Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand’s leading hotel operator, will again be the main sponsor and host of the Centara World Masters amateur golf tournament in Hua Hin from June 10 to 16, 2018. The fifth year of the tournament is expected to be bigger and better than ever, as it combines a week of golf at some of Thailand’s best courses with social and entertainment activities in this famous seaside resort town. The 2017 tournament, recently completed, was lauded by participants for its beautiful courses and excellent organisation, along with world class accommodations and gala events at Centara’s famous resort in Hua Hin.

The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi’s Iridium Spa has announced collaboration with Australian-based medical solutions company, Futur Lab Cosmeceuticals to introduce three of the most powerful anti-ageing products - Futur Lab Pure Hyaluronic Acid, Futur Lab 3tox, and Futur Lab Diamond White. This cutting-edge, nanoceutical technology could be the perfect solution for those with an aversion for cosmetic surgery.

The Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) organised its third annual conference in Ras Al Khaimah last month. Around 170 travel partners from India participated in the event, which took place from September 13 to 16, 2017 at Hilton Al Hamra Convention Centre. OTOAI is a national, not-for-profit organisation comprising India’s outbound tour operators and travel agents as its members.

Unesco has inscribed 63 new areas of ancient and primeval beech forest in 10 countries onto the World Heritage List. Among them are two areas in Slovenia: the Krokar virgin forest and the Snežnik-Ždrocle forest reserve. The Krokar virgin forest is an example of untouched primeval forest in the heart of the well-preserved forests of the Kočevje region. The Snežnik-Ždrocle forest reserve consists of ancient beech forest with sections of primeval forest.

Hong Kong Disneyland Resort turned 12 on September 12 this year. To mark this special occasion, Disney organised all kinds of enchanting surprises, themed F&B offerings and over 60 12th anniversary-themed merchandise items, as well as unexpected encounters in the park. 

Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has launched a new array of ‘Signature Dishes’ in all its properties globally. The four signature dishes are beef tartare, Riz Casimir, Zürich-style veal and carrot cake. Mövenpick’s other reinventions include tomato soup, caesar salad, club sandwich, Gruyère burger and the like.

Last month, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) launched a 45-day promotional push at the UAE-Saudi Arabia border to capitalise on an unprecedented surge in tourist arrivals from Saudi Arabia and neighbouring GCC countries during the summer and the Saudi National Day period. Targeting residents and visitors crossing the Al Ghuwaifat border crossing under an Abu Dhabi Welcomes You! theme, popular food trucks served a variety of foods, the family-friendly hospitality tent featured an indoor jumping castle for children, ice cream and cotton candy throughout the day.

Latvian airline airBaltic will launch a direct service between the Latvian capital Riga and Abu Dhabi later this month in codeshare cooperation with Etihad Airways. The four times weekly service will depart from Abu Dhabi at 9:45 in the morning, providing travellers from the UAE and surrounding Gulf countries with excellent and convenient access not only to the Baltic States of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, but also to the Northern European destinations of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Russia. Flight time will be 6 hours and 15 minutes, with one-way ticket prices starting from Dh1,095 ($298), including airport fees and transaction costs.