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Miss Nigeria and Miss India to Visit Jamaica in March 2020

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Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has announced that Miss World finalists from Nigeria and India have accepted the Government’s invitation to visit Jamaica, following their enthusiastic display of support for the crowning of Jamaica’s Toni-Ann Singh, as Miss World 2019.

The Minister made the announcement during a lunch, hosted for Singh and her family on Saturday, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, in Kingston.

“I am very pleased to share that Miss Nigeria, Nyekachi Douglas and Miss India, Suman Rao, will come to Jamaica….the time we are looking at is the first week of March, 2020. We are very excited to welcome them to the island and show them our warm Jamaican hospitality,” said the Minister.

The Minister first announced that the Government of Jamaica would be extending invitations to the contestants during his remarks at the second annual Golden Tourism Day Awards, held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on December 15, 2019.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister noted that the Government would make the necessary arrangements to host the beauty contestants, and will ensure that they “have the best vacation that they could hope for, in the best destination that they could ever think of, and to also make sure that Jamaica remains top of mind.”

The Golden Tourism Day Awards was organized by the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) and the Ministry of Tourism. The gala event recognizes Tourism workers who have given 50 years or more of service to the industry.

Some 34 awardees who have served the industry as raft captains, craft traders, ground transportation operators, hoteliers, in-bond store operators, tour operators and Red Cap Porters were lauded for their remarkable contribution.

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

Centra by Centara Government Complex Hotel & Convention Centre Chaeng Watthana

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Centra by Centara Government Complex Hotel & Convention Centre Chaeng Watthana, a Centara Hotels & Resorts property located near Don Mueang International Airport, is the only hotel and convention center within Thailand’s largest Government Complex. Centara has just completed a comprehensive renovation worth more than 100 million baht, spanning guestrooms and suites, the hotel’s restaurant, and lobby and public areas. The renovation reflects a modern, elegant and stylish design perfectly attuned to the local art and culture of the Mons community residing in Koh Kred, Thailand, offering guests a unique visual look and a brand new hospitality experience.

The makeover reveals newly-designed guestrooms, which increase to 212 total rooms divided into four room types — Superior Room, Deluxe Room, Junior Suite, and CENTRA Plus Suite. Every guestroom features a contemporary design and light décor presenting the charm of Siamese Fighting Fish, which has endured since ancient times and was recently declared the National Aquatic Animal of Thailand, on a wall in each guestroom. Guestrooms also offer all the amenities needed to make your stay enjoyable and relaxing, including complimentary hi-speed Wi-Fi. Junior Suites and CENTRA Plus Suites also feature a private living room for your comfort.

All-day dining restaurant Bistro4 has been redesigned with a show kitchen and new decoration, offering to seat for 350 guests and suitable for socializing with friends and colleagues. The Bistro4 menu features delectable international cuisines, including Thai, Japanese and Western fare, creatively crafted by experienced chefs.

Additional upgrades include renovations to its lobby, with a new concept offering a non-hotel lobby-like comfortable feel. MIX Social Space has also been designed as a co-working space, making it an ideal place for semi-private meetings and social gatherings, where guests can settle into a comfortable chair and relax in a cozy atmosphere with complimentary hi-speed Wi-Fi. The Grab & Go corner has also been created within the MIX Social Space area for guests to purchase snacks, drinks and personal care products 24/7.

In addition, the hotel offers retail space and brings products crafted by people with disabilities and the elderly to sell at the Community Shop located near the lobby, reflecting Centara’s commitment to supporting those in need while building a strong community and inclusive society. In addition, the hotel features a Thai massage service located at the Refresh Zone near the lobby for guests to relieve stress and tension, courtesy of elderly Thai massage specialists from Thailand’s Ministry of Social Development and Human Security.

The hotel offers up to 26 meeting rooms divided between two buildings – Square and Circle – plus the Convention Centre, which spans more than 29,000 square meters. The Square building provides flexible meeting spaces with 24 meeting rooms, including the Vayupak Grand Ballroom, a gigantic 1,710-square-metre pillar-less venue with a ceiling height of 9.3 meters, for meetings catering up to 2,000 guests. The Circle building offers an auditorium and ample reception space, with a glass wall giving a panoramic view of the complex. Every meeting room features the latest technology including hi-speed Wi-Fi. Events of every scope and scale, be it a seminar, product launch, press conference, staff party, wedding or concert, will be skillfully handled by the hotel’s professional team.

The hotel is connected to Government Complex Building B, giving meeting participants convenient access to banks, shops, clinics, and other facilities. Currently, the hotel is one of the main venues organizing government agencies’ events with strong demand from private companies.

https://www.centarahotelsresorts.com/centra/cgc/

MEDIA CONTACT: Pornchanok Thongrungrot (Pao), Corporate Public Relations Manager – International, Centara Hotels & Resorts, Tel. +66 (0)2769 1234 Ext. 6733, Email: [email protected]

TSA: New airport security scanner poses “privacy risks” to passengers

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US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is demanding modifications of a new airport security system because it poses “privacy risks” to passengers by showing too much of them on display, a newly published document has revealed.

