Asia-Pacific Newsletter May 2008
This month's featured country on www.i-mi.com: Austria
Did You Know: All individual hotel, congress center, DMC and country presentations can be downloaded as a single-page pdf directly from their presentation.
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Asia-Pacific Newsletter May 2008 |
This month's featured country on www.i-mi.com: Austria Did You Know: All individual hotel, congress center, DMC and country presentations can be downloaded as a single-page pdf directly from their presentation. |
| In This Issue | Editors Note |
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MALAYSIA: The BCCK – Kuching Is Getting a Convention Center MALAYSIA: New Ocean Wing Open at Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort and Spa, Kota Kinabalu AUSTRALIA: $150 Million Entertainment Complex, Ivy, Opens In Sydney CHINA: Ritz-Carlton Opens on Hainan Island CHINA: Grand Hyatt Hotel Opens in Guangzhou In The Air
V Australia Taking Reservations
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Let's all send prayers of help and healing for our friends in Burma. And if you want to donate, Avaaz.org, a new global web movement, is raising funds for the International Burmese Monks Organization, which will transmit funds directly to monasteries in affected areas. In many of the worst-hit areas, the monasteries are the only source of shelter and food for Burma's poorest people. The monks have been on the front lines of the aid effort since the storm struck and are the most trusted and reliable institution in the country. Until next time Helena Miele, CITE |
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The first dedicated convention and exhibition center, the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) will open in May 2009. The State Government of Sarawak is building the Centre, which is currently under construction. The BCCK will have a Great Hall that will seat up to 5,000 attendees for a convention or 2,000 for a banquet. The Hall can be sub-divided into 4 sound-proof, smaller sections allowing simultaneous events or a conference and exhibition running side-by-side. The facility will also have another banqueting hall accommodating 700 attendees and up to 14 break-out rooms seating from 40 to 500 attendees. Extensive kitchen facilities for both Asian and Western cuisine will be available on site and there will be a self-contained restaurant with magnificent views over the Sarawak River and rainforest beyond. There will be underground and surface car parking and a covered coach drop-off point for 8 coaches. The development is part of The Isthmus, a development project approximately 5 km/3 miles from the centre of Kuching, which will include new hotels, retail and leisure facilities, apartments and parkland. Mr. Trevor McCartney has been appointed Chief Executive of the BCCK. Trevor was formerly Director of International Sales and Operations at Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall (PEACH) Thailand and has broad international convention center experience having also held posts at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, the International Convention Centre, Birmingham and The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre London. Website: www.bcck.com.my * *The website will be up soon… and we'll write more about the Centre closer to its opening in May 2009. . |
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 The Luxury Trains represents India's newest touring train, The Golden Chariot, and also many of India's premiere trains including the Palace on Wheels, Heritage on Wheels and Deccan Odyssey train lines. The Luxury Trains accepts group bookings for all the trains and group size varies from 15 to 102 passengers between the trains. The length of each trip varies as well from a 4 day/3 night trip up to the 8 day/7 night trip on the Golden Chariot.The Golden Chariot train is named after one of the sites on its route, the famous Stone Chariot in Hampi, a world heritage site, in Southern India. This train takes passengers on an exploration of historical heritage sites and palaces, to wildlife preserves and the golden beaches of Goa. It is a 5-Star Luxury train with two restaurants, a lounge and a fully equipped gym and Ayurveda Spa with two massage rooms. A Conference Coach accommodating 30 attendees will be added later this year. The Conference Coach will be outfitted with a 42" LCD screen and high-speed Internet. Each cabin is opulently decorated and equipped with LCD TV, Wi-Fi, DVD, wardrobe, vanity/writing desk and private bathroom with luxurious amenities and accessories. The Golden Chariot leaves from Bangalore every Monday and returns to Bangalore the following Monday. Its itinerary includes Mysore Palace, the World Heritage Site of Halebidu, Hampi and Goa's golden beaches. Activities during the trip include sightseeing with visits to temples, walks in nature, a jungle safari, a boat ride and sumptuous meals and afternoon teas on and off the train. E-mail: salesin@thegoldenchariot.co.in Website: www.thegoldenchariot.co.in . |
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 The Rasa Ria Resort and Spa on Pantai Dalit Beach in the state of Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia recently added a five-story Ocean Wing. The new wing offers 90 sea-facing generously sized Premier guestrooms. Each Ocean Wing room features an outdoor terrace with private bathtub for two and a bathing experience menu with such delightful treats as flower petals, candlelight, champagne and aromatherapy scents of jasmine, local passion fruit and lemongrass.The Rasa Ria Resort is situated on 400 acres that border the sea. A Nature Reserve, the Orangutan education centre and an ecologically friendly championship golf course are on property. The Nature Reserve features native plants and animals and rehabilitates baby Orangutans. The golf course is an 18-hole par 72 championship course. This property is a glorious choice for incentive travel programs or meetings. It has 330 guest rooms including 10 suites and 54 ground level rooms with private lanais. Meeting facilities can easily accommodate small or large events with meeting rooms accommodating from 20 to 1,000 attendees. There are 8 function rooms, 2 boardrooms, 2 ballrooms and a Grand Ballroom. The resort has 7 restaurants and lounges. Activities abound at the Rasa Ria. There is sailing, windsurfing, water-skiing, fishing, Rasa Ria Cat boat tours, swimming pool with children's pool and outdoor Jacuzzi, a floodlit tennis court, horseback riding, cycling and nature walks, wall climbing, multi-purpose games court, games arcade with pool tables, video game machines and mahjong tables, tours to Mount Kinabalu and jungle treks, whitewater rafting (seasonal), tours to the Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary and the Danum Valley Conservation Centre. The Spa and fitness center is complete with Jacuzzi, steam bath and massage The Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort is located 40 minutes from Kota Kinabalu International Airport and 35 minutes from the shopping and commercial district. Website: http://www.shangri-la.com . |
