Author: Ben Debski

The sky is the limit

Posted on by Ben Debski

Throughout 2010 Abu Dhabi International Airport has registered double-digit increase of passenger, aircraft and cargo figures; a strong indicator of the healthy growth that the Abu Dhabi economy is enjoying. The airport received for the first time ten million passengers during 11 months and ended the year with a few passengers short of 11 million to achieve 12.2 percent increase in the overall passenger traffic in 2010 compared with 2009. This growth trend is expected to continue for the whole year.

Abu Dhabi Airports Company has invested heavily in attracting new airlines and encouraging existing airlines to expand their services to Abu Dhabi through new routes and increased frequencies. In 2010 Abu Dhabi International Airport welcomed five new international airlines, added six new destinations and serviced an average of 41 additional weekly frequencies from its existing airlines – a 13 percent increase in the total weekly outbound flights compared with the previous year. In February 2011, ADAC welcomed V Australia to its network of airlines, while in June Cathay Pacific will launch operations, thus offering passengers and travellers at Abu Dhabi International Airport more services from top quality carriers.

Along with the tailored strategies in Airline Marketing and route development, Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), the operator of the five major airports in Abu Dhabi including its primary asset, Abu Dhabi International Airport, has been investing heavily in promoting a culture of Excellence within all of its activities, whether in customer service, airport facility, or airport operations. ADAC has been working closely with its stakeholders within the airport community, and benchmarking with leading international aviation metrics of best practice, to ensure the deliverance of quality excellence in all of its offerings. During the last year ADAC has been acknowledged for its customer and quality focus with a number of awards ranging from Skytrax’s “Most improved Airport in the World” in customer satisfaction, to ACI “second best airport” in the Middle East, and lately to Skytrax’s “Staff Excellence Award for the Middle East.”

James E. Bennett, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) commented: “2010 witnessed strong traffic development at Abu Dhabi International Airport, well above the world airports average growth. Our developmental strategy, combined with Abu Dhabi’s increasing awareness as an attractive business and tourist destination, led us again to a very positive end of year outcome. By adopting quality of service in all our endeavours we are set for yet another successful year to come.”
The continuous growth of passenger traffic reflects the growing interest in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the growing strength of Abu Dhabi International Airport as an international hub. This growth trend is expected to continue to rise as the airport welcomes new carriers and add new destinations and frequencies from Abu Dhabi International airport.

To accommodate this dynamic growth in the Emirate and the airport, Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) announced this year the release of the Midfield Terminal Building (MTB) tender. This mega project is a key milestone in the development of Abu Dhabi International airport to ensure the growing customer base experiences the highest level of service available, in a distinctive facility that has been designed and is being constructed in a sustainable and environmentally conscious manner.

The Midfield Terminal Building is the centerpiece of the multi-billion dollar investment programme, with a passenger terminal building, cargo facilities, duty free shops and restaurants. The terminal building will be the largest structure in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and one of the region’s most architecturally impressive buildings. Once the MTB is delivered, the airport’s passenger capacity will grow to 27-30 million per year.

In parallel to the tender for the MTB, Abu Dhabi Airports Company has been executing since 2010 a capacity enhancement program (CEP) which will allow Abu Dhabi International Airport to handle an additional seven million passengers. Furthermore, ADAC is currently in the last stages of the Terminal 1 refurbishment, further upgrading the world-class airport services offered to its passengers.

This capability to extend capacity is planned with an eye on the future developments in the Emirate. Abu Dhabi’s star is rising – both as a centre for business and investment, and as a great new destination for tourism.

The tide of change

Posted on by Ben Debski

First reaction – risk appetite went out of the window and risk aversion came to the fore. This meant that currencies viewed as more risky, usually those correlated with the emerging countries or having higher interest rates, lost ground.

Industry in Japan was clearly going to be affected given the extensive damage from the earthquake and tsunami. We also have the problems with the nuclear reactors leading to a shortfall in power supplies. And what would the knock on affect be for other countries in the world? Japan is an important exporter of goods and parts and as such, businesses elsewhere in the world could suffer.

The commodity backed currencies were the first to suffer with the Australian and Canadian dollars and the South African rand losing ground. Not surprising, as they are very dependent on growth continuing in the emerging markets, especially China. It also has to be remembered that Australia suffered its own natural disaster in the first part of this year. Floods in Queensland brought both the production and export of minerals to a halt.

Then the yen started to strengthen. Slightly strange reaction, but the logic was that Japanese investors would have to sell their overseas assets and repatriate funds so as to pay for the rebuilding work that is required. Following the Kobe earthquake in the 1990s, the Japanese yen strengthened by 15 percent over the next six months.

But the same scenario this time would create a serious problem as the Japanese Yen was already too strong and had been hurting Japanese exports even before the earthquake and tsunami. So, when the yen started to strengthen, a decision was taken by the central banks of the seven largest economies [e.g. the USA, Germany] to sell the yen. This immediately caused the yen to weaken and forced the speculators to run for cover.

Risk aversion usually benefits the Swiss franc and the US$ as investors view these as same haven assets. This time around the Swiss franc has strengthened as expected. However the US$ has lost ground. The major influence seems to be the oil price which is dependent on the unrest in the Middle East. As the oil price goes up, the US$ loses ground and as the oil price goes down, the opposite happens. Very simple, but the correlation has remained strong even with the problems in Japan. One of the beneficiaries of the uncertainty seems to have been the euro. This has been one of the top performing currencies over the last few weeks, even though the government and bank debt problems of the euro zone are far from being resolved. Germany continues to grow at a greater rate than most countries, which is very important for euro zone stability. The European Central Bank has also raised its concerns about above target inflation and the need to get on top of this as soon as possible.

The market interprets this as meaning that euro zone interest rates will be increased sometime very soon. This would be the first increase from amongst the UK, the USA and the eurozone and is very supportive for the euro.

Here in the UK, the problems of reduced growth and the austerity measures beginning to bite have been at the forefront of peoples’ thoughts economically. The one major affect of Japan’s problems was the revision to the markets views as to when interest rates in the UK would be changed. UK inflation continues to stay high and the way to combat this is to increase interest rates. Prior to the Japanese disasters, the expectation was for an increase by May of this year of 0.25 percent with two further increases by the end of the year. The view now is that we will see an increase in August with perhaps one further increase later this year. This has led to a fall in support for sterling.
And what of the commodity backed currencies that were first affected by the Japanese disaster? Well these are now back in the ascendancy as the problems in Japan seem to have stabilised for the time being. We have seen the Australian dollar hit all time highs against the US$ and gain over five cents in just over five days against sterling, returning to the trends of the last two years.
This highlights how quickly things change in the world of currency when, after three or four weeks, the affect to this monumental disaster on exchange rates has reduced significantly as other news has come to the fore. 

Charles Purdy is a Director at Smart Currency Exchange, the internal payment specialist (www.SmartCurrencyExchange.com, 0207 898 0541).

