantern and make a wish as they set it afloat down the river, and later make lanterns of their own to take home.

During the festival guests can watch the multi-coloured lanterns snake through the canals and alleyways of the ancient town. Hoi An’s streets come to life as locals switch off their lights and leave the town to bask in the glow of the candlelight, providing a glimpse of what life may have been like when Hoi An was a booming and affluent port town some 400 years ago.

The event sees Hoi An’s streets throng with Vietnamese - including those from outlying communes - and travellers keen to soak up the lively atmosphere. Traditional music and games come into play, with bands performing on bamboo flutes, drums and fiddles and Chinese chess and Vietnamese bingo matches unfolding by candlelight.

Area temples and pagodas fill with worshippers while troupes of dragon dancers roam the streets to bestow good luck on revellers. On the sidewalks festival-goers huddle together on mini stools, indulging in delectable local delicacies such as cao lầu (Vietnamese pancakes), banh vac (white rose dumplings), cơm gà (Hoi An chicken rice) and banh mi (French-inspired sandwiches).

Adding to the mystical atmosphere, clouds of incense emanate from homes and businesses. The town's residents also adorn their family altars with flowers, fruit and other offerings. They burn fake money for good fortune.

The festivities are clustered around iconic spots including the Cau An Hoi Bridge, Japanese Covered Bridge and Fujian Assembly Hall, and play out along the riverbanks where the views take in a watery world of floating lanterns.

Anantara Hoi An’s two-night Full Moon Lantern Festival package also includes buffet breakfasts for two people by the storied Thu Bon, accommodation in a room or suite, airport transfers, and food and beverage credit that can be enjoyed at the resort’s aptly named Lanterns Restaurant, .

Recognised as one of Asia’s top 25 resorts by Condé Nast Traveller, Anantara Hoi An is a boutique riverside property positioned on the banks of the Thu Bon. Designed with French, Dutch, Chinese and Japanese influences, the resort’s architecture pays homage to the melting-pot history of the former port city that emerged as a powerful trade link between Europe, China, India and Japan in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Prices for the Anantara Hoi An Full Moon Lantern Festival package start from 4,460,000++ VND (USD 200++) including breakfast. For further information, including the ‘Stay Date Calendar’, visit http://hoi-an.anantara.com/Full-Moon-Lantern-Festival/

For more information on Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas, please visit www.anantara.com

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Qantas to fly daily to Beijing

Sydney-Beijing A330-200 services to commence from 25 January 2017.




Qantas has just confirmed a new Beijing route, with daily A330 services from Sydney seeing it return to the Chinese capital for the first time since 2009.

The move was exclusively flagged earlier this week by Travel Daily with Qantas saying it's the "next step in the Group's strategy to tap into the exceptional growth of the Australia-China travel market".

The new Beijing-Sydney service is part of the expansion of QF's joint venture partnership with China Eastern Airlines, which will also see an expansion of the MU/QF codeshare agreement to incorporate Sydney-Hangzhou, Sydney-Kunming and Brisbane-Shanghai flights. China Eastern will also codeshare on the new Qantas Beijing service.

QF ceo Alan Joyce said the new route equated to an additional 3,300 seats per week between Australia and China, with Qantas to ramp up marketing campaigns in China in partnership with state tourism bodies and Tourism Australia.

"Our pitch is that if you want to experience the best of Australia, your trip should start with the national carrier," he said.

Source: Travel Daily.

SeaDream scores top spots with Berlitz

SEADREAM Yacht Club's SeaDream I and SeaDream II have been awarded  the top two Boutique Passenger Vessel placings in the prestigious 2017 Berlitz Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships – the so-called "bible of world cruising." 

The Guide is researched and written by Douglas Ward who, with more than 1,100 cruises behind him, is considered the world's top authority on cruising and cruise ships. For each year's edition, Mr Ward takes into account hundreds of separate items based on personal cruises, and portside visits and re-visits to ships during the year.

Mr Ward scored SeaDream I a total of 1,754 points out of a possible 2000 points in his year 2017 Guide that's just been published, and SeaDream II a total 1,750 points, and noted the SeaDream twins' reputations for being "beautiful, intimate and with excellent food."

