Slovenia’s "Golden Drum" also beats to the rhythm of tourism
Posted September 24, 2009 , comments closed- Figures: fewer foreign guests, more guests from Slovenia
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By
eTN Staff Writer |
Sep 24, 2009
The winner of the competition to design the most creative invitation to Slovenia will be announced on October 7, the Slovenian Tourist Board said. The results of this special ‘Off Drum’ competition will be announced during the prestigious Golden Drum Advertising Festival of the New Europe.
Competition entrants were asked to design an invitation on the theme “I feel Slovenia – Slovenia for you” in not more than 1,500 characters. The prize for the winner will be an unforgettable week in the most luxurious hotel on the Adriatic – the Kempinski Palace Hotel in Portorož.
Staying with the tourism theme, this year’s festival, which runs from October 5 to 9, also features a competition for the most creative poster for the Portorož-Piran tourist destination, with a 5,000 euro prize for the winning entry. The closing date for entries in this category and the other competition categories has already passed, but it is not too late to take part in the festival.
Golden Drum, which this year is in its 16th edition, attracts around 2,500 participants to Portorož each year – top marketing and advertising professionals from around Europe. As well as competitions in various categories, the festival offers a wealth of lectures, meetings and debates, which this year will be designed as brain-storming session on the theme of marketing during a crisis.
Meanwhile, from this August, visitors to Slovenia have two new three-star hotels to choose from: the Allegro Hotel in Ljubljana’s Old Town and the Hotel aMord near the Bioterme spa in Mala Nedelja, near Ljutomer. The former offers comfortable accommodation with a distinct touch of class in the centre of Slovenia’s capital city, while the latter offers comfort in the picturesque surroundings of Slovenske Gorice, an area famous for its excellent wines.
The Allegro Hotel in Ljubljana is a small boutique hotel located in a town house in the old center of Slovenia’s capital city. Most of the hotel’s 12 rooms are doubles, while three of them can accommodate four or five guests. The rooms feature a variety of interior design concepts and period furniture and each has a unique color theme. The romantic setting close to Ljubljana’s tourist attractions, cafés, restaurants and shops is complemented, in some of the rooms, by views of Ljubljana Castle, street life and a nearby church.
The Hotel aMord in Mala Nedelja near Ljutomer is the only hotel in a location which an increasing number of people are visiting because of Bioterme – a thermal spa and developing wellness center in the east of Slovenia. The hotel has 38 double rooms, a conference hall and its own swimming pool complex complete with saunas and a solarium. It is an excellent base from which to explore the Prlekija region. This area between the rivers Drava and Mura is famed for its excellent wines and unique cuisine. These can also be sampled in the hotel restaurant and bar.
For more information on the Golden Drum Advertising Festival, visit www.goldendrum.com
Solomon Islands focuses on tourism education
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By
Charles Kereau, eTN Staff Writer |
Sep 24, 2009
Solomon Islands’ Ministry of Culture and Tourism had spent more than USD$62,000.00 to develop the curriculum of the proposed tourism and hospitality course at the country’s highest tertiary institute, the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education.
Tourism Minister Seth Gukuna revealed to the Parliament recently when he answered a question on whether the development of the tourism training course has been finalized and offered at the collage this year. Mr. Gukuna said the certificate course, which will be offered September next year, will be offering 10 units, five electives and the other five, core tourism and hospitality units.
Mr. Gukuna also told the Parliament of the seven training sessions held last year for waiters and bartenders. He said trainings were short and were held to sharpen the service delivery of waitresses and bartenders because no such training was held in the past 20 years.
Mr. Gukuna said five more trainings are planned for this year but have not taken place yet because of the difficulty in meeting needs to implement them.
On whether or not certain functions of the tourism development can be devolved to the country’s nine provinces, Mr. Gukuna said that it would not be appropriate to devolve functions of the ministry to provinces when there is currently nothing in place.
According to the tourism minister, only five provinces have tourism officers, paid for by their own provincial governments, while the other four provinces are without tourism officers.
Mr. Gukuna said officers from the ministry occasionally visit provinces on matters related to tourism.
Malaysian Airports launch “Next Generation Hub”
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By
Luc Citrinot, eTN Staff Writer |
Sep 24, 2009
Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) has announced that Kuala Lumpur International Airport will introduce new measures to make the airport the first “Next Generation Hub.”
Despite its growing success as Southeast Asia third largest international gateway with over 27 million passengers per year, Kuala Lumpur suffers from the disadvantage to have its passengers flow separated by two distinctive air terminal: on one side, the KLIA main terminal welcomes legacy carriers including Malaysia’s flag carrier MAS; 20 km away, on the other side of the runway, the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) welcomes all low cost carriers, most of them being AirAsia operations. It already welcomes over 10 million passengers a year.
With AirAsia offering more and more connections to unserved destinations in Asia and the Pacific, more passengers look also to connect in the most simple and effective manner.
A KL airport’s feasibility study revealed that the existing landside bus transfer service between the two terminals sees at least 500 “self connect” passengers per day (or 1,000 passenger movements), representing an annual market of over 180,000 passengers.
