Category: Latest Travel News

Bangkok (Thailand) – September 29, 2018 (travelindex.com) – The South Africa Ball, brings a golden night of South African culture and celebrating 25 Years of Diplomatic Relations with Thailand alongside with the Centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth, will be taking place on Saturday 6th October 2018. Proudly hosted by JABULANI and the South African – Thai Chamber Of Commerce (SATCC).

The South Africa Ball will support and fundraise for two worthwhile charity organisations: The Rice Seeds Child Sponsorship Program and The Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre (Hesc) Rhino Orphanage.

When: Saturday 6th October 2018 at 6.30pm
Where: Shangri-la Hotel Bangkok
Tickets on sale at: www.satcc.info/events/south-african-ball-2018

Bangkok (Thailand) – September 28, 2018 (travelindex) – Best Western Hotels and Resorts today marked an industry first, introducing a pair of boutique brands – Sadie HotelSM and Aiden HotelSM. Sadie Hotel will compete in the upscale segments, and Aiden Hotel will compete in the upper midscale segment. These conversion brands offer developers an opportunity to reposition existing properties to improve their performance and enhance their asset value. These brands will offer hoteliers a design program with unprecedented flexibility. Sadie Hotel and Aiden Hotel’s edgy personalities will be reflected across each hotel, starting from the moment travelers enter the colorful, imaginative lobbies. The same charming style will be interwoven throughout other common areas and in unique guestrooms, services and amenities. The appealing brands will allow hoteliers to tap into the local flair of their market, broaden their customer base, and achieve higher RevPAR.

“Sadie Hotel and Aiden Hotel are chic, sophisticated and unique hotel brands that will reflect the style and pulse of the community they are in – bringing a sense of adventure and fun to guests at each hotel,” said David Kong, President & Chief Executive Officer at Best Western Hotels & Resorts. “We’re thrilled to be the first in the industry to launch a pair of boutique brands – Sadie Hotel for the upscale segments and Aiden Hotel for the upper midscale segment. Both Sadie Hotel and Aiden Hotel present the opportunity for independent hoteliers or developers with branded hotels to reposition their property in a unique way, taking advantage of our cost-effective, turnkey and customized design and renovation program. A dedicated onboarding team will ensure these repositioned hotels are quickly integrated with Best Western’s powerful revenue engines intended to drive a fast ramp up in business. A marketing and PR playbook for each hotel will drive social media visibility and buzz.”

Innovative Design Elements
Filling a void in the upscale hotel scene, Sadie Hotel and Aiden Hotel give developers the chance to be creative and incorporate local flair into their designs, retrofitting or rebranding an existing hotel with a modern, spirited aesthetic. The brands creatively use space and technology, while eliminating some typical hotel requirements. At the center of each Sadie Hotel and Aiden Hotel is a multi-functional public area with either a café or bar; modern signature seating; and mobile check-in for convenient guest check-in. Properties will also have branded Sadie Hotel and Aiden Hotel items on display and available for purchase so that guests can take a piece of Sadie Hotel or Aiden Hotel home with them.

Integration with a Powerhouse Brand
Every hotel will be provided unparalleled systems and support, and will be on boarded in a rapid ramp-up with near immediate access to Best Western’s award-winning website, global partnerships and sales team, and state-of-the-art revenue management system. Hotels will also have access to a revenue manager to maximize revenue and reduce operating costs. And similar to other Best Western branded hotels, Sadie Hotel and Aiden Hotel owners will experience the strongest brand support in the industry with attractive fees.

With the launch of Sadie Hotel and Aiden Hotel, today’s Best Western portfolio includes 13 distinctive brands, continuing the evolution begun by the company’s successful $2 billion brand refresh. Sadie Hotel and Aiden Hotel will benefit from Best Western’s reputation for providing superior guest service and will have access to the award-winning Best Western Rewards® program, which contributes about 50% of gross room revenue to hotels.

Brand Playbooks to Streamline PR & Social Media Efforts, Creating Local Market Buzz
Each Sadie Hotel and Aiden Hotel will become one of the most talked about hotels within its community and hoteliers will benefit from Best Western’s robust global influencer programming and PR efforts, as the Sadie Hotel and Aiden Hotel story is told on both paid and earned channels. Customizable marketing playbooks provided by Best Western will make achieving PR and social media wins easy, including Sadie Hotel and Aiden Hotel PR and social media campaigns that are unique, full of surprises, and will tap into the flair of the local market. Best Western has the second highest social engagement rankings in the industry and brand-endorsed Sadie Hotel and Aiden Hotel campaigns will amplify the brand’s media investments and strong storytelling on a local level.

