Jetsettersblog

Tanzania will be hosting its 12th annual Karibu Travel and Tourism Fair in Arusha, Tanzania’s safari capital, June 3-5, 2011. This is the largest and most ambitious travel industry event in East Africa and is hosted by the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators, Tanzania Tourist Board and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.

The Karibu Travel and Tourism Fair will provide an opportunity for travel agents, tour operators and travel industry media worldwide to learn about the many tourism products that are offered in Tanzania and other East African destinations.

SAA is supporting the Karibu Travel and Tourism Fair by providing our Travel Partners in the U.S. and Canada with special airfares to attend this exciting conference. The Karibu Fare starts from just $699.00* USD return for Economy Class or $5,199* USD return for Premium Business Class from New York (JFK) or Washington, D.C. (Dulles) to Dar es Salaam.

Travel is applicable between May 27 – June 10, 2011, and stopovers in each direction are permitted in JNB. For more information on SAA’s Karibu Fare, please contact South African Airways’ Reservations at 1-866-359-7227.

For more information and registration forms for the Karibu Travel and Tourism Fair,
visit www.karibufair.com.

*Fares are per person and do not include fuel surcharges and are valid for travel on South African Airways from the U.S. to DAR. Offer valid on the purchase of round-trip tickets only and must include transatlantic sectors on South African Airways. Seats are limited and may not be available on all flights. Departure taxes and Sept. 11th security fee of up to $190 per person are additional and payable at time of ticketing.

South African Airways Vacations® is offering a 4-day, Jack Hanna Shamwari Safari that features the many sights, sounds and activities that Jack Hanna, famed American Zookeeper and wildlife expert, experienced while at the Shamwari Game Reserve. This luxury package includes round-trip economy class airfare from New York (JFK) or Washington, D.C. (Dulles) to Port Elizabeth on South African Airways. Enjoy 4-night accommodations at the exciting Shamwari Game Reserve located along the Bushmans River where you will take part in extraordinary safari adventures, including a photographic safari, where you will have the opportunity to spot the Big 5. Listen in on a ranger presentation covering animal tracking, birds, insects, snakes, ranger training and photography. Then have a chance to take what you have learned and put in to use in your own Ranger Training program. Learn how to track some of Africa’s most elusive creatures with Leopard telemetric tracking plus equipment demonstration. Visit Shamwari’s Wildlife Centre where you will see the Rehabilitation Centre, enjoy a demonstration of game capture equipment and take part in a wildlife management discussion. All Airport transfers, sightseeing and some meals are included in this package.

For more information, call South African Airways Vacations® at
1-855-359-7228 or visit www.flysaavacations.com.

*Prices are per person based on double occupancy accommodations and include fuel surcharges. Government taxes, departure and inspection fees, passenger facility charges and the September 11th Security Fee of between $170 – $250 depending on the package, are additional and payable prior to departure. Package price is valid for travel (1-31 May 2011) with the same itinerary available at higher prices during other travel periods. Prices are valid for new bookings only, subject to availability, may change without notice and are not retroactive. Blackouts, cancellation charges and other restrictions may apply.

How to Contact South African Airways:

South African Airways Reservations
Tel: 1–800–722–9675
Fax: 1–954–769–5079
Email: saausa@flysaa.com
Hours: 8:30AM – 8:00PM Monday – Friday
8:00AM – 4:00PM Saturday & Sunday

South African Airways Vacations®
Tel: 1–855–359–7228 (1-855-FLY-SAAV)
Hours: 24 hours a day/7 days a week
www.flysaavacations.com

Micato Safaris introduced a new itinerary that travels from Nairobi to Cape Town via luxurious Rovos Rail. The program picks up on the historic tradition of African railway travel, which has long been the vehicle for explorers, from Cecil Rhodes with his vision of a track from the Cape to Cairo or Karen Blixen’s arrival by locomotive in Kenya to begin her legendary journey.

