Northstar

www.travelweekly-asia.com | 5 BITS & BOBS Some of the stories you may have missed on Travel Weekly Asia's Global Wrap e-daily. A MODEL ARREST The Immigration office at Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport deported nine models and six photographers from the United States and Canada for working illegally and misusing their tourist visas. The group was apprehended after being observed - over three days and at three different locations - by undercover investigators from Immigration. "All of the foreigners were using visa-on-arrival for photographing model sessions," said the head of the surveillance and response section of the Ngurah Rai immigration office, Mohamad Soleh. Documents and interviews revealed that the group was part of an event called "Paradise Challenge" – an all-inclusive elite photo shoot charging aspiring photographers US$3,100 to spend a week at a private villa while participating in photographic seminars and photo shoots using professional models. TUMBLING TALENT An anonymous American woman has told her story of how a ski accident left her with incredible mental abilities. She revealed to a website that she has acquired savant syndrome after she suffered a fall on the slopes during a family holiday. An individual with savant syndrome has "remarkable, and sometimes spectacular talents", explained David Hiles, De Montfort university lecturer. The anonymous author of the piece said that she has the "rare GLOBAL WRAP: MODELS, MEMORIES AND FIGHTING POACHERS mental phenomenon" which has given her the ability to remember incredibly well. She explained how she could draw diagrams of "thousands of places, with thousands of rooms." After the accident, she met with several experts before she was finally diagnosed with acquired savant syndrome believed to affect 50 people worldwide. KNOCK, KNOCK. WHO'S THERE? A SLEEPY WORKER An Alaska Airlines plane made an emergency landing in Seattle after taking off with a worker trapped in the cargo hold. The pilot of the flight, bound for Los Angeles, was alerted by the sound of banging "from beneath the aircraft", an Alaska Airlines statement said. Back on the ground, the baggage handler emerged from the pressurised hold, saying he had fallen asleep. The Boeing 737 aircraft had taken off from Seattle with 170 passengers on board, and was airborne for 14 minutes. CHINA ASKED TO HELP DEFEAT THE POACHERS Wildlife campaigners Dereck and Beverly Joubert have called for cooperation between Africa and China in a unique partnership against poaching. In their speech at the Her Village International Forum in Beijing, the WorldCruise.cn, a bilingual online cruise travel platform catering to Chinese-speaking travellers and agents worldwide, has officially launched its new website with data and information from more than 60 cruise lines, real-time booking capabilities and extensive opportunities for education. WorldCruise.cn – available in English and complemented by a Chinese-language affiliate site, ylly.com, allows consumers to search cruise itineraries, pricing and availability as well as the ability to book shore excursions and pre- or post-travel packages. The website is being promoted as "the first and only comprehensive bilingual online platform serving Chinese- speaking travellers and agents". The website will feed off statistics published by CLIA, pointing to accelerated growth of the Chinese cruise market with 52 ships providing 1,065 Asian cruises and capacity of more than two million passengers. "The Chinese cruise market is rapidly expanding but that said, there is tremendous untapped potential. Until now, there has yet to be one comprehensive online resource for Chinese-speaking travellers, and agents, providing information, education and real- time travel planning capabilities," said Dwain Wall, co-president of Bestours Software, parent company of WorldCruise.cn. (pictured, above right) WorldCruise.cn features extensive research and FAQs on travel products, ship reviews, destination backgrounders and limited-time special offers. A B2B travel agency version of WorldCruise.cn is currently in development and will cater to Chinese travel agents. TRAVEL AGENTS TO HOP ONBOARD CHINESE CRUISE WEBSITE Jouberts, National Geographic Explorers–in–Residence, told their audience that poaching in Africa accounts for the death of five lions every day, five elephants an hour and a rhino every seven and a half hours. "It's African problem; however, African solutions alone won't solve it until demand from China (and the Far East) is curtailed. If we can Agents will be able to load partial or full-ship charters – primarily departures from one of 16 home ports in China – into the site's inventory, opening up their group space to other agents and travellers. "This feature will be a powerful tool for agencies who hold charter space and for the first time will provide charter operators a simple and efficient way to market their product to the three million-plus Chinese agents in China," Wall said. The charter management solution will have a sophisticated back-end reporting system, as well, allowing charter operators to manage availability in real- time and helping them manage yield, with the goal of increasing profitability and decreasing risk. WorldCruise says the system will create a seamless way for agents to manage blocked space, availability and pricing, "but it vastly increases overall earning potential, allowing agents to book their clients into space blocked and posted by others". The site also offers mobile applications, with an iPad-friendly version and smart phone app. These platforms can be utilised for research and education, but also allow for real-time pricing, availability and booking. draw on the ancient wisdom of care, compassion, respect, trust and empathy that is so prevalent over 2,000 years of Chinese culture from dynasty to dynasty, we will find a common language," Dereck Joubert said. "And if China can shutdown the demand, we can handle closing off the supply with anti–poaching and crime fighting."

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