A quick guide to the Grand Canyon

Posted on by Ben Debski

The west is dotted with national parks and state parks abound. Arizona is chock full of park systems – one of the most populated in the U.S. (aside from Utah and California). Tourists will find that Arizona is a different variety, with plants and animals that have unique adaptation to constant drought-like conditions. The extremes of wildlife and the barren beauty make these extremes reason enough for a national park preserve area.

Let’s take Painted Desert for instance. This is the badland area of Arizona – badlands meaning that the arid ground has been eroded by wind and water from ancient times past until present. The strata of soil and rock show bare, like the earth’s bones lay strewn in the sun with limbs seemingly sawed through in places leaving them glowing ruddy with shades of vermillion — menacing and almost out of place.

This park is just a little further down from Grand Canyon, still in Northern Arizona and among the Navajo Nation. It covers an expanse of land, everything from just southeast from the Grand Canyon to the Petrified Forest National park, roughly 7,500 square miles. This is a colourful display of miles and miles of buttes and hills with Neapolitan-like rock strata showing lines of beige, white, brick red and blood-red colours. The soil and land is the remnant landscape of an ancient Triassic time, where the organic material has long decayed yet left its mark within the soil.

Views of the canyon
The highlight within the Painted Desert area is the Petrified Forest national park. It’s within the Painted Desert region and it displays a wonderment of Petrified rock and fossilized plant and animal material. An ancient coniferous forest that had previously existed, in what was once a much more lush and moist place, left fallen wood of extinct trees that later became petrified over the years.

There are a great deal of dinosaur fossils that pique the interests of the public and field of archaeology alike as well. Vertebrate animals are found on a consistent basis by both amateurs and pros. Triassic animals like the aetosaur and the phytosaur were found with nearly complete skeletal structures.

This is a lesser known area in Arizona that is often left of the list. Where most people are spending time golfing and spending leisure time in Arizona resorts, its places like this that the more adventuresome vacationers seek out.

Nearly five million people see Grand Canyon each year. Most of them see it from their car at overlooks along the South Rim. The South Rim is the most accessible part of the park and is open all year. A much smaller number of people see the Canyon from the North Rim, which lies just ten miles directly across the Canyon from the South Rim.

Views from the North Rim tend to give a better impression of the expanse of the canyon than those from the South Rim.

Temperatures on the North Rim are generally lower than the South Rim because of the greater elevation. Heavy snowfall is common on both rims during the winter months. Access to the North Rim via the primary route leading to the canyon is limited during the winter season due to road closures. Views from the North Rim tend to give a better impression of the expanse of the canyon than those from the South Rim.

The Grand Canyon has suffered some problems with air pollution, attributed to nearby coal burning power plants.

Explore the grandeur of this world wonder on Grand Canyon helicopter or air tours, guided Grand Canyon jeep tours, Grand Canyon railway, Grand Canyon bus tours, or a embark on some guided Grand Canyon hiking or Grand Canyon river rafting tours.
There are many opportunities here for adventurous and hardy persons who want to backpack, ride a mule to Phantom Ranch, or take a river trip through the Canyon on the Colorado River. It can take anywhere from a few days to three weeks, there are no one day river trips through Grand Canyon.

Mice to know you

Posted on by Ben Debski

What makes South Africa a worthy destination for business travel?
Following the successes of hosting the 2010 FIFA World cup, it is clear that business tourism in South Africa has been bolstered by a new sense of energy and direction.  This all-important sector will continue to make a significant contribution to consolidating Africa’s position in the global arena and demonstrating our proven capabilities in terms of hosting international events.

Holistically, the 2010 FIFA World Cup was not an end in itself for the tourism sector, but a major milestone in the industry’s growth trajectory, which would lay a solid basis for a new decade of growth and development. Of all the legacies left by the successful hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the infrastructure legacy will remain the most beneficial for the business tourism sector as a whole. We have significantly improved ease of access and travel, increased accommodation options and also showcased our capability on developing world-class, award winning and sustainable infrastructural developments.

In terms of improved access and infrastructure, South Africa welcomed the first rapid rail link network in Africa in 2010, when the Gautrain became operational. The Gautrain averages about 50,000 train passengers per week and about 4,000 bus passengers through its integrated bus network. It offers a cost-effective, efficient, environmentally friendly and safe solution to the country’s business tourism transport needs. The first link of the Gautrain, between O.R. Tambo International Airport and Sandton, Johannesburg’s business hub, has been developed in line with other major global cities that link cities by rail to international airports.

South Africa’s tourism sector will be boosted significantly by the 200 international events confirmed to take place in the country over the next five years; yet further demonstration of the global appeal of South Africa as a business tourism destination. The events include meetings and conferences which are expected to attract about 300,000 delegates. The potential direct economic impact of these confirmed meetings and conferences is estimated at more than R1.6billion ($222m).

South Africa is proud to be the leading meetings, incentives, conferences and events host on the African continent. In 2011, amongst other conferences and meetings the country will host, South Africa will welcome the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP17) as well as the 123rd International Olympic Committee (IOC) Annual Session (General Assembly).

What measures is South Africa Tourism taking to increase the region’s status as a business hub further?
SA Tourism long realised the need to identify a strategic platform that would truly showcase what South Africa has to offer to the international business tourism trade. Meetings Africa therefore was identified as a platform that can do just that. It is aimed at increasing and showcasing the region’s product offerings to those buyers specifically looking at Africa as their next destination. This event has been growing in the past few years, adding something innovative each year. Meetings Africa 2010 for example saw its first Associations Day aimed at enhancing our ability to bid for association meetings, which almost doubled attendance numbers this year compared to 2010. This year we enhanced the programme focussing on association management to make this event even more appealing to local associations.

Does South Africa Tourism focus its efforts on any particular city or area at the moment, and if so, why?
Our focus as South African Tourism is all of South Africa. We have the fortunate advantage that each of our nine provinces offers something unique and memorable to the business tourism traveller. Of course we have main cities which house the most convention infrastructure as I mentioned in the beginning, however, we always look for opportunities to drive delegates to other parts of South Africa to experience our wildlife, enjoy our open landscapes through a variety of exceptional options for tailor-made corporate incentive programmes and pre/post conference tour options that we are able to offer.

South Africa’s diverse offering for the business tourism market is further demonstrated by our array of product offerings specific to the incentives markets; providing memorable, value for money experiences that are not only world-class in their execution, but which come with a unique South Africa brand of warm, welcoming service.

In general, what are the biggest draw cards in the South African tourism market at the moment?
The development of the award-winning O.R. Tambo International Airport – voted as the best airport in Africa by the World Airport Awards 2011, is undoubtedly a huge draw card for the tourism industry. King Shaka International Airport, situated in the coastal town of Durban, fared well at the World Airport Awards 2011 too, being voted Best Regional Airport in Africa.  Our much improved airport infrastructure is further supported by an extensive high quality rail and road network as well as a huge variety of hotel and accommodation establishments across the board, allowing South Africa to come full circle in its offering to the global traveller. Our luxury rail products like the Blue Train or Rovos Rail are world renowned and extremely popular for exclusive corporate functions and incentive programmes.

