The high speed rail system connecting Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong will start on 23 September.

Nobody is pretending high end clients are forgoing the comforts of life, but the general feeling at this week’s Luxperience event in Sydney was that authentic personal experiences trump opulence for many modern luxury travellers.

Sri Lanka has introduced a new system enabling tourists to obtain refunds of 15% Value Added Tax (VAT) payments for goods they purchase from shops in the country.

Ja Ba Moi is a Taiwanese greeting which could be translated something like ‘have you eaten, and if not let’s do so now’.

Increasing business to business connections between the Kiwi travel trade and Philippines suppliers remains the key to further success out of this market, according to the Philippine Department of Tourism.

Following the worst flooding in Kerala in nearly a century, World Expeditions is urging travellers to be part of the recovery by visiting now.

Exotic Holidays is promoting a tour based around the Vietnamese Brocade Art Festival that is being held from 27 to 30 December 2018.

Excite Holidays has announced the launch of part two of its campaign, Thailand: Open to the New Shades, which kicked off yesterday in conjunction with the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Exotic Holidays is promoting a 10-day, nine-night itinerary that includes a kampung (village homestay) experience.

Quang Binh provincial authorities have approved the operation of a trial ecological tour to explore Vom and Gieng Vooc caves through to 15 January, 2019, advises Exotic Holidays.

Akaryn Hotel Group has introduced a series of monthly health and wellness workshops at its luxury city hotel, akyra Thonglor Bangkok.

Holiday makers and business travellers alike are increasingly looking for wellness and relaxation programmes in Asia, says one of the region’s leading destination management companies (DMCs).

CTS Tours and China Eastern Airlines invite agents to a Friendly Shandong Confucius Culture & Shanghai Famil.

Exotic Holidays is offering a number of seven night Maldive packages.

Exotic Holidays is offering a 12-day tour in Japan with the Mt Takasaki Wild Monkey Park as a highlight.

New Zealand travel agents have the opportunity to attend an indepth educational session with some 20 Vietnam suppliers at a trade event in Auckland next week.

The latest Exotic Holidays India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives 2018 / 2019 is available now.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has launched a new addition of the Hong Kong Travel Trade Manual (TTM) for 2018-19.

World Expeditions ambassador Rachel Hunter is hosting her first wellness tour of Sri Lanka later this year.

World Journeys reports that Pandaw has expanded its cruise offering in India, deploying two more ships to the region.

Eighteen students from Auckland University of Technology (AUT), travelled to Hong Kong recently, as part of the cultural exchange programme, Embrace the World.

Explore Worldwide recently hosted a group of agents on a famil to Georgia to uncover more about this destination.

Exotic Holidays is advising agents that Fez Travel has a tour in Uzbekistan that travels Tashkent - Khiva – Bukhara – Samarkand, priced from $2209 per person.

Huge (and growing) interest in Sri Lanka was one of the motivations behind a famil for GTN agents to the destination arranged by Exotic Holidays and with the support of Thai Airways.

Agents with clients wanting to travel in Japan during next year’s Rugby World Cup from 20 Sep to 2 Nov 2019 need to get organised now, advises World Journeys.

Exotic Holidays has a tour that is based around the Hornbill Festival held in Nagaland, India from 1-10 December 2018.

Hemant Kaushik, senior consultant with Exotic Holidays, recently returned from an inspection trip to check out places of interest, hotels and activities in Thailand.

The Chedi Club Tanah Gajah Ubud anchors a 23-metre hot air balloon in its rice paddies and opens the gate on its wicker basket for rides three times a day.

Wildlife rehabilitation centres, national parks and cultural villages were amongst the highlights for participants on an agents’ famil to Borneo last week.

If clients are travelling to Tokyo between May and October, Exotic Holidays is recommending that they try to watch Ukai, the traditional fishing method manipulating seabirds in Minato-machi, Gifu Prefecture. Ukai is a traditional method of catching small Japanese trout by manipulating seabirds called Ukai (cormorants) in the Nagaragawa River. Master trainers of cormorants dressed in ancient costume manipulate 10 to 12 wild sea cormorants to catch the trout.

This fishing is performed each night between 11 May and 15 October except during a full moon or in heavy rain. Clients can watch the entire spectacle aboard a small wooden boat while dining and drinking sake. This 1300-year-old event is protected by the Japanese government. Cormorant fishing starts at 7:30pm. The evening closes with six boats sailing side by side to corner the small trout into the shallows. info@exoticholidays.co.nz

A Marine Discovery Centre has opened at Phi Phi Island Village Beach Resort in Thailand to raise awareness and educate visitors, locals and stakeholders about the importance of marine biodiversity and conservation. The centre houses four zones – the Shark Room, the Phi Phi Islands Room, the Clownfish Room, and the Auditorium – and offers visitors colourful, interactive displays explaining the life cycles and habits of the marine species endemic to the region. The new environmental attraction will also be a base for the re-introduction of clownfish better known as ‘nemos’, as well as breeding harmless bamboo sharks and replanting coral reefs.

Excite Holidays in conjunction with Singapore Tourism Board is showcasing the best that Singapore has to offer from now to Sunday 17 June 2018.

Travel trade and media were updated on Macao’s World Centre of Tourism & Leisure branding over an educational presentation and lunch in Auckland on Wednesday. Richard Froggatt, sales & marketing manager in New Zealand with Macao Government Tourism Office, highlighted the July 2018 opening of the new Hong Kong – Zhuhai – Macao 55km road link, including a 29.6km bridge. Other developments to watch for include the Light Rail Cruiser – Macao’s first mass transport system – set to open in 2019. There are also 12,750 rooms to be added to the ‘pool’ by hotels currently under construction.

Adventure World’s India and Asia product manager Eric Finley has returned from exploring India as well as attending contract and supplier meetings in the region. Finley explored the alleyways in historic Old Delhi with a local guide called Pankaj to fine tune a walking tour offered to Adventure World clients.

Lisa Mead from A Walker’s World recently took part in a famil trip on the Kumano Kodo Trail in Japan. This pilgrimage trail in Southern Japan has existed for over 1,000 years and pilgrims from all levels of society have trod their way to the Grand Shrines of Kumano. Mead says the week long route is a challenging trail that is steeped in a rich cultural and natural heritage. Walking can be tailored to cover the highlights of the route to suit a walker’s level of fitness for three days and longer. ‘Accommodations along the way are mostly Japanese traditional style inns and guesthouses with tatami mat flooring in the guest and dining rooms and futon mattresses to sleep on. Meals are included which is an adventure into typical Japanese cuisine. Hot springs are common on the route and baths with mineral waters (called ‘onsen’) are soothing at the end of a day’s walk. Protocol is important and preparation notes are provided to cover the dos and don’ts. The Kumano Kodo is an immersion into the Japanese way of life far from the large cities. ‘The Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route embodies the spiritual origins of Japan in much the same way the Camino de Santiago in Spain embodies Christianity. Completing certain sections of both trails will earn walkers the Dual Pilgrim Credential. info@walkworld.co.nz

Singapore Airlines has launched Destination of the Month, where each month it will feature an up-coming destination on the SIA group network. This will be supported with an awareness sales pack, tactical airfare offering, special land / tour rates, special agent airfares, and special agent land rates.

Macao’s history, its new hotels and entertainment complexes in Cotai, and its gastronomy are all part of the destination’s promotional prole in 2018.

However agents who want to offer a couple of 'out of the ordinary’ tips to clients can start with these: