06 May 10 (TravMedia.com): Hotelworld Asia is Asia Pacific’s only dedicated hotel and hospitality expo and conference with a focus on design and and development. Following the second annual International Hotel Investment Forum APAC (IHIF APAC) from June 14-16, the Hospitality Architecture + Design Expo is a unique opportunity for you to meet over 2,000 of Asia’s leading hotel executives and interact with hotel owners, architects, property developers, hotel technology experts, interior designers and other hospitality leaders.

Over two days at the Venetian Macau, delegates can explore 3,000 square metres of exhibition space featuring innovative products in areas ranging from furnishing and lighting to security and in-room entertainment systems. Representatives from leading hospitality design brands such as Bang & Olufsen, Goodrich Global and Fairmont Designs will be on hand to discuss how they can make your business gain maximum benefit in the coming years.

The Expo is also an opportunity for you to meet your fellow decision-makers from across the region: confirmed attendees come from over 80 hotels in the region, including Four Seasons, Intercontinental Hotel Group, Langham Hotel, Sands Macau, Peninsula, Swire Hotel Group, Anantara, Marriott,Hyatt, Wynn, Wyndham, MGM and many more.
Register online for the Expo today. 20 free Ferry Tickets will be offered in a lucky draw for those registered by 14 May.

(Source : Travel Daily Asia)

10 May 10 (TravMedia.com): Korean Air and sister company Hanjin Travel are for the first time offering overseas visitors the chance to experience a traditional Korean “Templestay‟. Already popular with domestic visitors those coming from overseas can now experience the Korean Buddhist culture as part of a programme designed to highlight the art of Seon meditation. The 24-hour overnight visit and 2-3 hours brief visit to the five most renowned Korean temples across the country allows participants the opportunity to relax, reflect and revitalise themselves, and find their true self‟, in the peaceful temple surroundings.

Over the course of 24 hours, visitors have a chance to experience and understand inner temple life and discover the day-to-day activities of a Korean Buddhist Monk. They will take part in a „Dado‟– an ancient ritual tea ceremony that has been taking place for thousands of years, as well as a „Chameson; - Zen meditation session - and a tour of the Temple.

Guests will also be able to view all other aspects of the temple life including the ceremonial chanting service „Yebul‟, the meditation and tea sessions as well as a formal Buddhist monastic meal, „Baru Gongyang‟, a silent communal meal consisting four dishes, where not a single grain of rice is wasted.

Korean Templestays have previously only been open to individuals, and whilst popular with domestic tourists, Hanjin Travel will for the first time be taking international groups of visitors into the temples to experience this interesting and diverse culture in tight cooperation with the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism Cultural Corps of Korea Buddhism.

Mr. Junghyun Cho, General Manager of Hanjin Travel‟s In-Bound SalesTeam said, “We see the

Templestay programme as a great Korean tourism attraction and I‟m sure it will assist in supporting the Korean government‟s target to bring 10 million travellers from overseas by 2012.”

(Source : Travel Daily Asia)

On the sidelines of the 7th annual conference of the Council for Promotion of Tourism in Asia (CPTA) taking place in Hanoi between October 5-10, 2008, Deputy Director of the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Cao Thi Ngoc Lan said Hanoi is home to more than 4,000 historical sites, of which 1,400 are certificated.

The capital city is also increasing its focus on developing other types of tourism such as MICE tourism, trade street tourism and festival tourism.

In August 2008, Hanoi’s area tripled from 920 sq.km to 3,200 sq.km with a total population of nearly 7 million people, becoming one of the 17 largest capitals in the world. This expansion has created opportunities for the capital city’s tourism sector to develop more types of tourism, including eco-tourism, relaxation breaks and trade village tourism.

Also at the conference, Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Ngo Thi Thanh Hang affirmed that the tourism industry should become an important economic sector, adding that it is one of the city’s top priorities.

Hanoi’s tourism development plan is suitable for CPTA’s objective of launching a marketing campaign entitled “Welcome to Asia” and other related marketing activities that will further the prosperity and development of CPTA member cities’ tourism networks, she said.

Since 2001, Hanoi has enjoyed an annual growth in tourism of 10 percent and the number of international visitors to the city accounted for 30 percent of the country’s total foreign arrivals.

In the first nine months of this year, Hanoi has welcomed nearly 1 million foreign tourists and 5 million locals, representing respective increases of 5 percent and 15 percent over the same period last year.

Vietnam has a rich and deeply rooted culture, which serves to illustrate the value of the convention, Troussrad said, adding that the country is also the only one in the region to have implemented an in-depth review of its cultural policy over the past year. It is also attempting to pursue this policy, following a sustainable roadmap in order to improve its implementation capacity.

As a result of these efforts, Vietnam is on track, especially in the context of a booming global trade in cultural products, which is threatening the existence and diversity of cultural expressions, he said.

According to the Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Tran Chien Thang, Vietnam’s cultural policy aims to preserve and promote the diversity of cultural expressions among its 54 ethnic groups nationwide.

He said that a series of policies regarding the preservation of cultural diversity have been implemented in Vietnam, including the development of its traditional handicrafts industries, and the creation and implementation of social and cultural infrastructure and supporting cultural activities.

To preserve and promote local cultural traditions, Vietnam has organised a series of cultural events in ethnic minority areas, giving ethnic groups the opportunity to display their own cultural identities, he added.

With the theme of “Preserving and Promoting the Diversity of Cultural Expressions: Sharing Asian and European Experiences”, the two-day seminar aims to call upon countries throughout the world to ratify the 2005 UNESCO Convention.

To date, almost 200 countries have signed this convention, but so far, only 90 of them have ratified it.