World News

A six year, US$100 million renaissance orchestrated by Parisian interior designer Studio MHNA has brought the age of Morocco's Saadian dynasty to architectural life in the dramatic form of the new landmark Mövenpick Hotel Mansour Eddahbi Marrakech. Comprehensively reconfigured as a modern reinterpretation of the traditional architectural hallmarks found in noble Moroccan mansions of the 16th century, the hotel's design features include a central fountain, cloistered gardens and peripheral double gallery, while the iconic interiors feature contemporary variations on traditional Moroccan decorative arts. Inspired by the notional journey of a nomad discovering the refuge of Ahmed Al Mansour Eddahbi, Sultan of the Saadian dynasty from 1578 to 1603, Studio MHNA's innovative design draws guests through a series of differing, complementary spaces, to the majestic central 'oasis' or lobby.

On arrival, guests are plunged into the world of an imaginary oasis, passing through a promenade lined with gardens; various inviting lounges, fountains and water features; an 'airlock' overlooking a monumental door; and finally a majestic lobby with the 'oasis' at its heart.

Crowning the lobby, beneath a cupola, is a magnificent nine metre high chandelier, made using a high-tech stamping technique from the aeronautical industry. Ambient lighting includes a stunning feature wall adorned with 1200 bespoke LED lamps, developed especially over two years by Studio MHNA to recreate the luminous flicker of candlelight – conjuring not just a magical warm atmosphere, but also significant reductions in energy consumption.

With the hotel adjoining the city's largest and most important convention centre, the Palais des Congrès, Studio MHNA also had to ensure its design was suitable to simultaneously accommodate two very different types of guests, providing an equally appropriate and warm welcome for leisure and business clientele. In order to achieve this, two distinct guest journeys were created, each taking its own path to a separate, dedicated lobby. Each type of clientele is thus able to enjoy a tailored, privileged welcome experience: the group lobby is designed to smoothly manage large flows of people, whilst the individual guest lobby offers a more private service.

A new luxury tourist train in Japan has launched on 21st July 2017, offering visitors the chance to ride in style from Yokohama (near Tokyo) to the Izu Peninsula – full of hot springs and picturesque coastlines.

The Royal Express - Japan's latest addition to its ever-growing number of luxury sightseeing trains - has been designed by Eiji Mitooka, designer of the Seven Stars Kyushu sightseeing cruise train, from the smart royal blue of the train's exterior down to the staff uniforms.

The train will offer passengers the chance to enjoy an elegant experience on their way between Yokohama and the Izu Peninsula, featuring opportunities for dining and live musical performances while on board. At around 100 people, it also has one of the highest passenger capacities of any tourist train in Japan.

Passengers can choose from either one-way tickets with a meal included or a selection of three different “cruise plans”, each including a return train journey, meals, overnight accommodation and sightseeing activities in Izu. Meals are curated by chefs Chikara Yamada in the Yokohama-Izu direction and Michiyo Kawano on the way from Izu to Yokohama.

While the Royal Express's “cruise plans” are only open to groups with children aged thirteen and above, its family-friendly Gold Class carriages feature specially designed family seats where parents and small children can sit together, and there is also a ballpond and library of children's books on board.

Passengers will also be available to avail themselves of purpose-built facilities at Yokohama station before boarding: a private waiting room (The Royal Lounge) which is only open to Royal Express passengers and a cafe (The Royal Cafe, business hours: 7am until 10pm) which is also open to members of the public.

The train runs between JR Yokohama station in Yokohama and Itokyu Shimoda station in Shimoda City at the southern tip of the Izu Peninsula. The service is being operated jointly by Tokyo Corporation, which manages several lines in the commuter belt around Tokyo, and Izukyu Corporation, which operates the main Izukyu Line down the Izu Peninsula's scenic eastern coast.

An online marketplace for African safari tours, carried out a study to ascertain the best African safari country in 2017. More than 2,500 reviews by safari tourists and African travel experts were examined, with Tanzania being declared the overall winner. It is Africa's leading country for a safari.

Tanzania also swept away challenges from other sub-Saharan African nations in our original analysis in 2013. It is the second time the country has been awarded SafariBookings.com's overall winner of best African country for a safari.