Wildlife has always been a major attraction for South African tourism. Aside from the famous whale watching trips and shark diving excursions, are there any new initiatives to attract animal enthusiasts?
South Africa retains a global lead in wildlife and safari, and this has become in some instances the backbone of our offering to the animal enthusiast. However, there are many additional activities that are on offer, including volunteerism that will allow for an ever-closer experience with our wildlife.   Volunteerism is a globally coined concept created following the increase in demand for socially conscious tourism experiences, loosely based on the format of working holidays. South Africa’s volunteerism offerings also extend the general benefits of travel to lesser known, but highly regarded, South African destinations with the welcomed chance to assist with these communities’ socio-economic transformations and equally important issues such as wildlife protection. A good example of this volunteerism offering would be the Wildlife and Marine Volunteers programmes offered by All Africa Volunteers.

High-end retail in Cape Town and Johannesburg has flourished lately, with amazing flagship stores by the likes of Paul Smith springing up. How do you see the segment evolving? Might Cape Town become a shopping destination to rival the likes of New York and London?
One of South Africa’s unique propositions is rested on our ability to encompass many activities under the banner of lifestyle tourism – offering a selection of activities which fulfil the needs of those travellers looking to indulge in retail, music, culture or even art and design experiences. The recent developments in the retail sector support this strategy extensively, and are further driven by SA Tourism’s involvement in platforms such as the Johannesburg, Cape Town and Africa Fashion Weeks. Other major lifestyle events we promote include the design Indaba and the Cape Town International Jazz Festival. We are also reaching into global trending offerings such as Wine Tourism and Golf Tourism. This extensive lifestyle tourism offering captures our dynamism as a destination and offers a variety of supporting activities to the business traveller.

Over to sports: has your hosting of the last World Cup increased interest in the region, and if so, in what way? Might you even have attracted a new type of traveller?
Having been acknowledged by FIFA as the best ever and highest grossing World Cup host – securing more than $3.7 billion for the football body, as well as scoring an unprecedented nine out of ten for the tournament (highest score ever), South Africa has proven its capability as a global mega events destination that provides not only exceptional experiences to the fans and visitors, but has demonstrated its ability to be financially viable as well. Total awareness of South Africa as a leisure destination increased by nine percent following the world cup, and the intention to visit South Africa in the short term increased by a significant 35 percent.

Thus, the World Cup has assisted us in propelling our mega-events proposition, which feeds off the same infrastructural legacies mentioned previously. We have already begun to see the benefits of this newly developed sector of our tourism offering, following the announcement of South Africa as the chosen venue for the World Golf Championships in 2012.

How will you cultivate South Africa’s budding sports status, if at all?
South Africa’s ability to host mega-events has been proven on many occasions and is not limited to our successful hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  Even on short-notice, we have welcomed the world to experience our unique South African welcome and capability for events ranging from the IPL Premier League in 2009, international music concerts and events, the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009™, British and Irish Lions Tour etc.  In just 15 years, South Africa secured and successfully hosted a triple-whammy of sporting events – the Cricket, Rugby and Football World Cups, breaking records in the process as our nearest competitor, the UK.

How important is the annually held conference, Meetings Africa, to the future growth of tourism in South Africa?
South African Tourism acquired Meetings Africa in 2007 as part of our strategic development to grow business tourism. It is aimed at showcasing what South Africa has to offer. Over the years, it has steadily become a valuable and focused extension of our central growth strategy for the sector. As the only MICE exhibition in Southern Africa, it is an incredibly powerful platform to raise the region’s profile as a quality incentive and conference destination. The growing stature of the Meetings Africa platform is demonstrating the mounting interest in our destination as the gateway to Africa in terms of trade and investment; a position which is set to be further entrenched following our integration into the BRICS economic coalition.

For further information contact Thandiwe Mathibela at SA Tourism, Charmaine Shangase at Kezi Tel: +27 11 895 3177 Tel: +27 11 334 2493,Email: thandiwe@southafrica.net, Email: charmaine@kezi.co.za; www.southafrica.net

Exclusivity in Madrid

Posted on by Ben Debski

Strategically located just five minutes away from Madrid-Barajas International Airport, six kilometres from the IFEMA Exhibition Centre and 15 minutes from the city centre, Hilton Madrid Airport has become a reference hotel for business travellers thanks to its interior design, architecture, services and facilities. Space totalling 1,700m2 is available for meetings, conferences and conventions of all types and magnitude. Fifteen working areas are equipped with state-of-the-art technology including Wi-Fi Internet, video conference equipment and instant translation systems.

The hotel’s largest function room is the “Isabella Ballroom”, with 754.6m2 and a maximum capacity for 580 people. Due to its particular architectural design, the hotel towers can operate completely separately one from each other providing totally independent spaces and treatments to larger guests groups. The North Tower can be privatised offering complete independent access and space for attendees, personalised corporate identity from a company can be placed across the area to achieve a successful event.

The hotel offers 284 spacious and modern all with a designated work area equipped with multimedia and very modern interior decoration. Guests choosing to stay at Executive rooms can enjoy the advantages of the Executive Lounge, which has its own reception for check-in and check-out, refreshments available throughout the day and all the necessary features to work.

Hilton Madrid Airport also offers an original concept of rooms: the ‘Relaxation Rooms’, rooms designed so the space, light and colours radiate peace and harmony. These spacious rooms have three different areas: a working area located behind the bed, a King size bed to rest and a luxurious marble bathroom with a hydro massage bathtub and separate shower. Between meetings and conferences, Hilton Madrid Airport guests can enjoy at the hotel gym equipped with Precor machines, reduce stress in the sauna or relax in the hydrotherapeutic pool.

When the night falls, the Ferrum Bar becomes one of the hotel’s main attractions with its modern interior decoration and its wide selection of exclusive gins and whiskies. In spring and summer time the Ferrum Bar has recently opened a new Terrace to enjoy the summer breeze in the gardens while enjoying a relaxing cocktail and on specific evenings music and entertainment.

For guests’ convenience Hilton Madrid Airport also offers a complimentary shuttle service to and from all terminals of the Madrid Barajas Airport. This service operates daily from 5.30am to 1.00am. A comfortable transport to the city centre is also available upon request and availability.

Hilton Madrid Airport opened three years ago on 1st June 2011 and it is the only Hilton Worldwide chain property in the Spanish capital. The hotel continues with the brand’s original tradition of choosing strategic locations that once started with the first Hilton property opened in 1959 next to the San Francisco Airport (USA). Due to the proximity to the airport, Hilton Madrid Airport has launched several offers for their air travellers, such as a 50 percent discount for passengers who have missed their flights.

Another outstanding initiative has been the “Meetings in transit” offer which allows travellers to hire meeting rooms by the hour and enjoy many other hotel services and leisure facilities.

It’s grim up north

Posted on by Ben Debski

Preconceptions are rife as many continue to perceive the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or North Korea as it is commonly known to the West, a draconian social phenomenon which is detrimental to a free society. As this secluded country is persisting to make headlines for all the wrong reasons we find a moment to look beyond the noise and give a unique insight into its vast, hidden beauties just waiting to be explored.

