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Nobel laureates summit cancelled after visa denial to Dalai Lama

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The World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Cape Town, South Africa, this month has been cancelled owing to denial of a travel visa by the host country to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, a visiting Nobel laureate said here Wednesday.

"The venue of the summit has been shifted out of South Africa," Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams of the US told reporters here.

The new venue for the summit would be announced later, she said.

Williams is in this northern Indian hill town along with fellow laureate Shirin Ebadi of Iran to grace the Dalai Lama's Nobel silver jubilee anniversary celebrations scheduled for Oct 2.

"We feel proud that the summit has been cancelled after we lodged protest over denial of visa to the Dalai Lama," she said.

"Even other Nobel laureates have lodged their protest over the issue," Williams added.

Lobsang Sangay, Prime Minister of Tibetan government in exile, said the new venue of the summit would be announced later.

Ebadi even questioned Archbishop Desmond Tutu's silence on the issue. "I am surprised over the stoic silence of Desmond Tutu. I know he is not part of the government but he's not making his views public," Ebadi said.

"Let's not forget whosoever decides to stay silent against the dictator government is contributing to the dictatorship," she added.

Coming out in support of the Tibetan government-in-exile's cause, Ebadi said: "I am here to learn from His Holiness, who has been leading a non-violent struggle for over 50 years. I hope, someday, I will be talking to you in free Tibet."

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Nobel laureates summit cancelled after visa denial to Dalai Lama

The 16 lessons every traveller learns

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Ben Groundwater Oct 1 2014 at 12:37 AM

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It's a big wide world out there. A scary world. A world filled with dodgy taxi drivers and bad food, dirty hostels and shady locals.

When you first step out into that big world it can be a little daunting, but as time goes by and you settle into the travel scene, you very quickly begin to love it. And that's because every traveller learns certain lessons, lessons about themselves, about travel, and about the world in general. Lessons like these.

You're far more resourceful than you think

This. This is the number one thing every traveller soon realises. You might have previously thought you'd struggle with the language barrier, or that you're terrible with directions, or that you're shy around new people, or that you can't cope in a crisis, but once you throw yourself in the deep end and have to survive on your own in the world, you'll come to know: you're far better at this stuff than you ever realised.

You can get used to pretty much anything in about three days

Every time I go camping, or stay in a hostel, or even eat dodgy street food, the feeling is the same on that first day: urgh. I can't get clean. There are people making noise in my room. This food is going to poison me. But after about three days of anything any level of discomfort, of grot or grime you just get used to it. And then it becomes fun.

You can survive with less food and less sleep than you thought

Couldn't find anywhere to have breakfast this morning? No worries. Stayed up all night boozing and now you have to catch a bus? She'll be right. Blew your budget on a dumb souvenir and now you have to survive on packet noodles? No dramas. See the point above it'll take about three days to get used to it.

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The 16 lessons every traveller learns

Fox World Travel Announces New Technology Partnership

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Oshkosh, WI (PRWEB) September 30, 2014

Fox World Travel has recently enhanced its partnerships with FlightStats, the premier provider of en route flight status information to travelers worldwide. With information for approximately 99.5% of all domestic flights and 85.6% of all international flights, FlightStats tracks status in real time and messages travelers with updates. They also report on both runway and gate times, provide codeshare mapping and store historic data to calculate on-time performance for flights.

Fox Vice President Lori Meress commented, "At a time when flight interruptions are prevalent, we are pleased to expand our partnership with this supplier of critical data for travelers."

Fox World Travel, Inc. is a leading provider of travel management services, helping organizations succeed in building policies, compliance and financial advantages into their domestic and global travel programs. In addition to their Business Travel Division, they offer a variety of travel planning services through their Vacation Travel Division and Premier Meetings and Incentives.

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Fox World Travel Announces New Technology Partnership

SiteMinder pioneers new two-way XML integration with Chinas leading online travel service provider, Ctrip

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One of the world's leading providers of online distribution technology, SiteMinder, has today announced a strategic integration partnership with Ctripto secure a pivotal connection for hotels looking to access China's soaring online travel industry. The new two-way integration puts the more than 14,000 hotels using SiteMinder's Room Distribution Exchange (RDX) platform among the first in the world to have direct access to the country's largest online travel booking channel, via its new XML connection.

With sales in China's online travel market hitting nearly US$10 billion for the second quarter of 2014[1] a year-on-year increase of 17.1% the hotels are also in an optimal position to directly tap into the booming travel market in China.

"We are very happy to partner with SiteMinder, a company that is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and respected in online distribution," says Ms Maria Sun, CEO of Hotel Business Unit & SVP of Ctrip.

"This integration will allow hotels around the world to directly access the Ctrip platform and its enormous booking potential, while also capitalizing on the robust connectivity between SiteMinder and Ctrip.