Zambia also stood out for its excellence in safaris. It rated the number one country for a bush experience – both experts and safari-goers agreed that there is something special about the bush landscapes in Zambia. The country was very popular with safari-goers, generally, who also rated it the best country for birdlife.

A closer inspection of our review-analysis, reveals: Tanzania was also the best country overall for wildlife, while Namibia and Kenya were the overall winners in the scenic beauty and bird categories respectively.

A new tented camp is being opened in southwest Cambodia with the tagline, “Your Stay Keeps the Forest Standing.”

Guests staying at the Cardamom Tented Camp will be sustaining a conservation-friendly business that was set up to help keep an 18,000-hectare (180 km²) concession out of the hands of loggers, poachers and sand mining operations. The tract of land in Botum Sakor National Park, part of a vital elephant migration corridor, is managed by Wildlife Alliance, a Cambodia-based organisation involved in wildlife rescue and forest conservation.

Wildlife Alliance is supported by the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, an initiative of the Minor Group.

The nature conservation concession includes diverse habitats: seaside mangroves, lowland tropical forests, and triple-tiered canopy in the hills, which reach up to 335 metres (1,100ft) elevation. Asian elephants, dhole, clouded leopards, hog badgers, sun bears, mouse deer and pangolin all rely on the mature forest habitat around the camp.

Neighbouring concessions have been taken over by companies that cut indigenous timber and replace it with rubber or palm oil monoculture trees that cannot sustain wildlife diversity. The new camp is making a stand against that trend.

Guests at the new lodge on the Preak Tachan river will be able to take guided day hikes and river trips with local rangers. While walking, guests will be able to spot wildlife and learn about the mangrove and rainforest ecosystems and the challenges of keeping naturally mature forests standing in face of pressure to ‘develop’.

Visitors can also help by replanting indigenous trees in degraded parts of the concession, go kayaking, help rangers on patrols with their camera traps, or engage in other conservation activities.

At the eco-camp, which is a three way initiative between the Minor Group, YAANA Ventures and Wildlife Alliance, a percentage of the revenue will go directly to Wildlife Alliance. Any profits will be reinvested locally.

“When we tell guests, ‘Your stay keeps the forest standing,’ we 100% mean it,” says John Roberts the Minor Group’s Group Director of Sustainability and Conservation. The Minor Group’s Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation has been fully funding the ranger protection efforts for the past four years at the site.

A condition of holding the concession from the Cambodian government is that economic activity must take place. Drawing on successful ecotourism models from across the world, a low impact tented camp was chosen by the stakeholders as the best sustainable option.

Bangkok-based YAANA Ventures was invited to create the camp, based on its previous experience running the Banteay Chhmar community tented camp in Banteay Meanchey, Cambodia and the Anurak Lodge at Khao Sok National Park in southern Thailand.

“The tented camp sets an example for the local and national economy as a sustainable alternative to illegal logging, poaching and habitat destruction,” says Willem Niemeijer, CEO of YAANA Ventures. “The combined expertise of the stakeholders makes this a uniquely qualified project.”

The Cardamom Tented Camp will soft open 1 September with nine comfortable, furnished tented accommodations, each with an en-suite bathroom and a large patio area.

The camp, with a riverside restaurant, is off grid and largely powered by solar panels.

Cardamom Tented Camp can be reached by road from Phnom Penh, while Trat airport and Koh Chang in Thailand is less than a four-hour drive away.

The Lake District is now officially a World Heritage Site putting it alongside iconic Taj Mahal, the Great Barrier Reef and the Grand Canyon as a site of global, cultural and historical significance.

Not only is it the only UK National Park that is entirely a World Heritage Site, but it's also the UK's largest World Heritage Site at an immense 229,200 hectares and Cumbria is now home to TWO UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In the north of the country, Hadrian's Wall forms the Frontiers of the Roman Empire site so there has never been a better time to explore Cumbria and immerse yourself in two of the most unique and inspiring regions you're likely to find anywhere on the planet.

Why is the Lake District is a special place?