President of SeaDream Yacht Club, Bob Lepisto said the company was honoured and delighted to once again be so highly distinguished in the world-renowned Berlitz Guide.

"We thank Mr Ward and his publishers," Mr Lepisto said. "And I add my own thanks to our colleagues at sea, and those in our offices around the world who have all contributed to our continued success."

SeaDream I and SeaDream II each carries a maximum of just 112 guests in 56 staterooms, served by 95 crew. Included in sailings aboard the mega motor-cruisers are wines with lunches and dinners, premium drinks from the open bars, power and sail water sports where locally permitted, mountain bikes for shore expeditions, an onboard golf simulator and fitness centre, and port charges and taxes

For more information about SeaDream I and II, see travel agents or go to www.seadream.com

Record Breaking Cruise Season Kicks off with the Return of Australia’s Favourite Cruise Ship, Celebrity Solstice

The arrival of Australia's highest rated cruise ship*, Celebrity Solstice to Sydney on Saturday 8 October signals the official start of a bumper international cruise season for Australia and New Zealand, as well as the biggest ever local season for RCL Cruises Ltd with a capacity increase of 15 per cent, year on year for the company's trifecta of cruise lines, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises.

"This summer, our three cruise lines and seven ships based down under will sail 101 itineraries, carrying over 300,000 guests who will inject more than $208 million in passenger spend alone in Australian ports," said Adam Armstrong, managing director for RCL Cruises in Australia and New Zealand.

Sydney itself will see an injection of more than $144 million into the local economy, with 76 calls to the port by 6 ships.

With around 15 per cent of the international RCL Cruises Ltd fleet now based in Australia and New Zealand between October and April, this season will see the company introduce two new ships, spend $11.25 million refreshing another, as well as offer a whole host of new and unique itineraries on a range of cruise ships to suit every taste.

"This is undoubtedly our biggest and most exciting season to date.  And nothing will be bigger than the debut of Royal Caribbean's all-new Ovation of the Seas. She represents not only a whole new way to cruise, but a new holiday category entirely – what we've dubbed supercruising. This is truly going to blow Australia away!"

Ovation of the Seas cost USD$1 billion to build, weighing in at 168,666 GRT with capacity for close to 5000 passengers, making her by far the largest, the newest and the most technologically advanced cruise ship to ever call Australia home.

She'll depart Singapore on 30 November and reach the Australian coast for the very first time in Fremantle on 6 December, before calling in Adelaide, Hobart and Sydney. Once she arrives at her new southern hemisphere home port of Sydney on 15 December, she'll offer seven roundtrip itineraries to New Zealand, the South Pacific and Australian destinations, plus a repositioning cruise to Singapore departing in February 2017.

Ovation of the Seas joins the South Pacific Sisters - twin sisters Voyager of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas - along with Radiance of the Seas sailing out of Sydney. Together, the biggest ships in the Southern Hemisphere will offer 65 voyages around Australia, the South Pacific, New Zealand and Asia.

Twin sister megaliners, Voyager of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas will be dedicated to the South Pacific this coming season, offering twice the fun thanks to recent US$180 million revitalisations. Until Ovation of the Seas arrives, Explorer of the Seas boasts the title of largest ship in Australia and both the South Pacific Sisters are packed full of fun for families of all shapes and sizes. They boast an array of features that can only be found on Royal, like the twin FlowRiders, ice skating rinks where the young and young at heart can test their skills and virtual balconies for real time ocean views in interior staterooms. As well as calling to idyllic destinations like Vanuatu and New Caledonia, the South Pacific Sisters will make almost double the calls of any other cruise brand to island favourite, Fiji.

Nicknamed the "culinary ship" for her rich variety of onboard dining options, Radiance of the Seas is set to make waves this season. She'll make the industry's first ever passenger cruise ship visit to Wollongong on the South Coast of NSW on 30 October 2016, plus she will make maiden calls for the cruise line to the idyllic islands of Tonga; Vava'u on 12 December 2016 and Nuku'alofa on 13 December 2016.

Legend of the Seas returns to her Brisbane homeport for her second and final season down under in November. Only two sea days from the South Pacific, she'll primarily offer voyages to Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji, before bidding farewell to Australian waters in February 2017.

