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Thursday, 04 March 2010 15:17 |
 All the newspapers in town are raving on about last weekend’s super show put on by Guy Sebastian on Saturday 27th and 28th February, at The Grand Hotel and Iririki Island Resort. In this week’s Vanuatu Infos, and the Vanuatu Daily, feedback has it that the shows were mind blowing and the audience look forward to his second trip back to Port Vila, which Guy, who is currently making it big in the US hit charts, plans on returning for another gig, after 3 to 4 months in “The Big Apple”. Guy Sebastian’s shows were made possible, with compliments by Grand Hotel & Casino, and Iririki Island Resort.
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Thursday, 04 March 2010 15:13 |
 Even for a quiet month in February, VTO’s U.S and North America representative Sue Herrick, has been keeping busy with exciting plans and preparations for Beneath the Sea dive expo, liaising with new dive operators keen to include Vanuatu in their worldwide offerings, making sales calls with Air Pacific representative in California to find potential new sellers for Vanuatu, one high end wholesaler in particular who sells snorkel trips around the world with great potential for Vanuatu, and meeting new educational operators focusing on dive, snorkel and reef preservation. Sue’s recent report reveals that an agent who travelled to Vanuatu on the US Group Agents famil in November last year, with Sue, has recently confirmed a group booking for 2011 as a result of the visit. Sue continues to see diving as a key market from the U.S. and the emphasis on this will undoubtedly help Espiritu Santo Tourism Association with the connection of SS Calvin Coolidge. |
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Thursday, 04 March 2010 15:09 |
 This week on Tuesday, VTO’s first weekly tourism page, under the Vanuatu Tourism Tribal Drum heading, was launched in Daily Post, opening with an official welcome by Annie Niatu, VTO General Manager. Mrs Niatu proudly introduced readers to the first edition of the weekly tourism page, and provided an insight on plans and preparations for Tok Tok Vanuatu 2010, including a mention on the current rebranding exercise from its early beginnings, involving both the Vanuatu and Australian government, to current progress and development stage. |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 04 March 2010 15:21 |
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Thursday, 04 March 2010 15:05 |
 The Vanuatu Tourism Office, represented by the VTO rep in New Zealand, Ms Jacquie Carson, and its Senior Information Officer Ms. Brenda Andre, attended the Auckland Flight Centre trade show in New Zealand from 13th to 14th February. Vanuatu was present with other pacific islands, showcasing the destination with colorful displays and a great team of industry members from Air Vanuatu NZ, Poppy’s on the Lagoon & The Havannah, Le Lagon Resort, Mangoes Resort, Grand Hotel & Iririki Island Resort, and the Vanuatu Tourism Office. Other regional islands promoting their tourism products were Fiji, Cook Islands, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Solomon Islands and Niue. |
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Thursday, 04 March 2010 14:51 |
 Donald Garae, an information officer for VTO based in Santo, was in New Castle, Australia, last weekend attending his first trade show. The expo was held at West’s Leagues Club, in Lampton on Sunday 28th March from 9am to 4.30pm. Two other Pacific island participants were Samoa and Fiji, including other global and international companies within the travel industry such as Emirates Travel and Airline, Canada Tourism, and more. Donald commented that many of the visitors who have been to Vanuatu recapped on fond memories of the destination and the people, encouraging families and friends to travel to Vanuatu for a holiday. |
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Friday, 26 February 2010 14:58 |
 Vanuatu's popular tourism newspaper, What To Do In Vanuatu, will become the official monthly newspaper and mouthpiece of the Vanuatu Tourism Office in an exciting new development that will revolutionise the way Vanuatu tourism is promoted overseas. Trading Post Ltd, who publish the Daily Paper, have been running successful tourism guides since 1993 with Hapi Tumas Long Vanuatu, then Discover Vanuatu and now What To Do In Vanuatu. Under the new agreement between Daily Post publisher Marc Neil - Jones and the VTO, What To Do will be redesigned with a new masthead and 8 out of 16 pages will be in full colour. |
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Friday, 26 February 2010 14:27 |
 An elegant and high quality cruise boat, The Fred. Olsen Balmoral, weighing 45,000 tonnes and carrying 1300 senior passengers, with 600 crew members, arrived in Port Vila this week. The Balmoral is sister ship to Black Watch, Black Prince & Braemar, and the Boudicca which altogether form the Fred. Olsen Cruise Line fleet, originating from the UK. The Fred. Olsen offers 5 different types of cruise holiday experiences. Around warmer months, the Fred. Olsen Cruises takes its route on Med cruises, Canary Island cruises, Scandinavia cruises and Baltic, and Fjords cruises. In winter, Fred. Olsen sails from the UK, down to the Caribbean, South America, and through the Pacific islands. Before reaching Vanuatu, the Balmoral visited Hawaii, Western Samoa, Fiji, and New Caledonia.