The diversity of our landscape; natural landforms overlaid with thousands of years of human activity have made the Lakes the iconic scene it is today, the iconic scene which UNESCO have rewarded with World Heritage Status.

• Lakes, tarns and rivers … of course! It's in the name. The lakes and tarns in our county give the Lake District a quality of scenery found nowhere else in the UK.
• Ancient woodlands Our landscape has plenty of natural and semi-natural woodlands, adding colour texture and variety to the mountains, fells and lakeshores. The presence of the wood pasture, pollards and old coppice woodland form part of the rich industrial, agricultural and cultural legacy of the Lake District National Park.
• Wealth of wildlife The Lake District is unique in England for its abundant and varied habitats for wildlife fresh water, mires, limestone pavement, upland heaths, screes, lakeshores, wetlands, estuaries, coastal heaths and dunes.
• Opportunities to explore the outdoors The region has the highest concentration of outdoor activity centres in the UK. It is the birthplace of British mountaineering and there is a tradition of unrestricted access to the fells. Recreational walking can be traced from William Wordsworth's 'Guide to the Lakes' to the guides of more recent writers such as Alfred Wainwright.
• Celebrated cultural traditions Philosophers and environmentalists have campaigned for landscape protection, with the Lake District playing a strong role in the formation of the National Trust Artists and writers such as Turner, Heaton Cooper, Kurt Schwitters, Wordsworth, Coleridge and De Quincey have gained inspiration from the area, as well as children's authors Arthur Ransome and Beatrix Potter. The area also has its own dialects and distinctive sports such as hound trailing, fell running, and Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling.
• Complex geology With the largest and deepest lakes and highest peak in England, the Lake District's rocks provide a dramatic record of nearly 500 million years, with evidence of colliding continents, deep oceans, tropic seas and kilometre-thick ice sheets.
• Rich archaeology & distinctive settlement character There have been people in the Lake District since the end of the last Ice Age and the landscape now reflects a long history of human settlement. Stone circles and Roman forts/roads of huge international importance can be found throughout the area.

Edinburgh Fringe venue, Dynamic Earth will host a fully immersive musical extravaganza inspired by Pink Floyd's much loved album, The Dark Side of the Moon.

As part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe the Pink Floyd inspired musical will be projected in Scotland's only 360° cinema and features explosive 10.2 surround sound. Featuring the entire 1973 Dark Side of the Moon album, the spell binding abstract projections and mesmerising visualisations create an unforgettable experience.

The show, produced by Starlight Productions, also features music from Pink Floyd's famed album, The Wall.

The Dark Side of the Moon forms part of Dynamic Earth's programme of Double Dome nights and will run twice a night at 6pm and 8.30pm, every weekend throughout August. Tickets cost £10 for adults and £8 for children. Before and after shows, visitors can relax and enjoy refreshments in Dynamic Earth's Fringe pop up bar.

Pleased to be announcing the show, Eilidh Massie, marketing manager at Dynamic Earth, said: “We enjoy being part of the Fringe every year and this year is no exception, and we are extremely excited to be welcoming the hugely successful production of The Dark Side of the Moon. This will no doubt be a sell-out event so visitors should get their tickets before it's too late!”

The ultra-luxurious Baraza Resort & Spa voted among the Top 20 Luxury Hotels in the World and part of The Zanzibar Collection is enhancing its wellness offering by launching 'Yoga in Paradise'. This exceptional yoga programme takes place over seven days and includes accommodation in a two- bedroomed villa (based on two sharing) at Baraza Resort & Spa, located on one of the Top 30 Island Beaches in the World, on an all-inclusive basis.

Zanzibar is an exceptionally affordable Indian Ocean destination and 'Yoga in Paradise' offers participants the ability to practice the ancient form of Hatha Yoga in a luxurious and tranquil environment. Yoga sessions are not restricted to a single location and can take place on the pure white, sugar soft beach with the gentle sound of the Indian Ocean in the background.  With two classes, daily: at 7.30am and at 5.30pm, each session lasts approximately one hour and is led by the resident Yogi Master, who expertly guides attendees through an energising session of Hatha Yoga, followed by a guided meditation. The yoga sessions are guaranteed to harmonise the body and mind.