About Best Western® Hotels & Resorts:
Best Western Hotels & Resorts headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, is a privately held hotel brand with a global network of 4,200* hotels in more than 100* countries and territories worldwide. Best Western offers 13 hotel brands to suit the needs of developers and guests in every market: Best Western®, Best Western Plus®, Best Western Premier®, Vīb®, GLō®, Executive Residency by Best Western®, Sadie HotelSM, Aiden HotelSM, BW Premier Collection® by Best Western, and BW Signature Collection® by Best Western, as well as its recently launched franchise offerings: SureStay® Hotel by Best Western, SureStay Plus® Hotel by Best Western and SureStay Collection® by Best Western. Now celebrating more than 70 years of hospitality, Best Western provides its hoteliers with global operational, sales and marketing support, and award-winning online and mobile booking capabilities. Best Western continues to set industry records regarding awards and accolades, including 66 percent of the brand’s North American hotels earning a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence award in 2018, Business Travel News® ranking Best Western Plus and Best Western number one in upper-mid-price and mid-price hotel brands, and Fast Company honoring Best Western Hotels & Resorts with a spot in the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in the Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality category. Best Western has also won nine consecutive AAA®/CAA® Lodging Partner of the Year awards, recognizing the brand’s commitment to providing exceptional service and great value to AAA/CAA’s nearly 58 million members in the U.S. and Canada. Best Western-branded hotels were top ranked in J.D. Power’s 2017 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study – ranking first in breakfast (food and beverage category) for midscale; and second in overall guest satisfaction. Over 35 million travelers are members of the brand’s award-winning loyalty program Best Western Rewards®, one of the few programs in which members earn points that never expire and can be redeemed at any Best Western-branded hotel worldwide. Best Western’s partnerships with AAA/CAA and Google® Street View provide travelers with exciting ways to interact with the brand. Through its partnership with Google Street View, Best Western is the first major company of its size and scale to launch a virtual reality experience for customers, setting a new industry standard and reinventing how guests view hotels.
* All Best Western and SureStay-branded hotels are independently owned and operated.
* Numbers are approximate, may fluctuate, and include hotels currently in the development pipeline.

Contact information:
Marketing Communications Department
Best Western Hotels and Resorts – Asia
Tel: +66 2 656 1260

Sirimanas Maungrod

Email:sirimanas.maungrod@bestwestern.com
Orapan Sornnuwat
Email:orapan.sornnuwat@bestwestern.com

Bangkok (Thailand) – September 26, 2018 (travelindex) – In order to thank members of the website www.tourismthailand.org/newshadeofluxe the Tourism Authority of Thailand together with our leading allied, both in products and tourism services, are offering the members a special luxury traveling experience which includes numerous accommodations, spas, and transportations. They are Pimalai Resort & Spa, The Sukhothai Bangkok, Phu Chaisai Mountain Resort, Rayavadee, Divana Spa, Le Meridien Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok Golf Resort & Spa, Sofitel Krabi Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort, Silavadee Pool Spa Resort, CELES Beachfront Resort Koh Samui and Thai Airways.

Visit our website www.tourismthailand.org/newshadeofluxe and select your preferred privilege you will then be given the code to redeem the special privilege from our partners.

Reward yourself NOW! until 31st October.

For more information, go to… www.tourismthailand.org/newshadeofluxe

Dubai (United Arab Emirates) – September 25, 2018 (travelindex) – Ethiopian Airlines, the largest Aviation Group in Africa and SKYTRAX certified Four Star Global Airline, is pleased to announce that it has been crowned “Best African Airline” at Arabian Travel Awards 2018, the second edition of Arabian Travel Awards, held on September 20, 2018 in Dubai.

The winners of the award were determined based on the votes of travelers.

Regarding the award, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines remarked, “We are honored to have been voted the ‘Best African Airline’ at the Arabian Travel Awards 2018, a testimony that our product and services are meeting the high expectations of customers from the Middle East.

