News in Brief: Monday November 3
InterContinental Sydney Double Bay has confirmed it will open its doors days ahead of schedule, now slated to open on Thursday 6 November. The opening marks Sydney’s first major hotel launch in years, and will be the only five-star property for the city outside the CBD. The hotel will offer 140-guest rooms as well as a number of function and meeting spaces including a swanky Rooftop Pool and Lounge.
Tourist arrivals to Malaysia have continued to grow despite a challenging year, with the country welcoming 16.1 million people from January to July this year, taking it one step closer to its goal of 28 million tourists target for 2014.
The country registered a hike of 9.7% compared to 14.7 million tourist arrivals for the same period last year, with the biggest tourist generating market being Singapore, bringing over 8 million visitors.
Indonesia, China, Brunei, Thailand, India, Australia and the Philippines are among the other top tourist generating markets, with Malaysia reporting over 2.2 million tourist arrivals in July alone.
Carnival Cruise Lines’ president and CEO Gerry Cahill has announced that he is retiring as of November 30, following 20 years of service with the company that saw the cruise line’s fleet grow to 24.
Cahill has been CEO of the cruise brand since 2007, during which he introduced the Dream Class, a new class of ships that included Carnival Dream, and overseeing a range of new cruising features such as Funship 2.0 ship enhancements and Carnival LIVE concert series.
Scoopon Travel's Gordy Bayne was a guest at the Emirates marque at Derby Day at the Flemington racecourse and even nabbed a pic with the coveted Cup and EK's Dean Cleaver. This year the Emirates marque had Germany as their ‘destination partner’ and as always, was the place to be. Celebrities flocked to the marque, even ‘the Bachelor’ made an appearance alongside many of the AFL royalty and faces from Channel 7.
A camera-shy koala has helped Tropical North Queensland hit 100,000 fans on its Facebook page, with Tourism Tropical North Queensland director destination content Kate Duffy saying it was the first time she had seen a koala refuse to pose for photos.
“The image of Tiana hiding behind a tree at Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas struck a chord with our Facebook fans when we challenged them to caption the quirky photo for us,” she said.
“We welcome contributions from the public who can share their photos on our Facebook page, or tag their photos on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #exploreTNQ.”
The South African cricket team was in Sydney last week ahead of their KFC T20 International Series match against Australia on November 9 at Stadium Australia, with the players taking some time out in Sydney Harbour, including taking the opportunity to enjoy a BridgeClimb.
The KFC T20 International Series kick starts Australia’s biggest ever summer of cricket with Sydney set to host the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2015, when the South African team will return to Sydney to take on the West Indies in their first match at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground.
‘The Wizarding World of Harry Potter’ at Universal Orlando Resort has been named in the ‘Top ten unforgettable family travel experiences for 2015’ by Lonely Planet.
Located in Universal’s Islands of Adventure, visitors can explore Hogwarts castle, taste a Butterbeer and enjoy the Harry Potter ride, with the Universal Studios Florida opening ‘The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley’ next door to the resort, with its own host of entertainment and attractions.
STA Travel and United Airlines have this week teamed up to announce Aussie travellers are now able to book non-stop flights from Melbourne to Los Angeles on board United’s new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, with STA Travel excited to offer this new flight option to its customers.
STA Travel’s ‘STAn’ Kombi van headed out to Melbourne airport to meet with United Airlines’ senior vice-president Dave Hilfman and director for Australia and New Zealand Alison Espley to mark the occasion, with the flight running six days a week and replacing the current route that sees United’s Melbourne to LA flights go via Sydney with a one-hour stopover.
Travel Alberta has partnered with Rocky Mountaineer to showcase A Taste of Alberta at Sydney’s Shangri-La Hotel on December 3, which will highlight the cuisine served on board the Rocky Mountaineer, along with the various activities and specials offered on the trips.
Agents will be placed into cooking groups and allocated one sous chef from Sydney Cooking School to assist them in preparing some of Rocky Mountaineer chef Jean Pierre’s classic dishes, while official airline partner for the event Air New Zealand will give away a return trip for two to Canada, including a ground prize provided by Rocky Mountaineer and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.
Agents wanting to RSVP for the event can register online can do so here.
The Athenaeum Hotel and Apartments has released a special ‘Paddington Tea’ and a family apartment package in celebration of the English release of the new Paddington Bear film, with the special available from November 1 until the end of December.
The special tea menu includes scones with English Marmalade and finger sandwiches with a Paddington twist, with five pound of every Paddington Tea booked going to Action Medical Research, for which Paddington Bear has been the official mascot for over 35 years.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
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