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Seychelles launches its first Nature Trail competition

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In a press conference at Botanical House, Mont-Fleuri at the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) headquarters today, the organization announced the launch of the Seychelles Nature Trail competition to be held in May 2020.

The announcement was made by the STB Chief Executive Mrs. Sherin Francis in the presence of Mrs. Bernadette Willemin, STB Regional Director for Europe, Ms. Bernadette Honoré, the STB representative in Reunion – who initiated the project with the support of Christian Hamer and Veronique Victor (directors of the trail) – and various partners on-board to make the project a success in Seychelles next year. 

The partners for the SNT project alongside the STB will include the Seychelles National Sports Council (NSC), the Seychelles National Park Authority (SNPA), Air Mauritius, Seychelles Breweries, ABSA ( Barclays Bank), Cable and Wireless and Skychef.

Launched in Reunion in September this year, this first edition of Seychelles Nature Trail (SNT) adds to the prestige of the destination as a multifaceted one.

The SNT aims at further promoting the archipelago’s concept of green tourism as well as enticing potential visitors’ to the discovery of Seychelles’ rich biodiversity.

The 25km trail which will be competed on Mahé on May 3, 2020 will be starting in the region of Port-Glaud round Anse Major, through the well-known hiking routes including the Mont Le Niol and Congo Rouge area finishing at Grand Anse.

 The event plans on attracting and engaging nature sport enthusiast in the region and across the globe to Seychelles, as well as concept for Seychellois competitors.

Speaking at the event, Mrs. Sherin Francis mentioned her satisfaction to add another event to the destination’s profile on the international level.

“The SNT event projects the destinations towards an adventure that will open great doors for the destination, we have seen how big in publicity the recent trail event “Diagonale des Fous” which closed a few days ago to our fellow islanders in Reunion. We can only anticipate great participation from the region and hope that the beauty of our Islands will attract potential runners from all over the world,” said Mrs. Francis.

Mrs. Francis mentioned that in order to reach the anticipated number of participants for the event in 2020, an intensive communication campaign has been designed and will be implemented through traditional and social media.

In addition, a publicity campaign in collaboration with the Seychelles Public Transport Company (SPTC) will be activated in Seychelles in the coming weeks.

MEDIA CONTACT: STB News Bureau, Tel: +248 4 671 354 / +248 4 671 313, [email protected]  www.seychelles.travel

Bartlett commits J$300 million to strengthen Jamaica’s Community Tourism

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Community Tourism island wide, will receive a major boost following the commitment of approximately J$300 million by Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett.

The money will be disbursed to sixty three (63) communities across the country to have small events and activities to attract more visitors, and increase potential earnings of small tourism suppliers.

“The building out of more tourism products under our Linkages Network, forms part of our overall growth strategy to attract more visitors by adding value and enhancing their experiences. Adding value has become a benchmark in the highly competitive tourism industry and when you are able to give more you will have a better value proposition for visitors than your competitors.

These community tourism projects will provide authentic Jamaican experiences, whether it be food or entertainment, for our visitors and increase earnings for our suppliers,” said Minister Bartlett.

Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett (2nd R) engaged a batch of the first cohort of students to be trained at the M-Academy. M-Academy, which was launched today in Kingston, is a Jamaica Social Investment Fund and Main Events partnership providing alternative Livelihood and Skills Development.

The announcement was made today during the official launch of M-Academy at the Chinese Benevolent Centre in Kingston. M-Academy is a Jamaica Social Investment Fund and Main Events partnership that will provide alternative Livelihood and Skills Development. The main objective of the initiative is to provide demand driven skills in event production to 100 students from 7 parishes across Jamaica.

In endorsing the move, Minister Bartlett added that, “I am pleased that this initiative will help build the capacity of our young people who will in turn be able to earn and meet the demands in the entertainment sector, which is inextricably linked to tourism.

This means that we will be able to rely more on local talent to seamlessly execute mega productions such as festivals and conventions, which attract thousands of people.”

The M-Academy training program will initially certify 100 at risk youth in various aspects of world class event management and production skills by one of the leading entertainment companies in the Caribbean.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4926-30, Fax: 920-4944

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Skate & Style event coming to Munich Airport

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Top-flight professional skateboarding is a breathtaking spectacle. At the new Skate & Style event, now coming to Munich Airport, spectators will witness dazzling displays of tricks, spins and jumps. From April 24-28, the airport’s MAC Forum will be turned into a skateboarding hotspot as it hosts the South German championships in this exciting sport.