Ethiopian currently flies to 12 destinations in the Middle East and thrice daily from Dubai with ultramodern aircraft, connecting travelers from the Middle East to over 60 destinations in Africa and over 115 worldwide. In line with our long term growth plan, Vision 2025, we will continue to invest in expanding our ultramodern fleet and global destinations ultimately creating even better connectivity options for travellers around the world in general and the Middle East in particular.”

The Arabian Travel Awards recognize and encourage the talent in the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors under different categories such as Airlines, Cruise companies, Hotels, Travel Technology Providers, Travel Insurance Facilitators, B2B Travel Portals, Travel Agents, Tour Operators and Holiday companies, among others.

Ethiopian is a multi-award winning airline registering an average growth of 25% in the past seven years.

About Ethiopian
Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) is the fastest growing Airline in Africa. In its seventy plus years of operation, Ethiopian has become one of the continent’s leading carriers, unrivalled in efficiency and operational success.

Ethiopian commands the lion’s share of the pan-African passenger and cargo network operating the youngest and most modern fleet to more than 116 international passenger and cargo destinations across five continents. Ethiopian fleet includes ultra-modern and environmentally friendly aircraft such as Airbus A350, Boeing 787-8, Boeing 787-9, Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 777-200LR, Boeing 777-200 Freighter, Bombardier Q-400 double cabin with an average fleet age of five years. In fact, Ethiopian is the first airline in Africa to own and operate these aircraft.

Ethiopian is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan called Vision 2025 that will see it become the leading aviation group in Africa with Six business centers: Ethiopian International Services; Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services; Ethiopian MRO Services; Ethiopian Aviation Academy; Ethiopian ADD Hub Ground Services and Ethiopian Airports Services. Ethiopian is a multi-award winning airline registering an average growth of 25% in the past seven years.

For more information, please contact:
Mrs. Aniley Eshetu
A/Manager Corporate Communications
Ethiopian Airlines
Tel 🙁 251-1)517-89-07/656/165/913/529
CorporateCommunication@ethiopianairlines.com
www.ethiopianairlines.com

Hong Kong (Hong Kong SAR) – September 25, 2018 (travelindex.com) – A new Guinness world record of group calligraphy was set at the inaugural “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Youth Festival – Confucius’ Birthday Celebration” at AsiaWorld-Expo. Co-organized by the GuangDong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Youth Association and Confucian Academy, the feat namely “The Largest Calligraphy Class” involved the efforts of 2,252 youths across from the Greater Bay Area, all dressed in ethnic costumes of our country’s 56 ethnic groups, and concertedly completed the calligraphy of Chinese word “ru” (meaning “scholar” or “learned man” in Confucianism) in Lishu style. Among the participants is Alex Fong, a Hong Kong artist who dressed in a Bai ethnic costume to reflect his roots. The event is also dedicated to celebrate Confucius’ birthday.

The opening ceremony of the inaugural Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Youth Festival was also held during the event. Among the officiating guests were Mr. Yasuo Fukuda, Former Prime Minister of Japan; Mr. Lau Kong-wah, Secretary for Home Affairs of the HKSAR Government; Dr Law Chi-kwong, Secretary for Labour and Welfare; Mr. Shen Chong, Director General of the Coordination Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong; Mr. Yang Cheng Wei, Deputy Director-General of the Youth Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong; Dr. Tong Yun Kai, President of The Confucian Academy; and Mr. Angus Ng, Executive Chairman of GuangDong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Youth Association.

Dr. Tong Yun Kai, President of The Confucian Academy, stated, “The ancients said, ‘Writing reflects your personality’. It mirrors a person’s literacy and subtlety. As one of the Confucian Six Arts of rites, calligraphy inspires the mind of youths to guide them to ‘cultivate oneself, bring order to the family, govern the country and bring justice and virtue to the World’. ‘The Largest Calligraphy Class’ at the ‘Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Youth Festival – Confucius’ Birthday Celebration’ gathers the sincere and collective effort of 2,252 youths from across the Greater Bay Area in writing the Chinese word ‘ru’, but also showcases their respect for history and traditional culture. Echoing this meaningful event, The Confucian Academy pays homage to the Confucian on his birthday. We are confident fellow participants of this calligraphy feat will have an enhanced cultural confidence inspired by Confucian ritual and music culture. We are looking forward for the youths to become a new force in preaching Confucianism, showcasing the excellence of Chinese culture to global audience, and promoting the diversity of world civilization and religion.”

