World News

Slovenia, one of Europe's greenest countries, will explode with colour in May as the Bohinj International Wild Flower Festival returns with the theme 'Flowers and Bees'. This year's festival opening coincides with World Bee Day, a United Nations initiative created in cooperation with The Slovenian Beekeepers' Association. In recent years, Slovenia has been identified as a leading beekeeping destination, creating honey therapy (apitherapy) programmes to emphasise how bees positively impact human lives.

Manly Beach will be the venue for Australia's rising Olympic hopefuls from four Olympic sports when more than 300 athletes take part in Australian Open of Surfing from Saturday 25 February – Sunday 5 March and 200 athletes participate in Volleyfest from Friday 17 March – Sunday 26 March. The Australian Open of Surfing will feature Whale Beach's surfing up-and-comer, Cedar Leigh-Jones who has Olympic Gold in her sights. She said, “Surfing's inclusion in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is a dream come true for my sport.

Jacada Travel are leading an industry-wide campaign to enforce the wearing of surgical face masks for people visiting the critically endangered mountain gorillas of Uganda and Rwanda. Gorillas are highly susceptible to human diseases, sharing 98.4% of our DNA. With no immunity to viruses such as the common cold, gorillas are very much at risk when in proximity to people.

Beginning March 1, the Harvard Museum of Natural History, located on the historic Harvard University campus, will join the Boston CityPASS program. For 20 years, CityPASS ticket booklets have allowed travelers to visit a destination's top attractions while saving nearly half off combined admission prices. Each 2017 Boston CityPASS booklet includes prepaid, discounted admission to the New England Aquarium, Museum of Science, Skywalk Observatory at the Prudential Center, and a choice between either a Boston Harbor Cruise or the Harvard Museum of Natural History.

Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan in collaboration with Spreading Smiles Community and Karawan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa arranged a one day trip for 98 orphan students of Aghosh Alkhidmat Peshawar. Children visited Bagh e Naran, Tatara Park, Qila Bala Hisar and Peshawar Museum. Students also enjoyed their lunch at Spring Night restaurant where they relished their heartiest food. Commandant Frontier Corp Peshawar gave shoes to all the students as gift.

The Latin America Travel Association (LATA) has announced the judging panel for the LATA Media Awards which will take place on 16 May 2017 at Lima Floral in central London. The LATA Media Awards recognise innovation and excellence across the British travel media landscape with a specific focus on Latin America. Every year, LATA holds an awards ceremony to celebrate and reward inspiring and creative Latin America features and photography.

Heritage Le Telfair and Heritage Awali have been awarded the Green Key eco-label, joining 2,500 resorts worldwide which adhere to the environmental standards set by the Green Key initiative and the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). This news coincides with the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the UN's World Tourism Organization and a year where sustainable travel has been highlighted as a key travel trend by ABTA.

The city of Palm Springs, which has long been known for its celebrity appeal, is getting ready to welcome some of the biggest names in music for The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The city will be awash with famous faces including featured artists Beyoncé, Radiohead and Kendrick Lamar. Celebrities and holidaymakers alike will be welcomed to Palm Springs during the festival, which will take place over two weekends in April (14th – 16th & 21st – 23rd).

World Boxing Champion Manny Pacquiao from the Philippines is partnering with a leading Caribbean hospital and charity to bring free cardiac care to children from his homeland. Pacquiao, who together with his wife founded the Emmanuel and Jinkee's Heart Foundation, has sealed a partnership with Have a Heart Cayman Islands and tertiary care hospital Health City Cayman Islands. The details of the collaboration were disclosed during a recent visit to Grand Cayman where he toured the hospital.

Bonnie Carlson, President of Bloomington CVB said: “Bloomington Minnesota has identified the U.K and Ireland as countries that send visitors to Minnesota and that we want to communicate with. “Our partnership with Cellet Marketing and Public Relations is a key reason why we have had great success in these markets. Their professionalism and expertise in the travel industry, and their ability to execute our marketing promotions, is of great value to us. We simply would not have had the success we have experienced without them.”

The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) released its first quarter 2017 Statistical and Economic Report, which shows Hawaii’s economy continues to expand at a slightly reduced rate. According to the most recent data released on Feb. 2 from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Hawaii’s economic growth rate during the first three quarters of 2016 was 2.1 percent, higher than the U.S. economic growth rate of 1.4 percent during the same time period.

March 6 marks 60 years of independence for Ghana, and in celebration, Ghana Union Midlands will present the ‘Ghana’s 60^th Independence Anniversary Celebrations,’ at the Parkland Banqueting Suite, in Hockley, in Birmingham. The comprehensive and dynamic dinner and dance spectacular will provide the ideal opportunity for natives of the West African country, and guests, to come together and share in the rich history, heritage, wealth and future expectations of a country which once ruled its own empire, for its centuries of independent rule before.

The 1,700-kilometre long Great Himalaya Trail returns at the end of the month and 59-year old Ian Whittaker, from Yorkshire, aims to become only the second person from the UK to complete the so-called 'trekking's holy grail' since it was launched in 2011. Exclusive with World Expeditions, the Full Nepal Traverse of the Great Himalaya Trail goes up to 6,190 metres above sea level and offers stunning views, including 8 peaks of more than 8,000 metres along the way.