After kicking off the 2016/17 cruise season this weekend, Celebrity Solstice, will make her way to Singapore for an extensive $11.25 million revitalisation. Sailing her fifth consecutive local season, the modern luxury ship will return in November with stunning new features including "A Taste of Film" cinema experience under the stars, new Lawn Club cabanas, an authentic Japanese sushi restaurant and an all-new digital photo gallery.

Celebrity Solstice will offer a range of new ports and itineraries during her seven month season, including her maiden debut to the tranquil coastal NZ town of Picton on 10 April 2017, as well as a record three overnight calls to the picturesque harbour town of Tauranga in New Zealand.  She will also introduce a new Great Barrier Reef itinerary for the first time, departing Sydney 13 March 2017. 

Rounding out the season will be the maiden arrival of boutique cruise brand Azamara Club Cruises' second ship, Azamara Journey, which will her debut in February 2017, first arriving to Darwin on 8 February 2017 as part of her Asia repositioning and then to Sydney on 20 February 2017. She'll make the cruise company's maiden call to Kaikoura, New Zealand's whale watching capital, on 13 March 2017, and will remain in the region until late March, offering two Australia & New Zealand sailings and a return Asia repositioning voyage.

Fresh from an all-encompassing make over which left no space untouched, Azamara Journey's recent revitalisation saw the addition of new venues and technologies, a beautiful redesign and rework of her suites and staterooms, a complete refresh of all public spaces and pervasive wi-fi throughout.

For more information about or to book a cruise, visit royalcaribbean.com.au, celebritycruises.com.au or azamaraclubcruises.com, call 1800 754 500 or contact your travel agent.

* Celebrity Solstice is the highest rated ship in Australia according to the Berlitz Guide and was awarded Best Cruise Ship – Domestic 2015 at the AFTA National Travel Industry Awards.

Rail Europe: On the Tracks with French Impressionist Painters

Until 25 September 2016, Rail Europe invites travellers exploring Normandy in the north of France to follow the path of world-renowned Impressionist painters to discover the very region that inspired their masterpieces.  

In collaboration with the French National Railway Company "SNCF", this would be the third annual Normandy Impressionist Festival held by the region of Normandy.

Three TER regional express trains wrapped in duplicates of paintings by Monet and Pissarro have been dubbed "trains of Impressionism" for this festival. On board, passengers will enjoy some famous art work on the walls while they journey across the region's colourful and dreamy countryside, following the path Monet, Renoir and Delacroix would have used 150 years ago to travel the region by steam train from Paris.

For more than a century, trains enabled Impressionism masters to explore the Normandy countryside, discovering landscapes which eventually served as backdrops for more than a hundred paintings. From the end of the 19th century onwards, rail permitted painters and regular passengers to escape the French capital of Paris to explore the inspiring country.

Departing from the iconic Paris Saint-Lazare train station, the very inspiration of a series of Claude Monet paintings, the train will journey to Vernon-Giverny, the site that inspired Monet's Water lilies series before continuing to the Normandy capital of Rouen. The train's final destination is the town of Le Havre, just over two hours from Paris.

Note, however that this special Impressionist train service will depart from Paris on Saturdays and Sundays only.

Visitors to the region will be treated to a multitude of cultural activities, art exhibitions and live shows. The events will highlight Impressionist art that was influenced by the steam trains that revolutionized the era, such as "Rain, Steam and Speed" by Turner, and Monet's "The Gare St-Lazare" showcasing the Parisian train station.

Be it a ride on the Impressionist train service or a regular TER train service heading to Normandy, passengers will still enjoy train stations that have been decorated in celebration of impressionism in Normandy and occasional shows performed by the "Impressionne Moi" (Impress Me) art company.

For France Rail Passes or point-to-point tickets, head to www.raileurope.com.au.

Parrtjima - A Festival in Light

Parrtjima – A Festival in Light, the first Indigenous light festival of its kind, has been hailed an outstanding success with more than 15,846 people attending the inaugural 10-day event in Alice Springs.