“Seeking to inspire our guests, wellness was a major initiative for 2017.  The Zanzibar Collection aims to encourage guests to engage in Hatha Yoga, a discipline that leads to harmony and peace, both within and outside oneself. With spectacular views of the Indian Ocean, gourmet on-site restaurants and the exceptional Frangipani Spa which offers bespoke treatments, 'Yoga in Paradise' at Baraza Resort & Spa is the perfect yogi escape.” Comments The Zanzibar Collection.

Malawi is a country of great variety and many influences. Its spectacular lake is like an inland sea and its beaches a tropical paradise. Its scenery is varied from highland heathers to wild savannah. In fact, Malawi has a little bit of everything for everyone, and has a world's worth of attractions within its compact borders. So what are you waiting for? Make 2017 your year to explore this varied and fascinating country.

Huntington House, a boutique lodge set in the heart of Satemwa Estate, has just 5 suites exuding colonial charm and a unique character. This magnificent house is surrounded by sprawling manicured gardens with secret patios and terraces waiting to be discovered. Afternoon tea is available in the beautiful estate gardens with only in-season and regionally grown produce used, and the milk and cream from the estate's own cows, you know everything you're eating is fresh and local. A spot of croquet can follow afternoon tea on the lawn.

In huge contrast to the strong Lake Malawi, a visit to Lake Chilwa in Eastern Malawi on the border with Mozambique would have you thinking you're in South East Asia! The lake has stilted and floating villages and the people here live off the lake much the same way as their ancestors did 100 years ago. The lake has an abundance of fish and attracts huge numbers of water birds. In a further nod to its South East Asian feel, its fertile wetlands provide Malawi with 50% of its rice harvest.

Explore beneath the surface of Grenada’s pristine blue waters during the first ever Pure Dive Fest taking place from October 11 –14. From free beach dives and beginner lessons to charity dives and a closing party, this four-day festival appeals to divers, visitors and spectators wishing to support Grenada’s diving industry. In addition to the robust schedule of activities, the event is also designed to increase awareness of the island’s marine environment and sustainable tourism efforts.

The festival commences with the launch of an underwater photography competition at Coconut Beach Restaurant. The competition will run for the duration of the festival and prizes will be distributed for most creative selfie, best reef picture, best wreck picture, and many more categories at the closing party. The second day of the festival is divided into either a wreck diving day for experienced divers or a local diving day for those who are ready to make the plunge for the first time with professional instructors.

One of the unique events is an Environmental Day with Marine Protected Area Diving on October 13 in collaboration with Project AWARE—a campaign that focuses on global ocean protection and conservation through sustainable, eco-friendly, and conservation-conscious dive practices. In the morning, dive centers will participate in community and school outreach sessions in order to share information on scuba diving and freediving in Grenada as well as details on marine biology and conservation. Afternoon activities will include dive centers participating in a “Dive Against Debris” event to collect as much ocean trash as possible.

The festival concludes on Saturday, October 14, also designated “Invasive Caribbean Lionfish Day” with a boat parade and send off at the Morne Rouge Bay/BBC Beach. In the evening, there will be a final party at Coconut Beach Restaurant, where Lionfish will be served and photos from the underwater photography competition will be on display, along with a few surprises throughout the night.

For more information about the Pure Dive Fest and to stay updated, visit https://www.2343ec78a04c6ea9d80806345d31fd78-gdprlock/grenadadiving/ and be sure to follow the Instagram and Twitter pages.

The Fourth Nigerian Direct Diaspora Investment Summit (NDDIS), set to take place in London next month has received major backing from former president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, where three initiatives are planned to be unveiled.

NDDIS 2017 will focus on developing government plans to diversify the Nigerian economy to end dependancy on oil. Aiming to tap into the potential of the diaspora as well as foreign direct investors, they will link them with the federal and Nigerian state governments.

Among those who will be attending will be Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State; Senator Lanre Tejuosho, the chairman of the senate committee on health; Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on diaspora affairs and the chair of the Diaspora Committee at the House of Representatives, Hon Rita Orji. Now Chief Obasanjo has said he will send Ayo Aderinwale, the deputy coordinator of the Obasanjo Library to represent him at the event.

