Six Adelaide Flight Centre consultants were recently treated to a packed Infinity Holidays itinerary to the ‘Apple Isle’, where they tasted fine wine, sipped whiskey, cruised the Gordon River and fed Tasmanian Devils.

The group enjoyed a stay at luxury accommodation Cradle Mountain Wilderness Village, before inspecting and dining at Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge, and flying back to Adelaide with a new understanding of the Tasmanian experience.

Twenty years into a new democracy and almost a year since the passing of global icon Nelson Mandela, Capetonians and visitors to the city are being encouraged to express their hope for the country’s future with the unveiling of a dramatic sculpture.

The ‘SunStar’, which stands at 24-metres, was unveiled on November 19 on Signal Hill in Cape Town, distinctly shaped like the sun by artist Christopher Swift, as well as being a showcase project for Cape Town: Design Capital of the World 2014.

Windstar Cruises has announced plans to sail year-round in the South Pacific, with continuous voyages kicking off on May 26 2015 aboard the beautifully renovated, 148- passenger Wind Spirit sailing yacht.

Itineraries will include the seven day “Dreams of Tahiti” voyage, which was launched in May of 2014 after Windstar’s 10 year hiatus from the region, as well as a new extended 10 or 11-day journey including stops in the Tuamotu Islands.

The new staterooms will include a transformed seating area for relaxing on a sofa, as well as new, chic dressers and a more open layout. The upgrades quickly follow up Windstar’s $18 million fleet-wide renovation project from 2012, which enhanced staterooms and corridors. 

Scenic has unveiled its latest luxury river cruise ship Scenic Spirit, which will launch on the Mekong River in January 2016, travelling over eight days between Ho Chi Minh City and Siem Reap.

The ship has been designed to deliver top notch experience for just 68 guests, and features the largest all-balcony one-bedroom suites on the river, living rooms, four dining venues, sauna and steam room, spacious bar, open air cinema on the Sun Deck and pool.

With the most public space per guest and an almost 1:1 guest to staff ratio, this ship really does take luxury to a whole new level.

A fly free deal for companions (excluding taxes) to Southern and East Africa is available through Swagman Tours when booking on select itineraries before 15 January 2015.

The Africa deal is valid on their 17-day Southern Treasures and 14-day East African Migration Seeker, with guests needing to book on the same tour and fly with South African Airways, ticketed with Swagman Tours, to avail the offer.

The San Francisco Travel Association has relaunched its website, www.sanfrancisco.travel, after a complete redesign that delivers an abundance of information and inspiration for visitors, meeting planners, travel professionals, media and San Francisco Travel partners.

The website uses a responsive design to adapt to any screen size, from laptop to tablet to smartphone, and will grab the attention of visitors with large, dramatic photos and streamlined navigation that allows them to easily explore, plan and search for their exact needs and interests.

William Angliss Institute Sydney has launched its training restaurant for students to practice real-world skills before they embark on careers in the foods, tourism, hospitality and events industries.

Named ‘Waterloo Dining’, the facility has been purpose-built to support planned growth for the campus in 2015, and gives students access to restaurant-standard facilities, and advanced training for future industry professionals.

The addition to the Sydney campus will underpin the growth of its cookery, patisserie and hospitality offerings ahead of its February 2015 intake, and will play an important part of preparations for the first intake of its triple diploma course, the Diplomas in Tourism and Travel, Events and Hospitality.

Australians are spending more of their precious travel time seeking five star hotel experiences and Crown Metropol hotels in Melbourne and Perth top the list of the most popular luxury hotels in the country.

New data released by HotelsCombined shows that the number of five star hotel bookings in Australia has increased by a huge 194% since last year, with Melbourne receiving more bookings in the last six months than any other luxury Aussie hotel, while Crown Metropol Perth received the second largest number of bookings.