Guests on Micato Safaris’ new Romance of Rovos Rail itinerary can create their own nostalgic adventures on an expansive itinerary that traverses the African plains in search of game, carries them across the continent in comfort in Rovos Rail’s impeccably restored cars, and concludes with a rejuvenating stay in cosmopolitan Cape Town. The opportunity to follow in the footsteps of famed explorers, paired with Micato’s commitment to unparalleled personalized service, ensures travelers an expedition unlike any other. The 22-day journey, departing Tuesday, Oct. 4, includes a stay at the Norfolk Hotel in Nairobi; a visit to Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage; the Giraffe Centre; a tour of “Out of Africa” author Karen Blixen’s former home; Mara Plains Camp at the Maasai Mara, Victoria Falls Hotels; Tau Game Lodge, Madikwe Game Reserve; Gaborone, Botswana; Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa; and Cape Grace Hotel in Cape Town.

Micato Safaris’ Romance of Rovos Rail Safari is priced at $29,875 per person double occupancy. (Rate excludes international airfare.) Jane and Felix Pinto founded Micato Safaris in Kenya in 1966, and the company has been providing the most luxurious and personalized African safaris to sophisticated travelers ever since. For information, call 800-MICATO-1 or visit www.micato.com

South African Tourism (SAT) named Grand Circle Travel the winner of its trade incentive program, “Have You Considered South Africa?,” which was designed to drive bookings to South Africa. Grand Circle Travel booked more than 500 clients over the designated one-month period. Grand Circle Travel is a retail tour operator that takes bookings directly through its own call center at its home office in Boston.

The three-month long incentive program, which began in November, took the form of a contest, at Collette Vacations, Globus Tours, Grand Circle Travel and Travel Impressions/American Express Vacations. South African Tourism provided each call center agent with a tool kit comprised of a webinar on the various experiences available in South Africa, a fact sheet on South Africa, a countdown clock, notepads and a leader board, all branded “Have You Considered South Africa?”

The representative who sold the most bookings to South Africa will be hosted on an educational sponsored by South African Tourism. The four winners will travel to South Africa from April 25 through May 3. All four tour operators reported increased bookings during the contest activation period, with American Express reporting an increase of 50 percent over the same period last year. Virginia Dionisio, South African tourism trade relations manager, said, “We were so pleased with the success of the program that we will launch the contest again in September 2011, and solicit wider participation from our trade partners.”

South African Tourism is the national tourism agency responsible for the marketing of South Africa as a preferred tourist destination. It is headed up by Chief Executive Officer Thandiwe January-Mclean and Chief Operating Officer Timothy Scholtz. For more information call 800-593-1318, email info@us.southafrica.net or visit www.southafrica.net

WORLD FIRST AS COUNTRY DECLARES ITS ENTIRE COASTLINE A NATIONAL PARK

Namibia, winner of this month’s Top Country awards at the Wanderlust Travel Awards 2011, has long been at the forefront of using tourism to fund conservation projects and this new national park emphasizes their long-term commitment to sustainable development. Stretching over 1,500 km from the northern border with Angola’s Iona National Park, to South Africa’s Richetersveld National Park, Namibia’s newly designated Namib-Skeleton Coast National Park covers 26.6 million acres, is larger than Portugal and the largest park in Africa.

Louise Stanion, Cox & Kings’ Africa Product Manager, says “This directive will make it so much easier to control damaging activity up and down the coastline such as mining and managing tyre tracks from vehicles. I think it’s a great advert for showing that Namibia is serious about the conservation its spectacular coastline. Conserving the environment in the long term can only lead to an increase in tourist numbers.”

Cox & Kings, the world’s longest established tour operator, offers a wide range of tailor-made travel itineraries, escorted tours and luxury experiences in Namibia. The Untouched Wilderness is a 13 day / 10 night escorted group tour priced from £3,739 per person, including international flights, transfers, full board accommodation and daily excursions.

Stanion recommends the following five top experiences, which should be included as part of any trip to Namibia:

Take A Hot Air Balloon Flight Over Sossusvlei Sand Dunes
Enjoy the tranquillity and seemingly endless views over the windswept red sand dunes of the Namib Desert.

Explore Damaraland
Damaraland is home to the elusive desert elephant and black rhino. The area also contains many ancient rock art sites and is home to the Himba people.

Watch Animals In Etosha National Park
Sit by a waterhole in Etosha and watch as the game converges to drink.

Visit Okonjima
Okonjima is home to the AfriCat foundation – famous for research and rehabilitation of Cheetah and Leopard who roam freely in the reserve, offering great opportunities to get close to these beautiful creatures.

View Fish River Canyon
The Fish River Canyon, situated along the lower reaches of the Fish River is the world’s second largest canyon and the most impressive natural wonder in the southern part of Namibia.