Myths of origin
One of North Korea’s most fascinating foundation myths is the legend of Tan-gun who is said to be the direct ancestor of its people and according to belief established the Korean state in 2333 B.C. Legend has it that Hwan-in, the God of everything and ruler of the heavens, sent his son Hwan-ung and three thousand assistants to earth with the mission to ensure the happiness of humans by ruling over them.

When Hwan-ung descended to Mount T’aebaek, today the border between Manchuria and North Korea, he decided to call the area Shinshi, the City of God. Alongside his helpers, Master of Rain, Master of Clouds and Earl of Wind, he immediately went to work implementing laws and codes of ethics in addition to teaching humans about good and evil, cultivation, arts and medicine.

A bear and a tiger which were observing the good deeds of Hwan-ung prayed to be allowed to take the human form too. Hwan-ung gave them a bunch of sacred herbs and 20 garlic cloves to feed on, and asked them to stay in a cave for 100 days and avoid the sunlight. The tiger soon gave up and left the cave but the bear remained strong and after 21 days was eventually transformed into a beautiful woman.

Hwan-ung, stirred by her beauty and strength, took her for his wife and soon she gave birth to a beautiful son named Tan-gun, who developed into a powerful, judicious leader. Tan-gun moved to Pyongyang in 2333 B.C., now the capital of North Korea, and established the Land of the Morning Calm, or Choson Kingdom. At last, aged nearly two millennia at the tender age of 1908, he returned to Mount T’aebaek where he turned into a mountain god.

Logistics of visiting North Korea
Charming as this legend may be, the question remains, how does a mere mortal descend onto North Korea today? Due to the country’s continuing political situation it would be virtually impossible to plainly book a flight with the click of a few buttons, pack some luggage and take a stroll around Pyongyang city centre to shoot a few photos of the bronze coloured statue of Kim Il-Sung.

It should be remembered that foreigners are not permitted to travel without a guide. Additionally, showing respect for the country’s traditions and culture is paramount as foreigners are under close scrutiny in North Korea. North Koreans themselves cannot travel freely in their own county without prior government consent. Laptops are not allowed into the country and mobile phones will be confiscated at the airport until the visitor’s return flight. It is because of these restriction that the only accepted travel method for foreigners within North Korea is through the use of an experienced travel agency which specialises in the region and is conscious of restrictions, etiquette and has developed good insider connections.

There are several good providers who offer this type of service for the around 1,300 tourists visiting North Korea yearly. One of the most established ones however, due to its longevity is Koryo Tours, an agency which started running North Korean tours in 1993. The agency, which takes over 50 percent of all westerners travelling into North Korea, became known a few years ago for its continued efforts in encouraging cultural projects and increased engagement between North Koreans and westerners. Projects have included filming movies with a North Korean crew and  organising football games between western and North Korean teams. It is principally thanks to its founder Nick Bonner, a filmmaker, cartoonist and landscape artist, that the agency has been able to develope a close relationship with North Koreans and the state-run Korea International Travel Company. Bonner, who is continually consulted for his expertise on the country by Lonely Planet and Rough Guides, is a great believer in engagement between westerners and North Koreans.
Koryo Tours runs group and individual tours between February and November to coincide with the dates of key festivals and commemorative dates, and tours can be as short as three days and up to eight days. Those visiting must stay in selected tourist hotels which are of different standards such as luxury, first class, second and third class and will usually be arranged by the tour operator.

Why North Korea is worth a visit
If given the chance to become a character in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four novel for just a few days and closely experience the totalitarian society of Oceania, would you really be able to resist such temptation? North Korea is not quite Oceania but it is a similar concept, and it is this uniqueness that makes it an astonishing tourist destination.

North Korea’s inimitability is impossible to overlook and affects all facets of everyday life. The Traffic police in Pyongyang for instance comprises of only strikingly beautiful young women who are dressed in immaculate uniforms. In a different world it would not be exaggerated to note they could have been covers of fashion magazines, yet in Pyongyang they stand on platforms controlling the almost non-existent traffic. Their exquisiteness has become such a cultural phenomenon there are even websites dedicated to their beauty.
The world’s most astonishing Olympic opening ceremony that never happened and the country’s key attraction are the world famous Arirang performances or mass games, which are often attended by Kim Jong Il himself. The mass games are according to the Guinness book of records the largest choreographed display of synchronised acrobatics and dance, typically held during state occasions and national holidays, and comprise of up to 100,000 gymnasts and dancers performing stories of the Korean War and the founding of their country. Magnificent metamorphosing human murals are created in the spectator stands with various coloured flip-cards that are turned over in a specific order to create a range of images. This charming myth eternalised the capital Pyongyang, which remains to this day its most magnificent attraction, and the centre of politics, culture and tourism.

The capital, which is built on the banks of the Taedong River, has a wealth of memorials and sights within its city centre none of which should go unseen with the selection of a good tour guide. During the tour it will be difficult to ignore North Korea’s obsession with things tall and big as if trying to break all world records by merely making things taller and bigger. Among these sights is the Arch of Triumph, erected in 1982 to celebrate the Korean resistance to Japanese occupation from 1925 to 1945, which is simply a larger version of the one in Paris. The Mansudae Grand Monument, a statue of former president Kim Il-Sung stands 70 feet high in the city centre and is in the vicinity of a museum dedicated to his life. This is said to be one of the holiest parts of the city and a visit to the statue, they placing of flowers in front of it and a bow of respect are all obligatory in accordance with local tradition. Another sight popular with visitors is the Arch of Reunification, which features two Korean women in traditional garments reaching out to one another while holding up a unified map of Korea. For those sports fans who thought Camp Nou in Barcelona or the Michigan Stadium in the US are awe-inspiring to tour wait until you lay eyes on the Rungrado May Day Stadium, which seats well over 150,000 spectators and is considered to be the largest stadium in the world.

Beyond the capital there are numerous appealing towns worth a stopover such as Kuwolsan, famous for its glorious temples, shrines as well as its breathtaking hot springs and waterfalls. Another city on the list should be Kaesong, once the capital of the Koryo dynasty, which houses the Songgyungwan Neo-Confucian College that dates back to the year 992. A Zelkova bonsai tree almost a millennium old and several Ginko trees over five centuries old are within the college. The college also houses the Koryo Museum which is packed with historical objects including pottery and Buddhist items.

There is no denying that this trip will provide an insight into North Korea and its people to everybody willing to step out of their comfort zone. Visitors will surely be taken to the most amazing places the country has to offer and shown all the areas that promote its magnificence. This is not a standard vacation with normal rules however as you realise whilst forced to leave your mobile phone when first coming into the country. This is the trip of a lifetime.

Terminal folly

Posted on by Ben Debski

It is a V-effect worthy of its name: you hear “airport” and think of something grand and imposing. But then you see this small, alien particle, like debris from an ex-Soviet space station that was spared combustion in the ideological atmosphere of our era by the grace of history, and you cannot help but feel a kind of affection for it. It is remarkable how this specimen goes against the grain of the common interpretation of its typology, which embodies function and system like hardly any other. This Terminal Folly appears like a hitherto undiscovered, alternative happy ending to “2001: A Space Odyssey”, in which Kubrick allows the failure of the space mission to culminate not in Nietzschean heroism, but in prosaic slapstick: a first-generation robot that collapsed on its first attempt at walking has reprogrammed its software so as to be able to forge on regardless of the limitations of its locomotor system.