"As China's market continues to consume travel in a number of ways the number of accumulated downloads for Ctrip's MobileApp, alone, has now reached 200 million and continues rapid growth it is crucial that hotels are front and center for the Chinese traveler. Via Ctrip, hotels that use SiteMinder products to distribute to Ctrip can now achieve exactly that."

With approximately 80 percent of Ctrip's total transactions booked online or through mobile channels during the second quarter of 2014, SiteMinder's Co-Founder and CEO, Mr Mike Ford, says he is delighted about the integration partnership and welcomes its role in Ctrip's strategy for international growth.

"RDX powers more than 60 channel management solutions worldwide, including SiteMinder's own offering, The Channel Manager. This connection with Ctrip is therefore exceptionally exciting for our hotel clients, as they can now leverage this opportunity to attract new guests from anywhere in the world," Mr Ford says.

"China's online travel revenue is estimated to reach around US$75 billion by 2017[2] and, with online users continuing to increase in the country, SiteMinder is very excited about discovering the potential this partnership with Ctrip will have for our hotels."

[1]"China OTA market transactions close to $10 billion in Q2 2014", 4 August 2014, China Internet Watch

[2]"China Online Travel GMV 2011-2017", January 2014, iResearch

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SiteMinder pioneers new two-way XML integration with Chinas leading online travel service provider, Ctrip

JULIANA’S WORLD TRAVEL AND TOURS: VA Wineries, Stone Mountain Vineyards – Video

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JULIANA #39;S WORLD TRAVEL AND TOURS: VA Wineries, Stone Mountain Vineyards
Located at 1700 feet in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Stone Mountain Vineyards is one of Virginia #39;s finest boutique wineries. Working in small ...

By: Nessa Hall

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JULIANA'S WORLD TRAVEL AND TOURS: VA Wineries, Stone Mountain Vineyards - Video

Amadeus renews deal with PH travel firm

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Amadeus has signed a new multi-year agreement with travel firm Philippine World Travel, a Lufthansa City Center global network member.

Amadeus continues to focus on the local travel industry with new deal

The new agreement will allow Philippine World Travel access to the range of content through the Amadeus platform, including over 445 airlines, 690,000 hotel properties and 50 cruise and ferry options worldwide.

Philippine World Travel executive vice president and general manager Elvira Castillo said that Amadeus has supported them over the years in their efforts to maintain a global standard in their operations.

Castillo particularly cited the Amadeus Harmony which she said improved the travel agencys efficiency and productivity through the automatic generation of reports.

Amadeus Harmony is a mid- and back-office solution designed to automate a travel agencys accounting process. It features a complete customer profile, invoicing, documentation process, financial reports, management reports and analysis.

Philippine World Travel, which has been operating since 1975, is an International Air Transport Association approved travel agency. Amadeus, operating in the country since 1997, is the preferred technology partner of travel agencies in the Philippines.

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Amadeus renews deal with PH travel firm

Kerala Tourism, a hit in Japan

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Kerala's tradition of ayurveda and its unique backwaters have found numerous admirers in Japan where these were showcased at the state's theme pavilion at one of the biggest travel events in the world.

The JATA Tourism Expo, held Sep 25-28 at the Tokyo Big Sight, the biggest convention centre in Japan, saw heavy footfall at the Kerala pavilion throughout the fair duration.

Describing the response as "tremendous", Kerala Tourism director Sheik Pareeth said the Japanese tour operators and the public were eager to know more about Kerala.

"Most of the enquires about Kerala came for ayurveda treatments and backwater cruises," he said.

A large group of Japanese tourists planning their maiden trip to India next month ended up opting for 'God's Own Country' after being won over by Kerala Tourism's promotional campaign at the fair. The group is planning to visit Kerala in October and the trade partners are already working on the itinerary.

It is for the second time that Kerala took part in JATA which saw participation by as many as 970 travel and tourism companies from the 47 prefectures of Japan, along with delegations from over 150 countries.

Last week, Kerala Tourism had also conducted a hugely successful roadshow in Kuala Lumpur, the commercial capital of Mayalsia, in its first-ever entry into the South East Asian country.

Indian Ambassador to Japan Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa, who visited the Kerala pavilion at the JATA Tourism Expo, offered the embassy's support in promoting Kerala in the East-Asian island nation.

"Kerala is largely an unexplored holiday destination for the Japanese who are generally great travellers," said Wadhwa.

Japan Airlines, the Japanese national carrier, is considering a code-sharing arrangement with an Indian domestic airline following the huge response to Kerala's destinations from the Japanese travel sector. At present, Singapore and Malaysia serve as transit points to fly to Kerala.

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Kerala Tourism, a hit in Japan


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