Mr. Angus Ng, Executive Chairman of GuangDong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Youth Association, addressed, “Precision, concentration, commitment and mutual cooperation are keys to success in ‘The Largest Calligraphy Class’. The calligraphy experience of 2,252 youths is a process of inspiring their mind that embodies the values of outstanding traditional Chinese culture and Confucianism. The outstanding traditional Chinese culture represents the unique spiritual identity of the Chinese. It is also the rich nourishment for endless development and growth of the nation. Chinese culture must adapt to contemporary culture and coordinate with modern society to achieve ‘creative transformation and innovative development’. Learning Confucianism is a way for youths to fulfil their national responsibility, sum up experience and bring forth the new through the old. Therefore, ‘The Largest Calligraphy Class’ is more than an event promoting the outstanding traditional Chinese culture, but also sowing the seeds across the youth generation to enlightening their achievement of ‘creative transformation and innovative development’.”

Stringent criteria apply to verify the eligibility of “The Largest Calligraphy Class”. Precision, concentration, commitment and mutual cooperation are just some keys to accomplish the record-setting feat. Prior the event, participants are required to attend a two-lesson intensive calligraphy training instructed by calligraphy teachers to hone their skills. During the event, 2,252 participants are equally divided into 50 groups, or 50 participants per group. Witnessed by notaries, participants must demonstrate full commitment to the class, and write the Chinese word “ru” in Lishi style and with correct strokes. Participants who fail to meet the strict standards will be disqualified by the notaries. Meanwhile, the feat achieves the event’s goals by preaching the concepts mutual cooperation, building a peaceful and harmonious society, enhancing the global understanding of Chinese culture and Confucianism, and inviting global audience to experience the building of China’s modern culture and inheritance of Chinese cultural heritage.

Riding on the occasion, a large-scale Confucius birthday celebration is also presented by The Confucian Academy. Comprised of customs and rituals, musical and dancing performances, the 3-hour celebration not only calls upon the solemn yet sophisticated Confucian rituals aligning with the essence of Five Cardinal Virtues, but also opens the door of Confucian culture to youths. The anticipated celebration even impressed fellow officiating guest Mr. Fukuda, a renowned Chinese culture enthusiast who just announced the establishment of Practicing Peace Foundation during his Hong Kong visit to promoting global peace and cooperation.

GuangDong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Youth Association firmly adheres to the “One Country” principle and makes good use of “Two Systems”, upholding solidarity of youths from all walks of life across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area to cooperate in building the future of Greater Bay Area. A feast of youth activities in Hong Kong, the inaugural Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Youth Festival is a one-year programme comprised of culture and art exchange, career and entrepreneurship counselling and sharing, and sports events, with the aims of best promoting Chinese traditional culture and facilitating exchanges between youths across the Greater Bay Area. Besides “The Largest Calligraphy Class”, the Festival monumentally commenced with the launch of Innovating Hong Kong – International Talent Carnival, a mega career expo drawing tens of thousands of visitors.

The inaugural Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Youth Festival has forged partnerships with over 150 youth organizations across the Greater Bay Area and gathered the collaborative efforts from 20,000 youths for co-organizing the events. This is a successful example bringing youths across the Greater Bay Area together, realizing complementarity and win-win reciprocity, and eventually motivating their peers to achieve, to contribute to the society, and proactively participate in building the Greater Bay Area. Explore yourself at GuangDong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Youth Association activities and events. Register now at

About Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Youth Association
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Youth Association is a non-profit organization registered in Hong Kong. GuangDong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Youth Association firmly adheres to the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, upholding solidarity of youths from all walks of life across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, promoting mutual trust, complementarity and win-win reciprocity, and fostering proactive youth participation in building the Greater Bay Area. We welcome outstanding youths in the fields of innovation and technology, finance, shipping, trading, legal, real estate and tourism to join our cross-region, cross-sector exchange mechanism, offering recommendations and decisive references in building the Greater Bay Area. Primarily focused on building the Greater Bay Area, GuangDong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Youth Association offers the latest policy analyses, innovation and entrepreneurship counselling, socio-economic profile of the Greater Bay Area and field visit opportunities. GuangDong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Youth Association has formed a link mechanism in its organizational structure backed by a roundtable of conveners who are outstanding and prominent youth leaders in Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Zhaoqing, Huizhou and Jiangmen, fully mobilizing youth talents across the region to building the Greater Bay Area.