The fact that the prosthetic vehicle also reflects the numerous tower buildings in the vicinity makes it an instant monument to situational contextualism. In an era where power-conscious potentates in the new and old tiger states love to use architecture as a three-dimensional representation of their ambitions, this little trouper provides charming proof of the power of weak-form architecture. It is an architecture that is not besotted by its supposed significance (the flip side of whistling in the dark of its dreaded irrelevance), but instead capable of playfully working through doubts about its own identity and relevance in an era increasingly grounded in uncertainty. Thus it succeeds producing an original and contemporary form of poetry from this fragile condition.

New Airport Building in Mestia, Georgia
J Mayer H Architects
Project Team: Juergen Mayer H, Jesko Malkolm Johnsson-Zahn, Hugo Reis, Mehrdad Mashaie, Max Reinhardt
Project: October – December 2010
Completion: December 2010
Client: Tbilisi International Airport
Architect on site: Beka Pkhakadze
Construction: ANAGI ltd
Photographs: J MAYER H

Total floor area: 250m2

The newly built airport forms part of Georgia‘s ambitious plans to develop travel and tourism in Mestia. The beautiful medieval town with its stone defensive towers is already part of UNESCO‘s list of World Heritage Sites and is also famous as a ski-resort. With the unveiling of the airport on 24th December 2010, the building was designed and constructed within just three months.

Perfect ten

Posted on by Ben Debski

The Singapore Sling is a cocktail that they say was developed sometime before 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boon, a bartender working at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel Singapore. The original recipe used gin, Cherry Heering, Bénédictine, and fresh pineapple juice, primarily from Sarawak pineapples which enhanced the flavour and created the famous foamy top.
It was acclaimed the perfect cocktail; and, in many ways, that is the story behind the 10th ACTE Asia Pacific Conference which takes place on third and fourth August 2011.

The Association of Corporate Travel Executives is famous for its global and regional education conferences and the cocktail of inspirational, informative and insightful educational sessions that ACTE delegates experience at the convention. The feedback from delegates of the conferences of recent years has been one of high praise for the parade of exciting and influential speakers addressing the key business travel issues of the moment. And certainly the 10th ACTE Asia Pacific conference promises to meet those exacting standards.

And one of the most important aspects of the ACTE conferences is always the location which forms the backdrop for the gathering.

From a business travel perspective Singapore is, without doubt, a fitting location for the ACTE Asia Pacific Educational Conference as it sits geographically in a pivotal position in the region. English, the global language of business, is considered the first language of Singapore and the city state is the leading shipping centre in Asia. All the major oil companies and raw material suppliers have their Asian headquarters here, and the country is also a centre for a number of major commercial, financial and transportation firms.

And this 10th Anniversary of the ACTE Asia Pacific Educational Conference takes place as the region flexes its business muscles once again. For the region is seeing positive growth as business travellers take advantage of a more thriving economic climate.

The Asian economy was resilient through the recession, but certainly it was affected, and business travel declined, like everywhere else. But the Asian market has a business culture that respects the true value of face-to-face meetings, perhaps more than any other region in the world.

With further rapid business growth expected in the region, investment in infrastructure and connections continues to grow. Regional and international carriers are expanding routes and entering new markets in Asia in response to forecasts for rising traffic. Many multinational companies are taking advantage of the array of new low-cost carriers, which are growing in popularity in the region. AirAsia, for example, has added premium services for business travellers, and is featuring increasingly in corporate travel policies.

So, from a business travel perspective, Singapore makes an ideal location for the ACTE Conference. However delegates can also enjoy the many benefits that business tourism on the island city has to offer

Singapore will offer ACTE delegates a unique and special melting pot of cultural experiences for that all important pre and post conference R&R time.  Consisting of one main island and no fewer than 63 smaller, uninhabited, islands Singapore gives to its tourists a panoramic view of paradise.

Singapore is famous for being a clean and green country, while all so being famous for its multi cultural population. But it is also famous for its tree lined roads, high rise buildings, state of the art airport and, no doubt of specific interest to ACTE Conference delegates, its retail shopping and food experiences.

Given the cocktail of experiences, scenary, culture and activities that this fascinating country has to offer it seems right and especially fitting that the ACTE 10th Asia Pacific Educational Conference takes place in the birth place of the World’s most famous cocktail – The Singapore Sling.

Ron DiLeo is Executive Director of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives

Mighty aphrodite

Posted on by Ben Debski

Located just 30 minutes from Larnaca International Airport and only 15 minutes walking distance from the city centre, shopping and entertainment areas, the Hilton Cyprus enjoys an unparalleled  location next to the business district. Featuring 294 rooms, including 19 suites and 76 Executive rooms, all Hilton guest rooms are non-smoking and feature a working desk, direct-dial telephone line, Internet and wireless connection, TV and Pay-TV, hairdryer, mini bar, electronic lock system, individually controlled air-conditioning, smoke detectors, sprinklers, private balcony and safe deposit boxes. Accessible rooms for disabled persons are also available.

Executive treatment
All Executive rooms, which are 20 percent larger than the standard Hilton guest rooms, are fully equipped and decorated to the highest standard, enabling you to unwind in comfort after a hard day, or to continue working effectively from your room. In-room amenities also include a working desk, laptop, direct dial telephone line, Internet and wireless connection and tea & coffee making facilities. All rooms have a private balcony.

Guests staying in the Executive Wing can enjoy VIP treatment such as a free bottle of wine and fruit basket, bottle of mineral water upon arrival, and also access to the Executive Lounge. The Executive Lounge allows you to lounge in an elegant environment where breakfast, hot drinks and cold refreshments, cocktails and canapés are served free of charge throughout the day. International newspapers and magazines and a comfortable satellite TV corner make the Lounge a real ‘home away from home’.

Services & features
Guest facilities and services also include a Business Centre, shopping gallery with a hairdresser & barbershop, bookshop, bank, taxi and car rental services and free car park facilities. The hotel also offers various meeting rooms and facilities that can accommodate either a small meeting or a conference for up to 720 delegates. The Hiltonia Health Club features a fitness centre with outdoor and indoor swimming pool, four tennis courts, a squash court, and Spa area with steam bath, Jacuzzi, Sauna and beauty centre, which allows you to pamper yourself with a massage and spa treatments.

Dining & entertainment
The Fontana restaurant is available for all-day dining. Enjoy our Hilton Breakfast, in the morning, and for lunch or dinner choose from a wide variety of traditional or international buffet or the a la carte menu.

If you are seeking a comfortable and friendly atmosphere, the Paddock Bar invites you, after a hard day’s work, to enjoy cocktails and drinks by ordering your favourites. The Lobby Lounge of the hotel allows you to lounge in a relaxing atmosphere and invites you to enjoy aromatic coffees and delicious dessert or even a light snack including Hilton Classic meals. Traditional afternoon tea is served daily on weekdays.

