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www.travelweekly-asia.com | 9 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Travel weekly asia int'l Ad.ai 1 1/22/15 12:38 PM COVER STORY Sydney-based Renaissance Tours specialises in tours for opera and ballet lovers, together with garden tours and art tours to Japan and Korea. This year it is offering a unique musical odyssey from Malta to Venice with exclusive use of the luxury motor yacht Sea Cloud II. Designed for the patrons, friends and supporters of Opera Australia, the tour includes eight operatic and musical MUSIC ON THE MED HELPS OPERA AUSTRALIA By Ian Jarrett performances on board and ashore by artists of Opera Australia, local orchestras and ensembles, and invited guest artists from Europe. The Mediterranean Opera and Music Cruise is, in part, a fund- raising event for Opera Australia. For Japan and Korea, Renaissance takes a fresh look at Asian art in three very different destinations – Seoul, Kyoto and Naoshima – where the traditional sits side by side with Above and left, Renaissance Tours highlights gardens and art in Japan and Korea. back towards the local communities and are put into a central fund managed by the community's chief. Pai's vision is to make Local Alike into a marketplace with a back-end content management system that will allow communities to generate and manage their own content. He estimates there could be up to 1,000 such community tourism experiences in Asia. Currently, the website sees transactions from markets such as Norway, Germany, France and Singapore, and Local Alike also has working partnerships with brands such as Como Hotels, who are keen to introduce local experiences to their guests. The road, of course, has not been easy. "It was a hard decision to quit Doi Tung but my boss understood my decision and he also believes tourism in local communities has to be done properly to improve the betterment of villagers. "I spent a year just to get the concept right, to build trust on the ground. I am humbled by the trust these local communities have placed in Local Alike, and we must protect that at all costs." the contemporary. This tour seeks to introduce guests "to the unique cultural dynamism of these two countries at the forefront of the Asian century". For garden lovers, a Renaissance tour from Tokyo to Kyoto looks at some of Japan's most famous gardens and groundbreaking art and architecture. "Japan is renowned for its garden culture, dating back 500 years. But in recent decades, the Japanese have also embraced striking art and architecture, often set in magnificent spaces or dramatic natural environments," says Hugh Halland, director, Renaissance Tours. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8.