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 Sydney's newest function space, The Ivy, recently opened and is accepting bookings from 1st June onwards. The Ivy is an entertainment venue that combines a night out, a meeting place, function venue and an escape from reality. There are eighteen bars, nine restaurants, ten retail outlets, and a pillarless ballroom that accommodates 1,000. The ballroom, the Ivy room, has a grand staircase, six-meter high ceiling, and six white papier-mâché chandeliers hanging from its white glossy solid timber ceiling. A covered outdoor Garden Terrace Room is adjacent to the main ballroom. The Ivy Room is outfitted with dramatic lighting and designed for events with state-of-the-art audio-visual and Internet technology. The room's easy access helps events planners, the AV companies creating themes for each event, contractors, staging and VIPs entry and departure with a drive-in underground loading dock and a large service-only lift, which goes directly to the function floor.The Ivy has the capacity to transform from a motivating function environment during the day to an enchanting magical room for an evening event. Email: email: functions@merivale.com Website: www.merivale.com/ivy . |
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 Ritz-Carlton opened its latest hotel in China on Hainan Island. The Ritz-Carlton, Sanya, on Hainan Island is situated between Yalong Bay's white sand beach and a mangrove reserve. There are 450 guest rooms including 66 club rooms, 33 pool villas each with their own private butler, and 21 luxury suites. The pool villas feature one, two or three bedrooms and large outside deck, double and single sun loungers and infinity pool. All guest rooms are large and are outfitted with private balconies, marble bathrooms with separate bath tubs and rain showers, flat screen high definition TVs, in-room cappuccino/coffee/tea makers, and iPOD docking stations.Meeting facilities include 1,700 sq m/18,299 sqft of flexible space with a ballroom that is divisible into four rooms and nine meeting rooms. There are seven dining and drinking experiences, which all follow the SPICE principle – simple, pure, innovative, consistent and engaging. The ESPA Spa wills the biggest Ritz-Carlton spa in the region with 24 private treatment rooms, six of which are private spa suites. Additional facilities include four swimming pools, a full-service fitness centre, tennis courts, The Ritz-Carlton Kids club, an on-site florist, and business, technology and babysitting services. There is also a designer boutique shopping arcade. The Ritz-Carlton, Sanya is 40 minutes from the Sanya Phoenix International Airport. Website: http://www.ritzcarlton.com . |
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 The Grand Hyatt Guangzhou recently opened in the new central business district of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province. The new property, situated in one wing of a new twin tower building, has a 'sky lobby' located on the 22nd floor and 375 guest rooms. Each guest room is simply designed with luxurious materials and textures and features 'bathroom islands' with separate rain shower and soaking tub, work stations with high-speed broadband Internet access and universal adaptors, in-room iPod docking stations and built-in 37" LCD flat-screen TVs.Meeting facilities are located on the third floor and comprise a Grand Ballroom, six function rooms, a boardroom and Business Center. All four of the hotel's food and beverage venues feature sweeping city views. The hotel's signature Chinese restaurant has 13 luxurious, residential-style private dining suites, each with dedicated butlers. Leisure facilities include an indoor rooftop pool, health club, saunas and whirlpools and a Spa that offers both body and foot massage and beauty treatments. Website: www.hyatt.com . |
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In The Air
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AirAsia |
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 AirAsia recently added greater accessibility for passengers. The airline purchased ambulifts for its Kuala Lumpur and Kosa Kinabalu hubs. The ambulifts transport disabled passengers from the ground to the aircraft and vice versa. Prior to the procurement of the ambulifts, AirAsia ground staff had to physically carry disabled passengers up the stairs and into the plane. The airline also acquired aisle wheelchairs to be used onboard after the passengers are lifted with the ambulifts. On board, in-flight lavatories are equipped with special built-in handles for disabled guests.Website: www.airasia.com . |
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V Australia Taking Reservations |
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 Australia's newest International Airline, V Australia, was officially launched to the industry on March 31 with a direct Sydney/Los Angeles return flight. Now, the airline is taking bookings for its official public launch on 15 December 2008. The launch of the new carrier, which is taking advantage of the open skies agreement between Australia and the United States, is making history. It is the first time that a second Australian airline is competing on the trans-Pacific route. Equipment used on this route is a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft configured in three classes of service: International Business, International Premium Economy and International Economy.
Tickets are on sale now and there are special conference rates. E-mail: conference.travel@vaustralia.com.au Website: www.vaustralia.com.au |