98 Archbishop Makarios Ave III, PO Box 22023, 1516 Nicosia, Cyprus. Tel: +357 22 377777; fax: +357 22 377788; www.cyprus.hilton.com

The cultural revolution

Posted on by Ben Debski

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, since its inception in 1937, has been the preeminent institution for the collection, preservation and research of modern and contemporary art. Its international network of renowned art museums has given art lovers an insight into early modern masterpieces like no other museums. It originally started with the Solomon R. Guggenheim in New York joining forces with the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, which in 1997 expanded to include the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin and the Guggenheim Bilbao. The world is now eagerly awaiting the opening of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi planned to open in 2013, which promises an experience unlike any other before it. That is not where it ends however, as only recently the Guggenheim Foundation announced it is seriously considering the possibility of a Guggenheim in Finland’s capital, Helsinki. Art lovers all over the globe are excited at the prospect and are already quietly debating who may be the lucky architect to be commissioned to design it.

Guggenheim Deutschland
Situated at the historical venue ‘Unter den Linden’ in the old and new centre of Berlin the exhibition hall Deutsche Guggenheim opened its doors to the public almost 14 years ago. Within a brief time this state-of-the-art museum established itself through crème de la crème exhibitions for all art lovers and has attained a solid repute for its devotion to modern and contemporary art. Deutsche Guggenheim has numerous exhibitions annually and moreover displays newly commissioned efforts created exclusively by celebrated artists. Past exhibitions have ranged from the most ultra-modern of modern artists to Cézanne, Picasso, and Andy Warhol. A recent exhibition showed Agathe Snow’s All Access World. Her vision was to take as its subject the world’s key landmarks, sights, monuments and historical places and portray the manner in which those shape the collective memories of people by serving as benchmarks of national identity. Snow’s inspiration came during a her time touring landmarks around the world which she undertook as research for All Access World, Snow began to perceive her subjects as overstated sculptural substances composed of returning geometric forms such as domes, towers, spirals, pyramids, and columns. National treasures and ancient wonders such as Stonehenge, rock temples in Abu Simbel, the Coliseum, and the Eiffel Tower are merged with contemporary icons such as the iconic Hollywood sign in LA, the International Space Station, and the New York City skyline to create surreal mixtures.

New York
The Solomon R. Guggenheim, often simply called Guggenheim, is located on 5th Avenue on the eastern edge of Central Park in New York City and forms part of the city’s designated museum mile. Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the most celebrated architects globally, created a classic, timeless building when he completed the works on the Guggenheim building in 1959. Permanent shows of amongst others 19th and 20th century art, including heavyweights by French impressionists, Kandinsky, Picasso, and Klee, inhabit an annex called the Tower Galleries. The museum’s spiralling rotund simply loops over a gradually inclining ramp that leads visitors past changing exhibits. Eminent Korean artist Lee U-fan, is to hold a retrospective show titled Lee U-fan: Making Infinity from June 24 to September 28. The Guggenheim introduces the artist as a celebrated sculptor, painter and writer active in Korea, Japan and Europe. The exhibition shows Lee as a historical figure and contemporary artist with the artist’s creation of a visual, conceptual, and theoretical language vision having radically expanded the possibilities for post-minimalist art. The exhibition will feature some 90 works from the 1960s to the present including a new site-specific installation. Lee is only the second Korean artist to ever hold an exhibition at one of the world’s most prominent museums. Video artist Paik Nam-June was the first one a decade earlier back in 2000.

Venice
Surrounded by the romance of the city the 18th century Palazzo Venier dei Leoni is based directly on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It houses the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, which contains mainly her personal art gathering. Peggy Guggenheim, the niece of mining tycoon Solomon R. Guggenheim and former wife of Max Ernst, was during her life a renowned art collector. The palace which was designed by Venetian architect Lorenzo Boschetti was purchased by Peggy Guggenheim in 1949 and was her home in Venice for 30 years until her death in 1979. She was moreover responsible for the assemble of paintings and sculptures by other artists, which exhibits pieces with particular strengths in cubism, European abstraction, surrealism, and abstract expressionism from around 1910 onwards.  Housing one of the most wide ranging and essential collections of modern art on the globe, the Venice Guggenheim is also one of the most visited attractions in Venice. The collection here is candy for the eyes with major works including the likes of Kandinsky’s Landscape with Church (with Red Spot), Pollock’s Alchemy, Magritte’s Empire of Light and Picasso’s La Baignade. There are several works by Gorky, Duchamp, Miró, Chagall, Braque, Dalí, Léger and Mondrian.

Bilbao

Built alongside the Nervion River the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is the largest attraction in the city of Bilbao and houses a striking collection of modern and contemporary art. The colossal 50-metre-high building formed part of a $1.5bn redevelopment plan for the city and was designed by internationally renowned Frank Gehry. The building which was almost instantly hailed as one of the most significant structures of its time stretches under the Puente de la Salvé and incorporates it into its design. The Guggenheim Bilbao with its ninety or so yearly exhibitions and over ten million visitors, has forever changed the way civilisation thinks about museums, and it continues to challenge our suppositions about relations between art, architecture, and exhibition spaces. Permanent works feature Robert Motherwell, Andy Warhol, Willem de Koonig, Picaso, Robert Rauschenberg and Antoni Tàpies. As works are lent by the various Guggenheims in Venice and New York it often rotates its art collection. More recent European art is also exhibited along with a broad range of works by up-and-coming Basque and Spanish artists.

Abu Dhabi
The new Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, which is expected to be completed in 2013, will be located in the Cultural District of Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. It is to span over 450,000-square-foot, making it the world’s biggest Guggenheim facility. The museum is currently being designed by internationally renowned architect Frank Gehry, who already pleased the Guggenheim Foundation with his impressive work in Bilbao. The Abu Dhabi museum will house its own major modern and contemporary art collection and additionally present special exhibitions that will comprise of works from the Guggenheim Foundation’s vast collection. Moreover the museum will organise global art, exhibitions, and education programs with key focus on Middle Eastern contemporary art. According to the Guggenheim Foundation all works exhibited in that museum will respect Abu Dhabi’s culture as well as national and Islamic heritage. Amongst the museums features will be a permanent collection, several special-exhibitions galleries, a state of the art conservation laboratory, a centre for art, research and technology, an education facility and a centre for contemporary Arab, Islamic, and Middle Eastern culture. The new museum will carve a new approach to the museum visitor experience as it presents a pioneering vision for viewing contemporary art in the context of desert scenery.

Possible future Guggenheim (Helsinki)
The city of Helsinki recently commissioned the Guggenheim Foundation to conduct a study and explore the possibility of developing in Finland. According to a recent press release by the foundation, this concept and development study will explore several topics and possibilities. Amongst those will be the potential mission and structure of an inventive, multidisciplinary museum of visual culture in Finland, the form that the museum’s exhibition and education programs might take, its probable relationship with Helsinki’s other existing visual art institutions, the museum’s potential economic impact, and the scope of the Guggenheim Foundation’s involvement in its operation.