For enquiries, please contact:
Ms. Esther Chan
T: +852 3678 0109 / +852 9863 2950
E: esther.chan@mazarineap.com

Ms. Chris Yip
T: +852 3678 0179 / +852 9427 8323
E: chris@occhk.com

Phuket (Thailand) – September 25, 2018 (travelindex) – Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas is thrilled to be hosting Thailand’s very own Chef Nawamin Pinpathomrat for two nights of private dining and one cooking class in October. Chef Nawamin gained international celebrity when he became a finalist in the 2018 season of MasterChef UK with his uniquely Thai dishes.

A qualified medical doctor studying and conducting research at Oxford, it was Nawamin’s passion for cooking that brought him to the MasterChef kitchen. His “crab dance” caught everyone’s eye, but his crab curry enthralled the judge’s taste buds. Chef Nawamin now brings his delightful take on Thai flavours to Anantara Mai Khao. Anantara Mai Khao’s La Sala, featuring southern Thai cuisine, is the perfect venue to showcase Chef Nawamin’s specialities born from his experiences cooking with his grandmother in southern Thailand.

On Friday, 19 October, and Saturday, 20 October, guests can savour a five-course private dinner meticulously crafted by Chef Nawamin. Diners will discover the flavours that inspire these whimsical names: Grandma’s Garden (beef carpaccio and burnt aubergine salad), Wedding Ring (pan-seared scallops, oysters, and shimeji mushrooms), Anatomy of Crab (crab prepared four ways), Land of Smiles (Macadamia-encrusted sea bass), Swan Lake (sticky rice with Thai coconut custard).

On Saturday 20 October, Chef Nawamin will share tips and techniques as he takes a cooking class through creating two signature dishes. Starting with Kanom Jeap Nok (Bird-shaped dumplings), the class will learn how to make the dish crab in yellow curry.

There are only 20 places available for each night’s dinner at THB 7,500++ per person and only 15 places for Saturday’s cooking class at THB 7,500++ per person, so reservations are highly recommended.

A luxury stay and exclusive dining experience package available at starting rate THB 17,300+++ per night.

Package includes:
– Daily breakfast for two persons at La Sala Restaurant
– One dining experience OR one cooking class for two persons
– Round-trip airport transfers by Mercedes Benz E220

Terms and Conditions
– Above rate is subject to 10% service charge, applicable 7% government tax and 1% provincial tax.
– The rate quoted is per night per 2 persons, subject to availability, seasonal variations and change without notice.
– Rate noted above is based on recent currency exchange data. The rate indicated on your
confirmation is in the official hotel currency and will be charged at that rate on check-out.
– Minimum 3 nights’ consecutive stay required
– Offer available only from 19 to 21 October 2018 (3 nights inclusive)

For more information or to reserve your place, call +076 336 100 or email dining.apk@anantara.com.

About Anantara Hotels & Resorts:
Anantara is a luxury hospitality brand for modern travellers, connecting them to genuine places, people and stories through personal experiences, and providing heartfelt hospitality in the world’s most exciting destinations. The collection of distinct, thoughtfully designed luxury hotels and resorts provides a window through which to journey into invigorating new territory, curating personal travel experiences.

From cosmopolitan cities to desert sands to lush islands, Anantara connects travellers to the indigenous, grounds them in authentic luxury, and hosts them with passionate expertise. The portfolio currently boasts over 35 stunning hotel and properties located in Thailand, the Maldives, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Mozambique, Zambia, the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Portugal, with a pipeline of future properties across Asia, the Indian Ocean, Middle East, Africa and South America. The brand’s premier vacation ownership programme, Anantara Vacation Club, extends the opportunity to own a share in the Anantara experience with a portfolio of 8 luxurious Club Resorts as well as travel privileges at partner resorts and hotels worldwide.

Anantara is a member of Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), the world’s largest alliance of independent hotel brands.