According to Sallauddin Mat Sah, general manager of Malaysia Airports, the challenge is now to enable passengers to connect seamlessly between all types of carrier and between different types of terminals. “Passengers are presented with numerous options from full service carriers, low cost carriers, various routings, various prices and types of services. The best option could be a combination of a full service carrier and a low cost carrier.”
However, selecting the best combination of carriers is not easy for KL airport’s users as there is not one single portal combining all possibilities under one roof.
“Next Generation Hub,” developed by ASM Consultancy company, will be a new effective tool to plan an itinerary that best suits passengers’ needs. A new website –flyklia.net- was launched a week ago and is able to generate an itinerary that integrates all airlines’ schedules and fares.
In the future, it will also help to simplify transfer and connections between KLIA main terminal and the LCCT. Sallauddin added: “The portal is free to use and search results include links to airlines and travel agent websites where travelers can book flights directly. This portal will continue to be extensively enhanced over the coming months with other initiatives added such as an airport loyalty scheme for frequent flyers.”
A number of operational initiatives are also underway; such as the introduction of an enhanced passenger and baggage transfer flow between the main terminal building and low cost carrier terminal. Malaysia Airports is hoping to launch this inter-terminal transfer product in late 2009.
According to Mat Sah, the “Next Generation Hub” initiative at KLIA will translate into a sharp rise in transferring passengers between terminals over the next few years.
Malaysia Airports is also seeking all airlines cooperation to work at improving network coordination and schedule synchronization to facilitate the development of the “Next Generation Hub.”
Meanwhile, a major step will be achieved in 2011 when a new permanent low cost terminal with a total capacity of 30 million passengers will open in the close vicinity of KLIA’s main terminal.
Belize prime minister says promises made By G20 leaders have not been fulfilled
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By
Oscar Ramjeet, CaribWorldNews |
Sep 24, 2009
BELMOPAN, Belize - Belize prime minister, Dean Barrow, insists the promises made by members of the G20 group of nations have not been fulfilled.
Speaking at an official ceremony to mark his country’s independence celebrations, this week, Barrow claimed: “We heard encouraging rhetoric from the G20 earlier this year. But their promised assistance to small countries has turned out to be somewhat of a Barmecide feast. The new money that was to help us overcome the crisis, that was to come our way via the regional development banks, has not materialized.”
The prime minister added that in reflecting in the years since the country’s independence on September 21, 1981, Belize continues to face a serious setback due to a combination of world circumstances, natural disasters and “the legacy from insane commercial borrowing and corrupt political spending, has resulted now in national problems of unprecedented scale and circumference.”
He added that the effects of the global financial and economic crisis on the country’s government revenues, on tourism, on construction, on commerce, on agriculture add to the country’s poor economic state.
However, the Belizean leader said that there is some hope since there are great strides being made in the field of education; the new investments in teacher training and the certificate course in primary education to upgrade classroom pedagogical skills. He also referred to the subsidy program to first and second form students, and the quantum increase in school places all over the country, but especially in the impoverished south.
Prime Minister Barrow also received a loud applause when he announced that a new Fiscal Transparency Law will be introduced which will make provisions for stiff penalties and jail time for politicians and public officers caught trying to make off with the people’s money. “As we have recently demonstrated, this government will go to all lengths to improve our corruption-fighting infrastructure and pursue official wrongdoers,” he added.
UN: Humanitarian crisis worsens in North Yemen fighting
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By
eTN Staff Writer |
Sep 24, 2009
The United Nations has said that the humanitarian crisis in northern Yemen, where 150,000 people have been driven from their homes by fighting between government and rebel forces, continues to worsen, with the lack of drinking water posing a particularly serious concern,
In a report released Wednesday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that it has been very difficult to assess the full scope of displacement and provide sufficient relief because “the very limited access to people affected by the conflict and the geographical spread of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in all four affected northern governorates.”
“Food rations have been pre-positioned at strategic points throughout northern Yemen and are sufficient to provide 60,000 beneficiaries with a monthly ration,” the UN agency added in its latest update. “In the hot weather conditions, the current lack of potable water is particularly a serious concern.”
The $23.7 million Flash Appeal that was launched three weeks ago has still not received any funding, although some pledges have been recorded.
According to the UN, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is procuring emergency shelter items for 35,000 IDPs, including 7,000 tents, 5,000 plastic sheets, 250 plastic rolls, 21,000 mattresses, 36,000 blankets and 5,000 kitchen sets.
Since September 12, according to the UN, a window of access has allowed Islamic Relief Yemen, the main partner of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in the region, to start the second cycle of food distributions in Hajjah governorate and by 16 September some 12,800 people had benefited from 188 metric tons of food.
New families arrived in Hajjah from Sa’ada governorate on hearing that aid was being provided. These families have been added to the distribution lists.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will triple water distribution in the IDP camp in Sa’ada, but additional funding is needed to construct separate toilets and washing facilities for men and women and ensure adequate water and sanitation services.
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) said it has received surgical supplies from the Italian Government for 400 major surgical operations, as well as medical supplies for 20,000 IDPs for three months and diarrhoeal disease treatment for 1,500 victims of severe to moderate dehydration.
While some international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were denied access to IDPs in Al-Jawf governorate, the Ministry of Health/WHO mobile teams managed to continue delivery of essential health care services to displaced persons in the area.