The feasibility study is expected to conclude at the end of 2011, at which time any initial recommendations about a new Guggenheim Museum would be subject to approval by the Guggenheim Bilbao as well as the City Council of Helsinki and the board of trustees of the Guggenheim Foundation. Once a decision is made to move ahead with the project, more tangible decisions can then be made, like selecting an architect and a location. The head of the Guggenheim Foundation recently emphasised what an unusual opportunity it will be to be able to start with a clean slate, without prescriptions and promises. “This time round there is an opportunity to re-imagine a museum for the next century”, he said. It is not yet clear what type of architectural plans are considered for the building itself. Original plans by the foundation included the Vilnius Guggenheim Hermitage, which was a proposed museum in Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania. The museum was scheduled to open in 2011 but persistent doubts about its viability brought about a change of mind and consequently the honour was instead given to Helsinki.

Where the wild things are

Posted on by Ben Debski

The Madikwe Game Reserve is a conservation reserve situated in the North West Province of South Africa. Covering 75,000 hectare, it’s a significant player in the sphere of wildlife preservation. In 1997, the reserve undertook the largest ever game translocation in the world, and the so called Operation Phoenix saw 8,000 animals of 28 species move to the reserve, including the Big-five and other endangered species.

Nestling within the reserve, one of the area’s most highly regarded safari resorts is the Tuningi Safari Lodge. Holding a Fair Trade mark, the property can accommodate 16 people at one time, and the lodges are conceived to preserve the inherent space of the property. Virtually blending the interior aspect with the wilderness outside, retractable doors and windows have been fitted wherever possible. The theme of the actual décor takes its cue from ‘Colonial African chic’ and the aesthetic runs through the entire property that comprises lounge, dining room and a bar area. The whole affair is interlinked by a sweeping wooden deck that leads to the Boma section and the bar area features a rim flow pool that overlooks a natural watering hole.

Pleasant surroundings aside, the pivotal part of any trip to the Madikwe Game Reserve would naturally be to experience its wildlife. Two game drives are scheduled by the Tuning Safari Lodge daily, and to maximise the chances of sightings of animals including lion, elephant, buffalo, white and black rhino, leopard, as well as the rare and endangered wild dog, most expeditions start at dawn and continue until dusk. In addition to traditional game drives, bush walks hosted by the resort’s skilled game rangers are also on the agenda and should appeal to folks seeking more of a thrill. These adventures are specifically designed to cover bush etiquette, and to teach aspiring bushmen about the local flora and fauna in more precise detail.

As it happens, you don’t have to go far to witness animal life- every morning, a family of elephants leisurely ambles past the lodge on their designated path, and are also known to regularly help themselves to a sundowner (a cooling drink enjoyed at sunset) by the swimming pool.

Lewa Concervancy, Kenya
East Africa is almost synonymous with the word safari. With its consistently temperate climate and varied cross-section of different eco-systems – that encompasses savannahs, semi-deserts, white coral beaches and mountainous forests – it’s easy to see why the region is placed so firmly on the world map of top safaris. Kenya is perhaps the country > with the strongest safari association, and one of the most established and high-end tour operators in the country is Cheli & Peacock.

The Royal wedding being well and truly over, it may seem a bit passé to highlight the destination where Prince William and Kate Middleton stayed before securing their engagement, but it would be a shame to overlook the Cheli & Peacock Lewa Conservancy Safari Camp on any grounds. The resort is based within the private 65,000 acre wildlife conservancy of the Lewa Wilderness Trust, which is considered the country’s most significant and successful wildlife conservancy. Hence, guests can expect diverse wildlife experiences of quite some calibre with animals such as cheetah, giraffe, elephant and lion forming part of the rich spectrum of beasts. Notably, the conservancy is home to ten percent of the world’s black rhinos, and it also hosts the largest number of the acutely endangered Grevy’s Zebra – a breed that has suffered one of the most devastating reductions of any African Mammal. Capitalising on safari tourism for a good cause, Lewa re-invests all the profits generated from tourism, including profits from Lewa Safari Camp, into its core programmes to continue its quest to preserve African wildlife. To boost the public’s awareness of the reserve, educational talks on the history and the day to day operation of the conservancy are arranged regularly.

Serving as the perfect safari backdrop, another significant characteristic of the resort is its distinctive view that stretches across Mount Kenya and the wild Northern Frontier District (making it obvious why Prince William ushered Kate to this particular spot to propose). Also of significant interest, the Lewa reserve is home to an archaeological site that is a fertile hunting ground for tools used by the prehistoric humans of the area. The number of items in circulation is so vast that it’s believed that an artisan tool workshop was located at the site, as the volume of items found is far too ample to have belonged to any domestic home, however tool-happy its residents.

Guests staying at Cheli&Peacock Lodge can choose between a wide range of options: the most common and convenient form of safari transportation is 4×4 land cruisers, but guests can also opt to experience the local wildlife at closer range yet, by embarking on expeditions on foot or even on horseback. One of Cheli&Peacock’s specialities, however, is airborne safari adventures. Guests can either take to the skies by hot air balloon or helicopter. The obvious benefits with airborne safari outings is that large areas can be covered over a shorter period of time, reaching the remote moorlands of Mt. Kenya, or the extraordinary landscapes south of Lake Turkana. The organisers at Cheli & Peacock are fairly flexible, and can arrange helicopter and hot air balloon excursions of almost any type and duration. The helicopters usually carry four passengers, but additional helicopters can be brought in to accommodate larger groups.

Displaying classic safari style at its best: the accommodation of Cheli & Peacock’s Lewa Conservancy Safari Camp comes in the shape of a camp consisting of 12 tents featuring thatched roofs, verandas and full en suite bathrooms for each tent. A central dining and lounge area form the camp’s natural centre point, and the swimming pool is positioned to overlook the rolling plains of the terrain.

The birds and gorillas of Rwanda
Popularly called “the land of a thousand hills”, the beautiful Republic of Rwanda known for its rich variety of exotic birds. A birdwatcher’s dream destination, the region boasts a recorded number of about 650 species of birds, 44 of which can only be found in Rwanda. Some of the birds worth looking out for in the national parks of Akagera, Volcanoes and Nyungwe are Shoe Bill, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Rwenzori Turaco, Red-faced Barbet, Little Bee Eater,  Rockefeller’s Sunbird, Collared Apalis, and Fraser’s Eagle Owl.
In addition to its respectable bird population, Rwanda is also famous for its carefully cultivated gorilla habitats, and approximately half of the world’s wild population of Mountain Gorillas are resident on the Rwandan slopes of the Virungas.

The prime gorilla spot within the area is Le Parc National des Volcans – a region marked by an extraordinary terrain of towering volcanoes, lush forest, rivers and lakes.

Strategically curated, the procedure of gorilla tracking excursions follows a specific format. The norm is that groups of maximum six people track a handful of different gorilla families, while some gorilla groups don’t come into contacts with tourist at all. When embarking on a gorilla expedition, trackers are almost guaranteed to come into contact with a gorilla family. And once the targeted group of animals is located, trackers get to spend an hour in the presence of the family that typically encompasses a silverback, a few females and a slew of baby gorillas. ‘Tracking for gorillas in the national park of Virunga was an extraordinary experience. Before setting off, our guides briefed us on the gorilla family we set out to track, and even told us details about each individual animal, including its name. Once tracked down, you come quite close to the animals. On my visit, one baby gorilla was particularly entertaining and showed off by doing cartwheels and other tricks in front of the group of trackers,’ reminisces Matt Darwin, who visited Virunga reserve recently.