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Friday, 26 February 2010 14:18 |
 The Grand Hotel and Iririki Island Resort will be hosting Guy Sebastian, who is just finishing up his live tour and in a few weeks is relocating to the United States to further his music career, and Angel Strings who also flying in for the same weekend and have played for some of the world’s best artists and singer including Celine Dion, Andreas Bocelli as well as more modern artists like rapper Kanye West and the likes. Angel Strings play the whole range from classical to rock, and pop music. |
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Last Updated on Friday, 26 February 2010 14:24 |
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Friday, 26 February 2010 14:10 |
 Two respected members of the tourism community, Troy Spann and Zeak Smith, who are owners of the all new local Outdoor Event Tourism Management, Event Logic, are putting their good reputation behind a series of events in a 10 month calendar of outdoor events, aimed to entice active new travellers to Vanuatu and at the same time involve the locals with exciting developments in sports and adventure tourism. Event Logic is a divisional arm of Edge (Vanuatu) Ltd renowned for its abseiling tour at the Mele Cascades. |
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Friday, 19 February 2010 12:27 |
 Air Vanuatu has announced the airline will be resuming their Santo international service on 29 March 2010. The two month suspension has allowed management to reschedule services in an attempt to make the route profitable. Air Vanuatu acknowledges the support of the Espiritu Santo Tourism Association and the Vanuatu Hotels and Resorts Association for their efforts to return the direct flight to service and their commitment to better market Santo as a destination. In order for the Santo direct flight to be successful, it is imperative the Santo tourism and business community support the flight through their own marketing initiatives. |
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Friday, 19 February 2010 12:23 |
 Press release: Aquamarine’s owner/director, Danish Syed is back in action with doing what he does best; marketing. The last few months Danish has worked on establishing key relationships for the diving and travel industry. Danish has rekindled old/stagnant relationships and started new ones worldwide. He has also worked hard with publishers and editors from all over to world to bring some valuable press to Vanuatu and the diving industry. In the first half of the 2010, Vanuatu will get publicity in US, Canada, UK, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Sweden, Iceland, Brazil and a bunch of South American countries through various print magazine articles, TV talk shows and online publications. |
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Friday, 19 February 2010 12:12 |
 South Pacific Travel media release 15 February: Award winning composer Igelese Ete today officially signed the contract as the Entertainment Manager for the Pacific Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010. The Pacific Pavilion at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai will be the third largest pavilion after China and the 40 country African pavilion. Measuring over 8,400 square metres, the pavilion will host 15 Pacific Island countries as well as a combined booth featuring the South Pacific Tourism Organisation and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. Exhibitions by Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Tonga, Micronesia, Samoa, Fiji, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue and Tahiti will showcase the diverse beauty of the Pacific region. |
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Friday, 19 February 2010 11:56 |
 Press Release19 February 2010: Beachfront Resort, on the northern Vanuatu island of Espiritu Santo, is proud to announce the renovation of the first of the six original fares built at the resort. It brings it up to the high standard of our other 17 recently constructed rooms. Now with an elevated pitched Natangora roof and retaining just the original walls, the room has been completely refurbished with as much sustainable, local materials as possible. The upgrade includes new floor tiles, bathroom, furniture and with the added benefit of air conditioning. |
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Friday, 19 February 2010 11:49 |
 In a quieter first quarter of the year, VTO and colleagues within the industry will be busy attending trade fairs and expos to promote the destination in Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Fiji, Europe, and China. Like the beginning of every year, this is an exciting time for the industry and VTO to team up in tradeshows and achieve a common interest by promoting what Vanuatu offers for a special holiday experience, to establish new markets and encourage more tourists to visit the destination. |