About Global Hotel Alliance
Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) is the world’s largest alliance of independent hotel brands, bringing together 35 brands with 550 hotels in 76 countries. GHA uses a shared technology platform to drive incremental revenues and create cost savings for its member brands. GHA’s award-winning loyalty programme, DISCOVERY, provides over 10 million members exclusive opportunities to immerse themselves in local culture wherever they travel. GHA’s hotel brands currently include: Alila, Anantara, Art Series, Atura, AVANI, Corinthia, Doyle, Elewana, Eventhouse, First, GLO, Kempinski, Leela, Lungarno, Marco Polo, Meritage, Meydan, Mokara, Niccolo, NUO, Omni, Outrigger, Pan Pacific, PARKROYAL, QT, Rixos, Rydges, Shaza, Tangram, Thon, Tivoli, Ultratravel Collection and Viceroy.

For enquiries, please contact:
Wijarana Satasook (Oil)
Director of Marketing and Communication
Email: Wijarana_sa@anantara.com

Bangkok (Thailand) – September 25, 2018 (travelindex.com) – The family tree starts with Constantino Urbani in 1852, when he began exporting fresh truffles to Carpentras, France, thus creating a business that has become increasingly larger and more relevant through the years. Exports quickly expanded to France, Germany, Switzerland and at the same time as other Italian regions.

The Urbani family have faithfully dedicated themselves to providing top-notch truffles to treasured patrons. For more than 160 years the Urbani family’s service in the truffle industry has gone unparalleled by any other in its sector. So much so that 70% of all truffles sold in the world come under the Urbani name.

The international headquarters are located on the premises of Urbani Tartufi, Sant’Anatolia di Narco, in the province of Perugia, Italy. 150 employees work here using innovative technologies to process and preserve truffles with a protocol that enhances their natural characteristics and allows for new possibilities of use…

Most important is the Group’s presence abroad through the brand Urbani Truffles, with locations in all major countries of the world, and in five US cities: New York (US headquarters), Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco. Our latest additions to the roster are the branch of Manila, in the Philippines, Below the Urbani Truffles offices in the world: Scheggino – Rome – Orio al Serio Airport – Milan – Alba – Amsterdam – Athens – Barcelona – Berlin – Bruxelles – Copenhagen – London – Paris – Prague – Oslo – Vienna -Zurich – Beijing – Chicago – Dubai – Hong Kong – Kiev – Las Vegas – Los Angeles – Manila – Montreal – Moscow – New York – Rio de Janeiro -Singapore – Shanghai – Seoul – San Francisco – São Paulo – Taiwan -Toronto – Tokyo – and the last Urbani Truffle Bar & Restaurant founded in Bangkok with Roberto Ugolini

Urbani Truffle Bar & Restaurant present the most outstanding Italian fine dining with a spectacular view over the heart of Bangkok. View and quality describe Urbani Truffle Bar & Restaurant.

Urbani Truffle Bar & Restaurant serve the valued customers by luxury services.
The Restaurant area inspired by the elegant Italian style, sophisticated by stylish fine dining and decorated by vintage made in Italy furniture and the restaurant area occupied by up to 80 seats.

Urbani Truffle Bar & Restaurant welcome its honorable very important guests to the exclusive VIP room with customized services, and tastefully furnished by 20 seats.

Urbani Truffle Bar & Restaurant’s cocktail lounge is an upscale bar with delighted food tasting menu. It is a truly enjoyable experience at the spacious lounge bar with unique high-end wine collection that characterized by the span and complexity of its offering.

Urbani Truffle Bar & Restaurant is specialized in combining the Italian original cuisine with artistic fine dining of uniqueness and exclusivity and offers superior quality food with the element of uniqueness and exclusivity. The truffle-based dishes are simply excellent and obviously food menu is the culinary art of fine food.

What makes Urbani Truffle Bar & Restaurant’s cuisine unique and special is the fabulous Italian truffles that thanks to Urbani family directly imported from Italy.

All Urbani products are available to sell at Urbani Truffle Bar & Restaurant and through our website: www.urbanithailand.com

This concept Urbani Truffle Bar & Restaurant and Roberto Ugolini planned to expand in the next 2-3 years , in 20 different cities in the world, we are glad to consider any investor who love to have their own Urbani Truffle Bar & Restaurant, in franchise.

Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) – September 25, 2018 (travelindex) – Join the greatest fun run in the world in the land of runners, Great Ethiopian Run 2018 with ET Holidays offer. The 10k event is the biggest running event in Africa with more than 40,000 participants, 500 elite runners and several hundred runners from overseas.

Great Ethiopian Run marked the first time that a major annual 10 km race had been held in the country, renowned for producing world class runners. The run takes place in the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, which is 8,000 feet above sea level making it a must do event in the running calendar.

And More It’s been referred to as ‘the most exciting race in the world’; it is almost certainly one of the world’s noisiest, full of laughs races that switch the whole city to Carnival mode; and it attracts participants from all over the world.

Book this Fun with us and start with introduction to Beautiful Addis Ababa Nestled at the foot of Mount Entoto Addis Ababa enjoys a subtropical highland climate and the temperature is relatively constant throughout the year. your tour of the city will also include National Museum, Holy Trinity Cathedral in addition to sightseeing of the city.

For any inquiry: Please contact: ALLBKKETSalesTeam@ethiopianairlines.com

Tel: 02 653 4366

Bangkok (Thailand) – September 25, 2018 (travelindex.com) – With the frequency and severity of natural disasters occurring around the world, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is ready to assist affected destinations around the world as they look to quickly rebuild and recover.

The PATA Recovery Advisory Group assists member destinations in identifying key challenges facing the sector and providing turnaround strategies during periods of sudden decline in tourism arrivals and earnings as a result of natural or man-made disasters.

“The effects of global warming have only increased the severity and frequency of devastating weather events around the world and we have already seen this take place in India, USA, Puerto Rico, Japan, Hong Kong SAR, and Macao, China, to name a few. As PATA has often talked about the responsible development of travel and tourism in the Asia Pacific region, it is our duty to provide assistance when needed,” said PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy. “The PATA Recovery Advisory Group provides an opportunity for destinations to tap into the expertise of our expansive network of members and industry colleagues and leverage their support as they look to recover quickly from incidents beyond their control.”

The members of the PATA Recovery Advisory Group are formed on a skill-based volunteering basis, leveraging the specialized experience and expertise of individual PATA members to spearhead recovery eff­orts in the fields of marketing, branding and media, budgeting and financing, and safety and security.

Previous recovery efforts have been successful in such destinations as Nepal, after the devastating earthquake in April 2015, and in Bali, after the horrendous act of violence in 2002.

“Climate change is real and those that disagree are blind to events happening all around us, from frequent severe weather events happening around the globe to vanishing island nations in the Pacific. The travel and tourism industry must lead by example and many destinations and stakeholders have been taking steps in embracing practical measures to offset the potentially irreversible damage caused by climate change, such as the banning of single-use plastics, the reduction of food waste, and the use of renewable energies, to name a few,” added Dr. Hardy. “The PATA Recovery Advisory Group is in line with our activities on advocacy, human capital development and sustainability, but one which we would rather not have to call upon. Nevertheless, PATA will always continue to advocate responsible tourism development that benefits, rather than destroy, our communities.”

For more information about the PATA Recovery Advisory Group, please visit the following link:

About PATA
Founded in 1951, PATA is a not-for-profit membership association that acts as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its more than 800 member organisations, including 95 government, state and city tourism bodies, 20 international airlines and airports, 102 hospitality organisations and 70 educational institutions, as well as over a hundred young tourism professional (YTP) members across the world. The PATA network also embraces the grassroots activism the PATA Chapters and Student Chapters, who organise numerous travel industry training programmes and business development events across the world. Thousands of travel professionals belong to the 35 local PATA Chapters worldwide, while hundreds of students are members of the 21 PATA Student Chapters globally. Their local activities underpins PATA’s membership in Uniting Travel, a coalition of the world’s major Travel & Tourism organisations dedicated to ensuring that the sector speaks with one voice and acts in unison on the major issues and includes ACI, CLIA, IATA, ICAO, WEF, UNWTO and the WTTC. The PATAmPOWER platform delivers unrivalled data, forecasts and insights from the PATA Strategic Intelligence Centre to members’ desktops and mobile devices anywhere in the world. PATA’s Head Office has been in Bangkok since 1998. The Association also has official offices or representation in Beijing and London.