The free public event was a breathtaking showcase of the region's contemporary and traditional Indigenous art, culture and stories using light and sound, created by the Northern Territory Government in collaboration with local Aboriginal artists, students and community, and AGB Events (known for their award-winning work for Vivid Sydney).

Visitors to the festival had the opportunity to experience the rich history and culture of the region in an authentic and interactive way on a scale never seen before with 2.5km of the 300-million-year-old MacDonnell Ranges illuminated as part of the event.

Northern Territory Major Events Company General Manager Andrew Hopper said the success of the festival was a testimony to the support and contribution of key partners, the local community and volunteers.

"To respectfully bring Parrtjima to life, extensive collaboration with a number of local Indigenous Elders and Leaders, Custodians and Traditional Owners took place and we'd like to acknowledge and sincerely thank them for the event's success. The event would also not have been possible without the incredible support and contribution of the local Indigenous community as artistic and cultural collaborators, the volunteers, key partners and local tourism operators.

"With much of the success due to the partnership formed between various community organisations a solid foundation has been laid for the event's future," said Hopper.

The festival was officially opened by Australian television personality and Tourism NT ambassador Lisa Wilkinson who said: "The MacDonnell Ranges are absolutely majestic, and seeing them lit up in bursts of colour and movement under the Red Centre's starry night sky is something no one could forget.

"This is the very first year of the festival and it's already left a lasting impression on so many visitors – including myself. It's well worth a special trip to experience."

Parrtjima has been successful in attracting visitors not only from Alice Springs and the Territory, but also from across Australia and internationally.

Hopper said: "To be able to establish an event which attracted visitors, not only locally but from Australia and internationally in its first year is very special, and makes an important contribution to boosting tourism in the region.

"The response to Parrtjima has been extraordinary and bringing visitors into Alice Springs has also delivered immensely positive feedback from local businesses and accommodation providers who have all embraced the festival. We hope it will become a hallmark event for Alice Springs and Australia."

Parrtjima – A Festival in Light took place at Alice Springs Desert Park from Friday, 23 September to Sunday, 2 October. For more information, please visit www.ParrtjimaAustralia.com.au.

Official event hashtags: #parrtjimaaustralia #NTAustralia
Facebook @ParrtjimaAustralia
Instagram @parrtjimaaustralia
Twitter @parrtjima

Qantas decision to partner with Airbnb a ‘slap in the face’ to airline’s traditional hotel partners

Qantas' announcement today that it had entered into a partnership agreement with unregulated short-term accommodation provider, Airbnb, was a "slap in the face" for its traditional hotel partners, says Australia's peak accommodation organisation, Tourism Accommodation Australia (TAA).

"While we respect the right of airlines to make commercial agreements with various organisations, Qantas should understand the importance of working with partners who fully support and contribute to the tourism industry and meet all their regulatory requirements," said TAA CEO, Carol Giuseppi.

"Around the world cities and countries are moving towards greater regulation of businesses such as Airbnb because they are operating in the commercial space without meeting the same regulatory requirements that legitimate hotels, motels, service apartment and B&B operators have to meet.

"These unregulated short-term accommodation operators do not have in place the consumer safety and community amenity regulations and insurances that apply to regulated operators, nor do they pay the requisite fees and taxes. This is why so many overseas jurisdictions are regulating to prevent even more non-resident apartments and houses being taken off the long-term rental market and sold as unregulated short-term accommodation.

"These online operators have morphed from their original idea of providing 'share' accommodation to becoming fully fledged commercial property operations where no sharing is involved. That's the case in Sydney and Melbourne, where Inside Airbnb has estimated that up to 61% of listings are for entire homes or apartments. If these businesses want to operate in the commercial short-term accommodation market then they need to abide by the regulations of other commercial operators.

"Until that is the case, we call on tourism operators like Qantas to only deal with legitimate accommodation partners who adhere to the same regulatory framework as they do."

Tourism Accommodation Australia (TAA) represents the interests of Australia's accommodation chains and individual members in the hotel, serviced apartment, integrated resort, motel and vacation ownership sectors. Servicing owners, operators, managers, franchises and other industry stakeholders, TAA is a division of the Australian Hotels Association, a federally registered organisation of employers representing hotels since 1836

www.tourismaccommodation.com.au

Twitter #TourismAccom