One of Chief Obasanjo's initiatives, the African Leadership Forum (ALF) will be representedby Dr Olumide Ajayi, Chief Executive of the organisation. Set up in 1988 to improve the quality of leadership across Africa while also training the next generation of leaders for the continent.

NDDIS chairman Chief Bimbo Afolayan said: "The overall name for the initiative is Diiss but it is made up of three parts. This includes the diaspora adaptive programme, the portfolio investment scheme and the direct business ownership scheme.

"Taking place at the School of Oriental Studies (Soas) in central London on July 13 and 14, NDDIS has identified 250 existing diasporan businesses that will like to set up their models in Nigeria to provide employment. It will be followed by a summit dinner on Saturday 15th July and among those supporting the event are UK Trade & Investment, the Afford UK, Soas, the British African Business Alliance and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office."

Chief Afolayan called on anyone willing to register for the event to visit www.nddis.com where they will be able to purchase their tickets online. He added that, the vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has shown an interest in the summit and will be sending a delegation if he is unable to attend.

Elite Island Resorts has launched an exclusive 5-day expert led “Caribbean Choir” singing workshop series for guests with celebrity and professional vocal coach Mike King. Mike is one of the UK's leading contemporary vocal coaches, musical directors, choir leaders and arrangers. He has been involved in the music industry for 20 years, including signing a record contract at the age of 17. He has worked as a vocal coach on The Voice UK, helped smash a Guinness World Record by conducting 5,000 singers at Wembley Arena and directs choirs worldwide. He has worked with various international artists including multi-GRAMMY® winning singer Angelique Kidjo, GRAMMY® winning producer Jeff Bhasker (Kanye West, Beyonce, Bruno Mars, Rihanna), Mark Ronson, Boy George, Lily Allen and Florence Welch.

The free of charge workshops will consist of five morning vocal training sessions with Mike and a performance on guests' penultimate night before returning home. For each Caribbean Choir workshop, 25 places will be available and included free of charge in the price of the stay.

“Caribbean Choir” is a new addition to the all-inclusive wellbeing menu that already includes “firsts” in the Caribbean: floatfit®CARIBBEAN aquabase®, Colour Me Calm Club, Silent Cinema and Sketch Workshops. All activities on the free of charge wellbeing menu are exclusive to Elite Island Resorts. The first in the series of Caribbean Choir workshop will take place at The Club Barbados Resort & Spa May 1-11 2018 with further dates being finalised both for 2018 and 2019 on Barbados and at other Elite Island Resorts locations on Antigua and St. Lucia.

Paula Whitehead, MD Europe, Elite Island Resorts said “We are delighted to add yet another free of charge option to our growing wellbeing menu. We believe in offering non-boot camp mind and body choices for our guests, particularly activities where the benefits continue after they return home and it's easy for them to continue their new skills or habits learned – from simple mindfulness to core floating HIIT workouts. Singing is good for you, inclusive in its experience and a skill that can be continued back at home. Its physical and mental health benefits are increasingly recognised and we're delighted to be offering a chance to try it with an expert in a Caribbean setting”

Professor Graham Welch, Chair of Music Education at the Institute of Education, University of London, has studied the developmental and medical aspects of singing for 30 years. He found that the health benefits of singing are both physical and psychological. “Singing has physical benefits because it is an aerobic activity that increases oxygenation in the blood stream and exercises major muscle groups in the upper body, even when sitting. Singing has psychological benefits because of its normally positive effect in reducing stress levels through the action of the endocrine system which is linked to our sense of emotional well-being. Psychological benefits are also evident when people sing together as well as alone because of the increased sense of community, belonging and shared endeavor."

GraceKennedy Limited will host four university students from the Diaspora for a month-long professional and cultural internship that is designed to immerse them in the Jamaican culture.

Cleveland Douglas of the UK-based Imperial College, Tianna Thomas of Brock University in Canada, Menelik Graham from Princeton University in the USA and Matthew Robinson of Georgetown University, USA  will be hosted by GraceKennedy in Jamaica from July 5 to August 7, 2017.