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Friday, 12 February 2010 15:08 |
 The third Nalawan festival will commence on the 11th August, and like every year, it is a favourite attraction for the yachties, cruise guests, as well as communities on Malekula. This year, the festival will firstly take place at Labo Village, then Lembinwan Village, and lastly Ten Stick Island in south west Malekula .The Nalawan marks the start of a new season in the traditional calendar and includes grade- taking ceremonies, spectacular custom dances, pig killing, the ancient Noho ritual with offerings to the gods of the land and much more. During the days leading up to the festival, there will be cultural events held at the Lembinwan Yacht Club, as well as snorkeling at the nearby Ten Stick Island, and in the large Marine Protected Area at Labo Village which makes the snorkeling excellent. |
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Friday, 12 February 2010 15:03 |
 On the 4th of February 2010, American Barista & Coffee School’s Matt Milleto sent his article to the VTO, and barista 2009 organizers, which he wrote about his experiences during his trip to Barista Vanuatu last year. The article is published in Barista Magazine on page 60-63, which can be read here http://baristamagazine.epubxpress.com/bam1 . Matt also has several other follow up stories which he is currently working on, planned for Barista Exchange, as well as a blog for the website Coffee Review about coffee in Vanuatu. Matt and Kylene would like to acknowledge the organizers and hosts of Barista 2009 for a fantastic event, and they hope to return for another barista bash.
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Friday, 12 February 2010 14:56 |
 Clare Sketcher and her family came to Vanuatu for a Christmas holiday break, and were smitten by how idyllic, unhurried, and intriguing their home island for Christmas and New Years, Aniwa, and its community turned out. In her words, Clare finds the real Vanuatu down south, and writes about the unforgettable experiences of a tropical escapade. Making new friends on the island, caused some difficulty during departure. Read Clare’s story here.
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Friday, 12 February 2010 14:48 |
 Visitors on Tanna can go mountain biking on the island. It is now possible with a newly opened biking company, Tanna Mountain Biking and Hire which is locally owned by Thomas Belden and currently operating 4 bikes, with a ship load on its way. Thomas has an office at Lolo Second Hand Shop in Lenakel town, where tourists can purchase a tour, and hire bikes, including at Jungle Oasis. The idea of setting up the company dawned on Thomas after meeting with bungalow and accommodation owners on Tanna. They advised that their guests have begun to frequently ask about biking tours and hiring bikes on the island. |
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Friday, 12 February 2010 14:40 |
 Ocean Blue newsletter February 2010: Ocean Blue has just recently launched a new website, featuring new layout, interactive features, price lists for all trips, an integrated video channel, brand new photo galleries, an updated blog, and more. Ocean Blue’s website now allows viewers to compare trips side by side, and has all the information anglers need to plan their next fishing adventure. The company is currently offering a 4 days package of fishing Espiritu Santo’s pristine waters for Vanuatu’s premier sport and gamefish, ideally for Sportfishing & jigging enthusiasts, where anglers can target dogtooth tuna over remote seamounts, and many other pelagics. Visit www.oceanbluefishing.com.au
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Friday, 12 February 2010 14:34 |
 South Pacific Travel media release 11 February: The beauty and splendor of the Pacific Islands will be featured on the National Geographic Chanel throughout Asia on 6 TV channels in the month of April. The partnership between the South Pacific Tourism Organisation based in Suva, Fiji and the National Geographic Channel will see key attractions of the Pacific being featured on Asian TV Channels such as the National Geographic Hong Kong, Xing King China, National Geographic China block – Global Geographic, Channel V China, and Chinese Movies Hong Kong channels. The opportunity will highlight and feature the South Pacific islands to a global audience which will ultimately draw the attention of interested travelers. |
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