The gorillas may be the main attraction, but other creatures sharing the same terrain are the Golden Monkeys. Providing almost as high a level of entertainment as cart wheeling baby gorillas, the Golden Monkeys flit about in the bamboo forest with remarkable zest. Notably, these are the world’s only colony of golden monkeys.

When setting out to visit the Virungas, a worthy accommodation option is the Virunga Lodge that is located on a mountainside, overlooking the towering Virunga volcanoes and the lakes of Ruhondo and Bulera. The lodge comprises of a central building with reception, bar and dining room, and each individual banda features a bedroom with double or twin beds and an en-suite bathroom. Another alternative is to check in to Lake Kivu Serena hotel, which overlooks the beautiful Lake Kivu, and is located in relatively close proxymity to the gorilla reserve.

French charm in Sao Paulo

Posted on by Ben Debski

In São Paulo, a city with more than 19 million inhabitants and the sixth largest in the world, is where Brazil’s main cultural, economic and political events take place. Responsible for more than 12 percent of all Brazilian GDP – currently the seventh largest in the world – the capital city of the state of São Paulo welcomes executives of various nationalities. To serve this public, Sofitel São Paulo Ibirapuera, located next to Ibirapuera Park, a postcard and one of the largest green areas of the city, is home to a genuinely French territory, where charm and elegance lend to every detail the unmistakable touch of traditional French art. And the figures confirm it: in 2010 the luxury hotel recorded a growth of 41 percent in occupation over the previous year, due to increased demand on business events, result of the boost on Brazilian economy.

Another major reason for the increase is due to hosting of foreigners interested in participating in events or doing business in Brazil. In 2010, customers from other countries accounted for 58 percent of the public at the Sofitel, being mostly from the United States, Europe, China and India. To meet this strong international demand, since the beginning of last year the hotel has been adapting the services to each client’s culture, such as offering oriental breakfast and including international channels to the TV menu in the rooms.

Glamour
The interior of this discreet 21 floors and 215 suites reflects the identity that celebrates the art de vivre à la française (art of living in French way): exclusive service and sophisticated decor that makes up with harmony and delicacy different areas of the hotel and fine dining that, all together, invites you to a unique experience.

Thus, entering the Sofitel, which decoration is signed by the interior designer Philippe Deschanel, is being welcomed by details with classical inspiration that is revealed from the sumptuous lobby forming a unique atmosphere, where high technology coexists in perfect synergy with the flowing lines of environments.

With a warm smile followed by the traditional French compliment (“bonjour” or “bonsoir,” according to the time of day), professionals of Sofitel São Paulo offers the utmost attention to guests and visitors. More than that, the team trained according to the strictest international standards, has a particular difference; the combining of the Brazilian sympathy to French elegance.

With excellence and consistency in customer service, Sofitel São Paulo offers a unique service in the Magnifique Service, concept of apartments for VIP customers. In 54 suites ranging from 33m² to 250m², distributed over five floors, from the 15th to the 19th floor, one of the highlights is the exclusive butler service. Right in the hotel lobby, the guest is welcomed by the guest relation, who leads the guest to the bedroom, while the bag is undone by the butler. For those arriving by helicopter and wishing privacy and discretion, the check can be done directly in the anteroom of the helipad, without the need to go to the lobby. Upon reaching the room, the customer can enjoy a glass of wine, courtesy of the hotel. To recharge the energies, you can schedule a quick massage of 20 minutes with the concierge.

All suites feature My Bed, customized bed concept of Sofitel network, developed with goose-down to provide maximum comfort during sleep. Another treat is the “Pillow Menu” with plenty of pillow options for the customer’s choice. There are also 32-inch LCD TVs, a menu of movies for DVD, equipment for iPod and Wi-Fi internet with unlimited use. In the bathroom, guests will find L’Occitane French brand amenities of shampoo, conditioner and moisturiser. For business meetings, the guest of the Magnifique Service also has an available meeting room that holds up to ten people, with the first hour free. The hotel also offers newspapers to choose from, courtesy of laundry for a piece of clothing, special rates for use of the helipad and rental of conference rooms, besides Limo Service, transportation service in luxury car to the airport of Congonhas and other destinations demanded by executives.

Within the philosophy of care that add value to luxury brand Sofitel, the hotel has also developed specially designed packages, offering options with a special touch. For lovers of the loud snoring of the Ferrari engine, there is the Glamour package, with ride of 30 minutes per person with a real Ferrari F355 Targa model, and the circuit covers the most sophisticated roads of São Paulo. It also includes a relaxing massage at the Wellness Center, complete with sauna, in addition to accommodation and breakfast.

In the “Air of Romance”, often used by couples celebrating a special moment, the suite is uniquely decorated with flowers and scented candles. The bed is prepared with a lacy outfit. A bottle of champagne and chocolates are offered. To conclude, the breakfast is served in room, with croissants and other French viennoiseries. The “Night Air” option includes accommodation for the couple, sightseeing helicopter flight in São Paulo, dinner at the renowned restaurant P. Verger and breakfast at Aquarelle.

Gastronomy
If the ambiance and service of Sofitel São Paulo are already sufficient to provide a flawless stay, the hotel’s gastronomy certainly crowns the experience. With the signature of chef Patrick Ferry, one of the leading names in French cuisine in the city, it presents a contemporary French cuisine, combining traditional dishes with creations that incorporate typical flavors of Brazilian cuisine and elements of other nationalities.

His creations can be tasted in the restaurants P. Verger and Aquarelle. The
P. Verger, which has as its starting point the life and work of the French photographer Pierre Verger, has as its flagship menu the incomparable Confit of Duck Flambé. Aquarelle Restaurant in turn, is the setting for one of the best breakfasts in town.

Le Fournil Pâtisserie and Boulangerie invites to a break for a delicious coffee and tasty treats or croissants. The pastry is the meeting point for those who appreciate the refined and exquisite desserts, pastries and savory of the unique French cuisine. For those looking for a bar that brings together exclusive drinks and good music, Aboo Wine Lounge Bar is the right address. Ideal for lovers of wine, Aboo offers a selection of 83 labels from the New World – South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Australia and the United States – with the best of each country. In addition, the lounge also offers drinks with their own signature, and hot and cold dishes, tapas and sandwiches.

In events, Sofitel São Paulo Ibirapuera offers the best infrastructure for the business audience. There are 12 function rooms, five private and two ballrooms for conferences and seminars, accommodating up to 350 persons in auditorium, equipped with high technology. It also has a full service business center.

With prime location and easy access to Congonhas airport and major leisure and business addresses of São Paulo, the hotel is the perfect choice for events in general. With 250 parking slots in the covered parking, valet parking and a helipad with a VIP room, the hotel also has themed coffee breaks.