In the Club of Skaters (COS) Cup, competitors will face off in three categories, with the winners qualifying for the national final at the end of November at Europapark Rust, Germany’s biggest theme park. Spectators at Skate & Style who are up to the challenge are also welcome to grab a board and test their own skills on the 800 square meter park terrain.

The four-day event will feature numerous highlights, including a program of entertainment and fun activities. As fans watch, Germany’s skateboarding elite will attack the ramps and obstacles and showcase their best moves. And between rounds of the 2019 COS Cup, local heroes will go head to head in the Titus Locals Only Competition (LOC) Cup.
Registration for COS and LOC contestants will take place during the first open practice sessions on Friday April 27.

On Saturday, starting at 1 pm, things will then heat up as participants start vying for spots in the final. The semifinal and final rounds will take place on Sunday starting at 11 am. Before the awards ceremony, a special attraction awaits at 5 pm: the Ravenol Barrel Jump. In this test of skill, skateboarders accelerate towards a row of barrels, jump off at the last second, and try to make a clean landing on a board positioned at the other end.

On all four days of the event, the park terrain will be open not only to competitors, but also to passengers and airport visitors keen to give this exciting sport a try. Every day from 10 am to 6 pm, Skate & Style will host free open sessions and workshops, with instructors offering tips for the parcours or miniramp. Skateboards, helmets and pads can be borrowed at no cost. Visitors to Skate & Style can park free of charge for up to five hours in the P20 car park.

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Ailing Avianca’s plan to sell airport slots might be rejected

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Avianca is the fourth largest airline in Brazil, and it has been in judicial recovery since December of last year with debts of approximately R$500 million.

A new plan approved by Avianca’s creditors on Friday is not setting well with Brazil’s anti-trust agency, CADE. The agency said that depending on which competitors buy out Avianca’s main airport slots, the operation may not be approved.

The approved plan includes the partition of the company’s assets into 7 parts, called Individual Productive Units (UPIs). Six of the UPIs will be made up of slots (airport landing and take-off times), employees and aircraft, and the seventh will hold Avianca’s loyalty program, Amigo.

It is CADE’s expectation is that agents will find the best solution to suit the private interests of Avianca’s shareholders and its creditors as well as the public interests of Brazilian consumers.

Included in each UPI will be the registration and authorizations of routes and the right to use slots at Congonhas (SP), Guarulhos (SP), and Santos Dumont (RJ) airports, in addition to the temporary right of use of the Avianca Brasil brand and the Air Operator Certificate approved by the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC).

CADE stated that the best case scenario would be for a new company to assume the operation of the units for which there would be no change in the concentration level of the sector. But if the UPIs are acquired by Gol or Latam, the agency sees problems, because these two companies already have high market shares in the main routes in which Avianca operates. Both Gol and Latam have announced interest in purchasing some of the Avianca’s assets.

Azul Airlines had announced earlier that it had made an offer to acquire Avianca Brasil’s assets, including airplanes and airport slots for US$105 million.

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Uganda Airlines firms up orders for two Airbus A330neo aircraft

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Uganda Airlines, the national carrier of Uganda, has firmed up its order for two A330-800 airliners, the latest version of the most popular A330 widebody airliner.

Fitted with the new Airspace by Airbus cabin, the A330neo will bring a range of benefits to Uganda Airlines and its customers, offering unrivalled efficiencies combined with the most modern cabin.

Uganda Airlines plans to use the A330-800 to build its medium and long-haul network with the aircraft offering cutting-edge technology along with more efficient operations

Launched in July 2014, the A330neo Family is the new generation A330, comprising two versions: the A330-800 and A330-900 sharing 99 percent commonality. It builds on the proven economics, versatility and reliability of the A330 Family while reducing fuel consumption by about 25 percent per seat versus previous generation competitors and increasing range by up to 1,500 nm compared to the majority of A330s in operation. The A330neo is powered by Rolls-Royce’s latest-generation Trent 7000 engines and features a new wing with increased span and new A350 XWB-inspired Sharklets. The cabin provides the comfort of the new Airspace amenities including state-of-the-art passenger inflight entertainment and Wifi connectivity systems, amongst others.

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