Following a demonstration, the Transportation Security Administration has requested changes to the contract because the scanner they received “has privacy risks associated with the Graphical User Interface,” says the document dated March 26 and made public by Quartz on Monday.

While the document provides no further details on the exact nature of the privacy risks, the TSA required the scanner’s manufacturer to add additional security features before it would consider using the device in a “live environment.”

Using another government database, Quartz identified the contractor – whose name is redacted in the document – as Virginia security firm ThruVision. The document refers to ThruVision’s TAC scanner, which the company describes as a “proven people-screening camera that sees any type of item.”

The device is supposed to be part of TSA’s “Future Lane Experience” (FLEx), an effort to speed up security checks that have become a major headache for passengers in many airports.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority partnered with the TSA last year to deploy ThruVision’s portable TS4 scanner, which the TSA claims to have vetted “extensively” prior to using it on LA commuters. It is unclear whether the TSA had similar concerns about the TS4 before the device was used in the field.

Revelations about the TSA concerns over the new scanner come after last week’s report by ProPublica that accused the agency’s current hardware of “discriminating” against African-Americans by misreading their hair, requiring a disproportionate number of pat-downs.

The ACLU slammed the TSA in 2009 for using scanning technology to conduct “virtual strip searches” that provided TSA employees with photos of passengers’ genitals, breasts and buttocks. More was revealed in 2010, when the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) published TSA documents which further detail the scanners’ invasiveness.

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African Tourism Board Safety and Travel Security Expert Statement on TOPP

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African Tourism Board Safety and Security expert Dr. Peter Tarlow reminded all ATB members, security incidents around the world once again underline the need for African nations to promote and provide the best tourism security possible.

African Tourism Board President Alain St. Ange mentioned that after recent security challenges in Kenya, it remains the duty of Africa to stand with Kenya’s Minister Najib Balala, the CS for Tourism and with the Government of Kenya after the recent kidnapping of Doctors and Bomb Threats.

“Tourism is a success story in Kenya and they need, more than ever, their fellow friends and neighbors to spread this successes story,” the ATB president added.

Dr. Tarlow explained: “The best way for the African tourism industry to aid countries not only Sudan and Kenya as they face new tourism security challenge is by helping each nation in Africa to create a well funded and organized tourism security unit.

Each tourism security unit of TOPPs (tourism-oriented policing and protection services) will be experts not only in security but also safety and seek to protect a nation’s visitors along with its reputation and economies.

These units, be they composed of public or private security agents or private-private partnership, will help to assure tourists from around the world that travel to Africa is safe and secure.

They will be major players in promoting African tourism and when security mishaps occur they will aid their local tourism industry in a demonstration to the world that these are the exceptions and not the norm.

It is important to remember where that security is an essential element in tourism.  It is our moral duty and good business to work with both local governments and international organizations to assure travelers that Africa will receive them with open arms and a loving heart.

“Today, the African Tourism Board confirms that they stand with Africa ans specially now with Minister Balala the Kenyan Government and People of Kenya and will work with them as and when called upon”, concluded St.Ange.

Reference:
www.africantourismboard.com

www.safertourism.com 

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Expression of interests launched for new carrying-capacity studies for La Digue, Mahe and Praslin

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The Seychelles Ministry for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine have recently launched 2 expression of interests for carrying capacity studies to be undertaken on La Digue as well as Mahe and Praslin. The aim of the studies is to determine the current status of the islands and the acceptable amount of tourism development that can occur while still remaining sustainable, and assist the government in taking informed decisions on all future tourism development projects.

The Carrying-Capacity Study for La Digue dates back to 2013 and the results have led to the policy directive of setting a moratorium on the development of tourism accommodation establishments to 5 rooms per developer. This moratorium is supposed to be valid for a period of five years and the time has come to commission a new Carrying-Capacity Study.

Moreover, in 2018 the President announced that La Digue would be a model of sustainability as part of the National Vision 2033.  An eco-tourism strategy specific to the island for the next 15 years has been developed and the Carrying-Capacity Study on La Digue will aim to align with the established vision and provide recommendations to policy makers pertaining to future development on the island in view of assuring its sustainable development.

As for Mahe and Praslin, the Carrying-Capacity Study was commissioned in 2016 and set to be reviewed in 2020.  The results of the Carrying-Capacity Study has led to a number of policy directives and a set moratorium on the number of rooms that can be developed per promoter which is 20 rooms for Northern Mahe and 24 rooms per promoter for  the rest of Mahe and Praslin.

The carrying-capacity analysis will determine the ability of the ecosystem of La Digue, Mahe and Praslin and the various segments thereof to withstand all impacts of additional tourism development activities. The studies will apply the perspectives of Physical carrying capacity, Ecological carrying capacity, Social carrying capacity and Economic carrying capacity in order to develop a balanced overall assessment.

Consultants interested to undertake the study have to submit their expression of interest to the Department of Tourism by Friday, April 26, 2019 by 1500 hours. Results of the two carrying capacity studies will determine whether or not to maintain the moratorium currently in place on La Digue, Mahe and Praslin.

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