GraceKennedy partners with public and private sector entities to give the interns a taste of Jamaica and for the first time Caribbean Airlines will be on board as a sponsor this year.

“A big part of the success is the support we receive from our partners. We are excited to announce that Caribbean Airlines has agreed to come on board this year as the official airline partner. This will ensure that our Birthright Interns start their cultural immersion from the minute they board the flight,” said Caroline Mahfood, Executive Director of the GraceKennedy Foundation.

“Caribbean Airlines is in the business of connecting people, and we are pleased to partner with GraceKennedy on this internship programme, which will promote positive business acumen, as well as foster a sense of homecoming for the University students.” Stated Dionne Ligoure, Caribbean Airlines Head of Corporate Communications.

The GraceKennedy Jamaican Birthright Programme is a cultural and professional internship designed to reconnect 2^nd and 3^rd generation Jamaican university students living in the USA, Canada and the UK with their proud Jamaican heritage. The programme started in 2004 and after a break in 2008, it was reinstated in 2014 with four interns arriving in Jamaica in July 2015. There were more than 48 applicants this year and the panel was impressed with the high quality of the submissions.

“GraceKennedy is committed to anchoring the roots of these students, many of whom have never been to Jamaica before. Coming in contact with the dynamics of their parents or grandparents’ culture first hand helps to foster strong connection between Jamaica and the Diaspora, and empowers these young people to think differently about themselves, their heritage and their contribution to the world,” said Mrs Mahfood.

The votes have been tallied, and the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) has again been named “Favourite Tourist Board in Canada” by Canadian travel agents in Baxter Travel Media’s annual Agents’ Choice Awards. This is the twelfth consecutive year that the JTB Canada team has received this honor.

In his thank you letter to Canadian agents, Paul Pennicook, Jamaica’s Director of Tourism, thanked agents for again voting for the Jamaica Tourist Board and added: “This award is a testament to how hard everyone is working as a team to deliver an exceptional product. We have a great team in place who offer outstanding service to travel agents, who in turn offer an unforgettable Jamaica experience to their clients.”

“It is such an honor to receive this award for the twelfth consecutive year,” said Philip Rose, Regional Director for the Jamaica Tourist Board in Canada. “Travel agents are one of our most important partners. In fact, in 2016 we saw 54% of Canadians book their Jamaica trip through an agent. The JTB Canada team regularly works and meets with Canadian travel agents, providing them with the tools they need, product updates, and hosting them on familiarization tours on the island so they can best sell Destination Jamaica.”

Baxter Travel Media is the publisher of Canadian Travel Press and Travel Courier, two of the top travel trade publications in Canada. The Baxter Travel Media Awards are the largest travel agent survey of its kind in Canada, with more than 5,500 agents voting in various categories.

Brand USA – the nation's destination-marketing organization – will be creating personalized, video welcome messages for international travelers who are considering trips to the United States. The messages are the centerpiece of Brand USA's “One Big Welcome” project.

“We want to have real people talk briefly about their favorite U.S. places as they invite prospective USA visitors to come to those places,” said Christopher L. Thompson, Brand USA's president and CEO. “These documentary-style messages can convey the warmth and authenticity of actual people – not actors – from all parts of our vast, diverse country.”

Brand USA plans to launch the project at IPW, a five-day exposition staged yearly by the U.S. Travel Association. The event, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., this year, June 3-7, allows more than 1,000 U.S. travel organizations – representing destinations, attractions and accommodations throughout the United States – to interact with 1,300 travel buyers from 70-plus countries.

IPW attendees who stop by Brand USA's exhibition space can create their own video welcome messages with an on-site production crew, June 5-6. After the videos are edited into short segments, Brand USA will share them with media outlets during IPW and post them on a variety of digital and social platforms.

Also, those who have made individual welcome messages will be encouraged to share them on their personal social-media feeds, using this hashtag: #VisitTheUSA.

Following IPW, through the summer, Brand USA will invite its destination partners and other travel-industry partners to produce additional video messages that welcome prospective travelers to the United States. Participants will draw on their own experiences and recommendations for places to visit – whether it's a local eatery, a popular nightspot, or even a favorite historical attraction.