News in Brief: Friday August 1

News in Brief: Friday August 1
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Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. has announced the debut of its latest Sheraton hotel in New Caledonia.

The Sheraton New Caledonia Deva Resort & Spa is a new-build resort that is one of five Sheraton properties opening across the Pacific region in 2014, and offers 180 guestrooms, including 60 bungalows, kids clubs, meeting spaces and a dedicated events team to plan meetings and conferences for business guests.

 

APT has announced the addition of two new itineraries to its Africa Small Group Safaris program for 2015, including a 15-day Victoria Falls and Tanzania with Zanzibar tour.

These new additions form a portfolio of holidays combining South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and East Africa, and feature extension tours such as cruise and rail safaris.

 

P&O Cruises has joined with local Isle of Pines tribal clans this week for a full day of festivities to celebrate 30 years of cruising to the island.

More than 200,000 Australians and New Zealanders have sailed on board P&O Cruises’ ships in the past year alone to experience the local community and culture of the island.

 

Travel Indochina has released its 2014-15 India, Sri Lanka and Bhutan, including River Cruises and Safaris’ brochure, featuring new accommodation and touring options.

The release comes amid strong results to the sub-continent and particularly strong sales to Sri Lanka, with FIT up by over 60% and Small Group Journeys doubling for 2013/14.

 

Aircalin has announced a sale to its ‘Escape the Winter’ in New Caledonia campaign, valid on all bookings from Monday August 4 through to Monday August 25.

The return airfares have a lead-in price of $549, which includes all taxes and fuel levies, with flights available from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, and specials available for other cities with combination fares.

 

Magellan Travel Group have released its latest members list effective from today, with Just Cruises in Brisbane joining the group.

Owned by Anne and Paul Graham, the company is a team of 25 and has its core business in cruising, with plans to continue the expansion into air and land travel, and tours.

 

Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) has announced its plans to resume flights to Ho Chi Minh City, starting from Friday October 17 2014.

After nearly three years absence from the destination, RB flights will depart from, and return to, Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei four times each week, with Australians flying with RB now able to add Vietnam to their Asian itinerary.

To celebrate the return, RB is offering a competitive return fare from Melbourne starting at $598 in economy class, on sale on August 14 for travel between October 17 2014 and March 31 2015.

 

Helloworld has announced that Chris Gardner, the subject of bestselling book and film, the Pursuit of Happyness, will be the speaker at the Owners & Managers’ Conference in LA from October 2 to 4.

Helloworld Limited CEO Elizabeth Gaines says the company is thrilled to have Gardner as one of the keynote speakers, with his address expected to be a “real standout.”

 

TripAdvisor has announced the launch of the TripAdvisor TV Ad Contest, its inaugural user generated ad contest that offers USD $25,000 to the best ad campaign submitted.

The contest will be run for the duration of August, and encourages everyone from video amateurs to filmmakers to submit a short video in the theme of ‘Don’t Just Visit’, with the winning ad to also be aired on television.

The campaign aims to showcase what can go wrong when travellers don’t use TripAdvisor to plan their holiday, and is open to residents of the US, France and Australia who are over 18.

 

Hilton Worldwide has announced the signing of the 237 room DoubleTree by Hilton Cairns, formerly the Holiday Inn Cairns.

The property will join Hilton Worldwide’s Australasian portfolio of 21 hotels on October 1 this year, offering 24-hour business and fitness centres, high-speed internet access and specials for Hilton HHonors loyalty program members. 

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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