Bangkok (Thailand) – September 25, 2018 (travelindex.com) – Anantara Hotels and Resorts, the indigenous experience led luxury hotel brand, will roll out a global ban on the use of single-use plastic straws at every property worldwide by 1st October 2018. Since January of this year, when Anantara was the first major hotel brand to announce its decision to eradicate plastic straws at every single property across the Asia region, Anantara has been working hard to roll out the ban to properties in Australasia, Europe and the Middle East.

“Following the immense success of the first phase of the plastic straw ban at all Anantara properties in Asia, we are thrilled to announce the implementation of this policy worldwide,” explains John Roberts, Group Director of Sustainability & Conservation for Anantara. “Each single-use plastic straw takes hundreds of years to break down and scientists predict there may soon be more straws than fish in the oceans by 2050. Anantara guests are forward thinking and sustainably minded and want to continue to enjoy the beautifully lush surroundings for which Anantara is famous for generations to come.”

The decision to ban plastic straws is just one more step in Anantara’s ongoing journey as a leading luxury sustainable tourism brand. In April of this year, Anantara took the decision to replace the packaging of all dry amenities with compostable paper and plastic toothbrushes have been replaced with a biodegradable straw alternative. For years, locally sourced toiletries such as shampoo, have been provided in larger ceramic pumps to reduce the amount of packaging and waste created by individual mini servings. This alone prevents an estimated 4.16 million plastic bottles from ending up in landfills around the world annually.

Plastic water bottles are the next ubiquitous item earmarked for total abolition across the Anantara portfolio. All plastic water bottles will be banned from rooms and gyms to be replaced with recyclable glass or refillable alternatives as a brand standard by the end of 2018. Until then, guests will increasingly notice an absence of plastic from all outlets and facilities in the Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas they frequent. The sumptuous restaurants for which Anantara is renowned will soon be managed without any plastic front of house; from the condiments on tables to the wicker baskets housing the freshly baked pastries at breakfast. Even around the grounds guests will notice that team members use bamboo baskets to collect compostable gardening trimmings instead of plastic sacks.

As a leading experiential luxury brand, guests are offered the chance to positively give back to the community framework of the destination they visit. Whether it be releasing rescued turtles at Anantara Mai Khao Phuket, planting restored coral at the nurseries off of Anantara Dhigu Villas in the Maldives or working with local AIDs survivors to generate sustainable income by providing Anantara Royal Livingstone with locally farmed mushrooms.

Since 2014, Anantara guests have been invited through the Dollars for Deeds Program to donate 1 dollar for every night of their stay, which Anantara then matches. These charitable donations are then distributed to several of the foundations that Anantara Hotels support, including the Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation established since 2002 and the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, since 2006. To read more about the charitable initiatives supported by Anantara Hotels Resorts & Spas, please visit the Social Responsibility page of the website.

Anantara is a luxury hospitality brand for modern travellers, connecting them to genuine places, people and stories through personal experiences, and providing heartfelt hospitality in the world’s most exciting destinations. The collection of distinct, thoughtfully designed luxury hotels and resorts provides a window through which to journey into invigorating new territory, curating personal travel experiences.

From cosmopolitan cities to desert sands to lush islands, Anantara connects travellers to the indigenous, grounds them in authentic luxury, and hosts them with passionate expertise. The portfolio currently boasts over 35 stunning hotel and properties located in Thailand, the Maldives, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Mozambique, Zambia, the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Portugal, with a pipeline of future properties across Asia, the Indian Ocean, Middle East, Africa and South America. The brand’s premier vacation ownership programme, Anantara Vacation Club, extends the opportunity to own a share in the Anantara experience with a portfolio of 8 luxurious Club Resorts as well as travel privileges at partner resorts and hotels worldwide.

About Minor Hotels:
Minor Hotels is an international hotel owner, operator and investor currently with 160 hotels in operation. Minor Hotels passionately explores new possibilities in hospitality with a diverse portfolio highlighted by our proprietary Anantara, AVANI, Oaks, Elewana and Tivoli brands – as well as Four Seasons, St. Regis and Marriott properties and the Anantara Vacation Club shared ownership programme. Minor Hotels operates in 26 countries across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Europe and South America.
With dynamic plans to expand existing brands and explore strategic acquisitions throughout opportunistic markets, Minor Hotels pursues a vision of a more passionate and interconnected world.

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