World News

Colors: Blue Color

Instagramming the world's highest peak is set to become much easier following Nepal's plans to create a free wi-fi zone at Everest Base Camp. Although at the moment paid-for wi-fi is available at various hotels and restaurants in the area, at 5,380m (17,600ft) it is expected to be the world's highest free wi-fi zone.

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.

The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Education Foundation (CHTAEF) has advised the application deadline for its scholarship program is Thursday, March 30, 2017. Scholarships are open to Caribbean students and industry professionals pursuing higher education or professional development in the hospitality and tourism field and are awarded with support from CHTAEF sponsors and supporters.

The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) presented checks totaling $70,000 to hotel associations in Haiti and The Bahamas to assist residents in both countries with Hurricane Matthew relief efforts. Recognizing the considerable hardship and damage which Haiti and part of the northern Bahamas faced in the aftermath of the hurricane, CHTA President Karolin Troubetzkoy called upon fellow hoteliers in the region to respond to the association's call for support.

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.

Two of the Caribbean's premier tourism events will be staged concurrently in June in Miami during Caribbean-American Heritage Month. The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) announced that the Caribbean Hotel Industry Exchange Forum (CHIEF), usually held in the fall, will now take place during the first week of June alongside the popular Taste of the Caribbean educational experience, cultural showcase and culinary competition.

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 60th 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.

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