Northstar

PEOPLE www.travelweeklyweb.com Year of the Dragon at the Venetian Macao Helsinki airport CNY Passengers passing through or arriving in Helsinki Airport on travel between Asia and Europe have been greeted by dragon dances and other performances lasting until February 9. Helsinki airport , Northern Europe's leading transfer airport, received 15 million passengers, of which 1.5 million travelled to Asia. MACAU – Sands China executives welcome the auspicious Year of the Dragon at The Venetian Macao Tuesday. From third left to right: Jacqueline Wu (vice president of public relations, Venetian Macau Limited), Charles Newland (senior vice president of Food & Beverage Operations of The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, Sands Macao and Sands Cotai Central), Mark McWhinnie (senior vice president of Operations of The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel and Sands Cotai Central), Andrew Billany (senior vice president of Paiza & Plaza operations), Antonio Ramirez (senior vice president of Human Resources, Venetian Macau Limited), Gunther Hatt (executive vice president of Operations, Venetian Macau Limited), Edward Tracy (president & chief executive officer, Sands China Ltd), David Sisk (executive vice president & chief Casino offi cer, Sands China Ltd), Kevin Clayton (executive vice president, marketing operations, Venetian Macau Limited), Kerry Andrewartha (senior vice president of Table Games Operations, Venetian Macau Limited), Virginia Lam (vice president of Player Development, Venetian Macau Limited), Pete Wu (senior vice president of Slot Marketing and Product Development, Venetian Macau Limited), Geoff Andres (senior vice president and general manager of Sands Casino – Hotel), Gene Capuano (vice president of Convention and Exhibition Operations of The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel). Sofi tel Bangkok Sukhumvit's pre-opening management team BANGKOK – Sof i t el Ba n g kok Sukhumvit has appointed the pre-opening management team for its opening in early 2012. Christophe L.M. Caron, vice president, Sofi tel South East Asia & India and general manager of Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit; Virinya Maytheepattanachat, director of marketing communications of Sofi tel Bangkok Sukhumvit; and Anthony Slewka, regional director of sales, Sofi tel South East Asia & India and director of sales and marketing of Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit. 6 | ■ TRAVELWEEKLY ASIA | 07 FEBRUARY 2012 Jet Airways invites applications for Jaisalmer SINGAPORE – Registration is now open for Jet Airways Jaisalmer Desert Fort from March 28/29 to April 4/5. The Jet Airways 2012 fun run series kicks off in the spectacular desert town of Jaisalmer in the State of Rajasthan in India at the end of March. By staging it in various exotic locations in India, the airline hopes to showcase the diversity and appeal of the country, with themes made according to the geographic and historic nature of the location. Each event typically lasts for seven to eight days with the run taking place. Also known as "The Golden City" due to its distinctive yellow sandstone used in the architecture, Jaisalmer is located in the heart of the Thar Desert. The town's legendary landmark is the Jaisalmer Fort commanding a majestic presence at 250 feet high overlooking the Thar Desert. Besides the fun run, the 8D/7N itinerary also includes sight-seeing tours and a camel ride in the Thar Desert within full view of the Fort. It is open to participants from Asia Pacific via Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok. Prices start at S$1699 per person based on twin sharing from Singapore, and HK$8600 from Hong Kong. For event details, prices, bookings and information on upcoming fun runs, please visit www.runevents.jetairways.com Change for Good campaign HELSINKI – The Change for Good campaign carried out by Finnair and UNICEF Finland has collected over €1.1 million. The campaign has been carried out on almost all international Finnair fl ights and just over Christmas, more than €60,000 was raised. The target for the third year was UNICEF's clean water and environment programme for the children of India. The programme has supported the improvement of sanitation and the teaching of hygiene practices in 1,829 schools. At the start of the project 15 per cent of the schools had hand- washing places, a fi gure that has risen as to 91 per cent. The campaign also allows passengers the option of donating Finnair Plus points to UNICEF Finland,which has seen over three million points to date. www.travelweeklyweb.com

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