Blog

Destinations team up to provide added value

With the UK government adding high "carbon" taxes for anyone flying from the UK overseas destinations are looking at new ways of adding value.

We met with two such destinations at the World Travel Market in London this week and spoke with Alain St. Ange the CEO of the Seychelles Tourism board and Lindiwe Kweie the CEO of the Johannesburg Tourism Company who told us of their plans to offer a dual destination package where in the Seychelles divers can experience exceptional clarity in the water and no pollution. Whale Sharks, Napoleon Wrasse, Giant Grouper, Reef Sharks, Hammerhead Sharks, Stingrays and living corals are just a few examples of what to see.

Visitors to Johannesburg are offered a safari experience where you get to chance to encounter the "big five" Elephant, leopard, Lion, rhinoceros and buffalo. There is also the opportunity for the non diver to spend spend spend at bargain shopping outlets for unique items.

We shall have this interview available shortly.

Since returning from the WTM show we have also learned that the Seychelles and Mauritius have signed a Memorandum of Understanding of Tourism Cooperation when they met at the Seychelles Stand at the World Travel Market in London.

Alain St.Ange the CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board and Robert Desvaux the Chairman of the Mauritius Tourism Promotional Authority signing a Memorandum of Understanding of Tourism Cooperation when they met at the Seychelles Stand at the World Travel Market in London.

Both the Seychelles and Mauritius have excellent diving and we hope to be able to bring you a series of reports on the Seychelles.

Vice President of PADI International Mark Caney launches his new book underwater

Mark Caney, Vice President of PADI International has made waves in the literary world after becoming the first author in the UK to launch his debut novel underwater.

Mark plumbed the depths of the Blue Planet Aquarium, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire; to promote his critically-aclaimed new paperback, Dolphin way: Rise of the Guardians.  Visitors to the aquarium were surprised to see the event taking place in the main exhibit of the aquarium, which has the largest collection of sharks in Europe.

Mark dived to 5 metres and gave a "reading" by removing his regulator and mouthing an excerpt, surrounded by some of the ocean's most impressive predators, including stingrays and sand tiger sharks.  Three other divers were able to follow, reading laminated sections of the book and they also took down copies of the novel.  "These weren't really in a saleable condition after the dive!", Mark grinned upon surfacing.

His book is a novel set entirely underwater featuring the world of dolphins.  (www.dolphin-way.com)  Mark said, "we know that dolphins have an intelligence comparable to our own, with a society and a sophisticated language.  Dolphin Way explores what is happening in that society when it comes under pressure from man's exploitation of the sea".

To see our interview with Mark about PADI please click here:- Interview with VP PADI International, Mark Caney

A new way to meet divers

We have recently met via Twitter some people who run a website called Tripping.

Tripping is an online community for travelers to connect with locals for tips, shared cups of coffee
and even home stays.  They have members in over 175 countries.

On their site they have micro communities called "Networks."  These Networks allow members to
connect based on shared interests and affiliations.  In addition to general networks such as the
wine lovers network, the foodies network and the yoga network, they also have dedicated networks
for a variety of partners including nonprofit organizations, Ivy League universities, associations and
even rock bands.

One of the networks on the site belongs to the PADI Travel Network.  Through the network, members
can connect with local divers as they travel, all over the world.  They can also share tips, go diving
together and even arrange for free homestays.

In addition to their platform making it easy for divers to connect via such features as built-in calendaring
and SMS text messaging directly through the site, they also provide a variety of safety features. These
features are part of the TripSafe Program and include references, anonymous ratings and Skype validation,
which involves an interview via Skype during which they verify a member's identity.

It seems an interesting concept so take a look!

Win an underwater weddiing!

Are you engaged to be married or looking to get married and want a wedding with a difference - and have it paid for?

Well, the Bahamas Tourist Office has issued the ultimate proposal – the 16 Islands Wedding Invitation. If you are passionate about diving, dolphins and your darling succumb to those passions and become one of 16 couples to marry simultaneously next year on 16 May at 16:00 hrs on 16 different Islands of The Bahamas.

Now is the time to dive into your imaginations and spend a couple of minutes in front of a camera with your beloved telling the Bahamas Tourist Office why you would like to win a free wedding in The Bahamas. Sixteen couples will each win a luxury wedding - including a designer dress, rings and wedding ceremony on one of the main 16 Islands of The Bahamas.  And all they have to do is choose their island, switch on the camcorder and tell them why that island is the one for them.

All 16 island weddings are a natural fit for divers, each island is surrounded by the clearest water in the world and a myriad of dive sites. For those with true love of underwater life possibly the most intriguing island weddings on offer will be on Grand Bahama Island, marrying on the ocean floor with dolphins in attendance or on Andros Island, literally taking the plunge into a Blue Hole after a beachside ceremony.

All 16 lucky couples will fly out to The Bahamas next May and take two wedding guests with them as witnesses.  Nassau, Paradise Island and Grand Bahama Island, Harbour Island, Eleuthera and The Abacos are probably the best known of the 16 islands but our amazing offer includes the islands of Andros, Cat Island, Bimini, The Berry Islands and Long Island plus, further south, The Exumas, San Salvador, Mayaguana, Acklins and Crooked Island.

As well as a personally tailored Bahamian island ceremony, each bride can choose any designer wedding dress from the Tia range by Benjamin Roberts plus wedding rings up to the value of £500 courtesy of Goldsmiths.  See the full details of each wedding package on bahamas16weddings.co.uk
All weddings include:

• Marriage Officer including marriage licence and documentation
• Bouquet for the bride and boutonnière for groom
• Videographer
• Wedding Cake & Wedding Toast
• Flights and transfers; seven nights accommodation and meals for each winning couple,

plus six nights accommodation and meals for their two guests

Each of the 16 weddings will be unique, from barefoot-on-the-beach ceremonies, to marrying on the ocean floor with dolphins in attendance.  An iconic candy-striped lighthouse is the backdrop to another ceremony while 14^th century cloisters will lend regal elegance to another.  Junkanoo costumes, colours and music will accompany one couple and seashell wind chimes will play for a more subtle service.  Each island offers a special opportunity to experience the unforgettable ‘big-day’ of a lifetime.

To accept the 16 Islands Wedding Invitation, couples must visit bahamas16weddings.co.uk and explore all 16 different wedding and island proposals.  They simply need to upload a short video, or photograph and statement, conveying on which Bahamian island they would like to marry and why.   Next spring they could be enjoying one of 16 glorious weddings in The Islands of The Bahamas, along with their two wedding guests. One of the 16 weddings will be chosen by friends and family through weddingtv.com as they text from their mobile phone to vote for their favourite couple. The couple with the most text votes will win one of the weddings.  By becoming online wedding guests, loved ones will be entered into a prize draw to win a seven-night holiday for two to The Bahamas and by visiting www.goldsmiths.co.uk/dreamwedding will have the chance to win £1000 worth of Goldsmiths jewellery. Family and friends can also book special packages (see the website for information) to join their lucky couple.

The winning couples for the 15 remaining island weddings will be chosen by a panel of judges and notified on 5 December 2011. The panel of judges includes Bahamas Tourist Office, Kuoni, Goldsmiths, WeddingTV.com, You &Your Wedding magazine and Travel Trade Gazette.

But you must hurry as The Promotion closes at 23.59 hours UK time on 30th November 2011

(This prize is only available to the UK)