Daily 12 March/März - ITB Berlin

XIV Friday 12 March ITB Berlin English Daily 2010
As part of a long term development plan, Vision 2020, that aims to see Trinidad &
Tobago become a developed nation by 2020, the government has recently invested
some US$300 million to improve infrastructure in Port of Spain – including upgrading its
meetings and incentive facilities for the 21st Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting which it hosted at the end of 2009.
Cruise West plans to add Patagonia in 2011
Cruise West, which claims to be “the world’s leading provider of small-ship explorations
to the most fascinating destinations on earth”, is planning to venture into rugged and
mysterious Patagonia in 2011 with four departures aboard the spacious 64-cabin mv Via
Australis. The new eight- or ten-night journey highlights hotspots in Chile by land and
cruising through renowned channels, scenic bays and glaciated fjords from Ushuaia to
Punta Arenas, by sea.
Patagonia, which is unlike any other place on earth, Cruise West says, offers impressive
landscapes, beautiful vegetation and a variety of marine mammals and wildlife. The
journey includes two nights in the thriving city of Santiago where guests will take a
private walking tour, enjoy lively folkloric dinner show and a full day touring Casablanca
Valley, one of Chile’s supreme wine regions, and historic Valparaiso, once the residence
of poet Pablo Neruda.
Cruise passengers will board the mv Via Australis in Punta Arenas, an included flight
away, and head out to sea on a custom-designed five-night voyage, cruising through
the Strait of Magellan and Beagle Channel that separates the islands of the Tierra del
Fuego Archipelago, making a stop at Magdalena Island to visit the immense colony of
Magellanic Penguins. The cruise will then continue onto Ainsworth Bay located inside
the Alberto De Agostini National Park that offers a sun-polar Magellanic forest and, if
the timing is right, elephant seals lounging on the beach.
After several more exciting days exploring the country and its coast, the last day of
exploration includes majestic ‘Glacier Alley;’ Cape Horn National Park, declared a World
Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2005; and Wulaia Bay, once the site of the largest
Yamana aboriginal settlement. Passengers will disembark in Ushuaia and continue by
plane to Argentina’s capital city of Buenos Aires for one last night of fun including a
farewell Tango dinner show and city tour.
ASIA PACIFIC
AirAsia forms a new budget carrier in Vietnam
AirAsia has acquired a 30% equity stake in private carrier VietJet Air to establish a Vietnam-based,
joint-venture, low-cost airline which will be named VietJet AirAsia. The joint
venture has already been approved by Vietnam’s Ministry of Transportation. VietJet
AirAsia will operate both domestic and international flights and will soon announce
details regarding routes, frequencies and flight launches. Licensed in December 2007,
VietJet Air is the country’s only aviation joint stock company in Vietnam permitted to
operate both domestically and internationally. However, VietJet’s market share in Viet-