For further details about all of Cox & Kings’ Namibia itineraries and experiences please visit http://www.coxandkings.co.uk/namibia

Adventure Center’s tour supplier Dragoman had released a new 68-page Overland Tour and Adventure Holiday brochure that presents 11 new trips and a product range more diverse than anything offered before by the 30-year-old adventure travel company.

The company has also announced that it is offsetting carbon emissions for all tours for the 2011-12 seasons.

Programs include a five-week tour between Dakar and Accra, an area known for its bustling markets, colorful festivals and music; a camel safari into the Kyzyl-Kum Desert; and a 12-day discovery of the land of the Incas.

Adventure Holidays are shorter and make greater use of local transport, allowing real life experiences and less impact on community resources, while Overland Tours, which can range upwards of 22 weeks, use specially designed Mercedes trucks, and focus on genuine cultural interaction with local people.

The new trips, in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and South America follow Dragoman’s service philosophy — more inclusions at low prices; a passionate, well-trained crew; unique itineraries that incorporate lesser known, fascinating areas; responsible travel; always look for ways to offer local interaction and community support; and a more intimate travel experience — with a maximum of 21 travelers on Overland Tours and 12 on Adventure Holidays — and the option of private charters.

As passionate about preserving local culture as they are about exploring it, Dragoman has always created itineraries that give something back to the areas they visit. The Overland Tours often include community projects, ranging from the Karmi Farm clinic in India to the Inca Trail and Quechua Project in Peru, designed to create understanding about local issues while actively helping. Many of the itineraries include village and home stays, which put money directly into the local community, and visits to charitable foundations. The Adventure Holidays have smaller groups and favor local transport such as overnight trains, feluccas, private air-conditioned mini buses and tuk-tuks. Physical challenge and comfort zone ratings help guests to choose the trip that is right for their needs.

In an effort to reduce the impact of travel on the environment, Dragoman has offset the carbon emissions for all of their trips in 2011 and 2012. The brochure offers tips for responsible travel and ways that individuals can contribute to the effort. Adventure Center has provided adventure travel experiences for more than 35 years. Formerly known as Trek Escapes/Trek Holidays in Canada and Adventure Center in the U.S., the company’s travel specialists have personally traveled to more than 130 countries and offer knowledgeable guidance to guests. For more information, call 800-228-8747 or visit www.adventurecenter.com

Journeys Within
CONTACT: Andrea Ross
TEL: 877 454 3672
E-MAIL: andrea@journeys-within.com
WEB: www.journeys-within.com

Journeys Within, a boutique tour company that specializes in philanthropic travel to Southeast Asia, recently announced their Student Experience Tours for 2011. These unique student travel programs include Student Immersion Tours, Volunteer Tours, and unique Overseas Classroom programs in Cambodia that provide life-altering experiences for middle school through university students.

“Journeys Within has helped student groups in the past and we have been so pleased to see how a trip to this region of the world has deeply impacted the lives of these students,” said Andrea Ross, owner of Journeys Within. “We wanted to be able to offer these experiences in a more structured way so that even more students could reap the benefit, so we’ve developed these programs as a result.”

Student Immersion Tours
This unique program gives students the chance to see Cambodia through the eyes of its local students. A trip that’s ideal for ages 12 and up, this tour offers a look at Cambodia past and present and allows students to interact with their Cambodian peers in a safe and supportive environment. Student groups are asked to work together to organize fundraising events before arriving in Cambodia so that they can see their money being put directly into use in local community projects when they arrive. Students not only have the chance to see historical and cultural highlights of Cambodia, but they have the added benefit of interacting with the local people who will benefit from their hard work.

Student Volunteer Tours
The Student Volunteer Tour gives students an opportunity to better understand the Khmer culture and community through volunteer work with local, non-profit community programs in a safe and supportive environment. Some of the community programs include microfinance, clean water projects, and language and art classes. Volunteer days are interspersed with adventures in the local area, like visiting Angkor Wat, which not only deepens understanding of Cambodian people, but gives hard working volunteers time to play. This tour is a great way to see Cambodia and get to know the Cambodian people.

Overseas Classroom
One of the most unique offerings from Journeys Within is an Overseas Classroom Program where teachers can develop courses to be run in Cambodia in conjunction with experiential learning. This tour, best suited for high school or university level students, gives teachers the chance to shift their normal classroom setting to maximize hands-on learning opportunities. With a dedicated classroom, lectures or discussion groups can be arranged prior to or following an excursion into highlights of the local culture, history, politics, art, language, agriculture, or economics of Cambodia, making it an exceptional educational experience.

For more information about Journeys Within Student Experience Tours, visit http://www.journeys-within.com/tours/student-tours.html

Enhance creative painting and drawing skills while exploring a new destination this summer with Thomson Family Adventures Tanzania Painting, Drawing & Wildlife adventure. This special itinerary is a unique opportunity to explore the wildlife and landscapes of Tanzania while developing artistic skills and interests with professional artist Narda Boughton.

Whether a beginner or experienced artist, expressing oneself through painting is always both a pleasure and a challenge; at the core of Narda Boughton’s teaching is the hope of tapping into each person’s ability to see more deeply and offer them the tools and the confidence to express what they experience through their art. Each afternoon session begins with a demonstration, followed by time in which each participant works in graphite and watercolor while learning various techniques in drawing, composition and color. By the end of the trip everyone will have completed their very own travel log with a series of paintings and drawings inspired by the amazing landscape, wildlife experiences and visits to the conservation areas.

In conjunction with the artistic aspect of the adventure, a trip to Tanzania isn’t complete without visits to the wildlife parks and conservation areas. The tour begins near Arusha town with a visit to Arusha National Park for a first look at the wildlife and continues on to Tarangire National Park, known for its baobab trees and elephant populations. Next climb to the high elevation of the Ngorongoro Highlands, located on the rim of Ngorongoro Crater, one of the largest calderas in the world. Here families spend two nights at Gibb’s Farm, a beautiful old coffee plantation. Children can meet their pen pals at a local school, and then spend an entire day on the Ngorongoro Crater floor. This ten mile wide mini universe is home to large populations of non-migratory animals. Finish the safari with three days exploring Serengeti National Park, one of the world’s most famous parks. This unique combination of exploration of art with travel is both challenging and fun and enhances the experience of how families see and experience a new place.

Only one date remains in 2011! The adventure takes place July 4-16, 2011 and runs 13 days/12 nights. The price is $6390 adult, $6090 teen, and $5390 for children under 12 years with a $300 internal air.

For more information about rates and trip options, contact Thomson Family Adventures at 800-262-6255, or visit www.familyadventures.com

This volunteer vacation, offered by non-profit organization Biosphere Expeditions, takes a group of global volunteers to the beautiful Khomas Hochland (highlands) in central Namibia to conduct a survey of African cats (leopard, cheetah, caracal, etc.) and their interrelationship with humans and prey animals (such as giraffe, eland, kudu, zebras, etc.).

As part of a small international team, volunteers learn some incredible bush skills and then follow collared cats on foot and in expedition Land Rovers to record information about the animal’s behavior, working alongside real scientists. Volunteers also conduct game counts and participate in community education and capacity-building work, which may vary from accompanying groups of school children out on game drives/hikes in the bush associated with conservation talks, to collecting demographic data. Participants may also get to assist with cat capturing and collaring. This landmark volunteer vacation is an effort to mitigate human-wildlife conflict and create a sustainable future for all, and with the ultimate aim of creating a protected area in the Khomas Hochland. For more information visit http://www.biosphere-expeditions.org/2-week-expeditions/wildlife-volunteering-vacations-with-lions-cheetahs-leopards-and-other-megafauna-in-the-ca.html  
www.biosphere-expeditions.org

SIEP REAP, Cambodia–Visit the three biggest cities in Cambodia with this eclectic and fascinating tour offered by award-winning Southeast Asia tour company Journeys Within. Begin in Siem Reap with the temples of Angkor Wat. Head up the Tonle Sap River to Battambang and see Cambodia’s rice bowl and some highly emotional but fascinating Khmer Rouge history and then head by car to Phnom Penh where you can visit Tuol Sleng, the Killing Fields, and the Royal Palace. This eight-day tour gives travelers a true to life feel of the Cambodia that exists today, its wonderful ancient past, and the more recent history from which it is still recovering. Guests will have local guides in each city, but will be accompanied by an English-speaking host to ensure a better understanding of the Cambodian culture. Tour Rate: $1,500 per person double with $560 single supplement. www.journeys-within.com