Grande Provence Estate in Franschhoek, South Africa, internationally renowned for its 5-star boutique accommodation, award-winning wines and modern French cuisine has been voted as one of the 15 most Fabulous Villas in the World by
Harpers Bazaar UK edition.
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Banyan Tree’s secluded new resort on China’s South Seas Island is set to open in April 2008. One hour’s flight south of Hong Kong, Sanya is a sub-tropical hideaway on Hainan Island with 49 secluded pool villas. Two state-of-the-art Presidential Villa complexes have also been designed to host heads of state and their entourages (with up to 50 guests in each).
Nine states of the so-called 'new Europe' (from Estonia in the north to Malta in the south) are dropping their border controls with the older, Western members of the EU. Both EU citizens and third-country citizens (with permanent residence permits in EU states) will be entitled to travel without needing a visa or requiring a passport check anywhere in the expanded 24-member Schengen zone.
Authorities in Cambodia and Thailand have signed an agreement that will allow foreign tourists to visit the two countries with a single visa issued in either country, an initiative that aims to boost tourism for both countries. The new single visa will come into affect as soon as the two countries have issued appropriate regulations to their agencies. It is hoped that Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam will also join the single-visa programme.
Two years
after the introduction of the Lufthansa Private Jet (LPJ), demand for
individual, flexible air travel is so strong that Lufthansa is expanding its
premium service. The company is investing in its own private jets to augment
the existing Lufthansa Private Jet service. The new aircraft will be fitted
with exclusive interiors.
By building
up its own Private Jet fleet, Lufthansa will be in a better position to tailor
the product to customer requirements and also offer a more flexible service. ‘Customer
demand for the Lufthansa Private Jet has risen steadily in 2007 and at times
outstripped capacity,’ said Thierry Antinori, Executive Vice President Sales
and Marketing, Lufthansa Passenger Airlines. ‘By creating our own Private Jet
service, we are broadening our product portfolio, and we will thus be able to
offer customers a full range of services from one source: from reasonably
priced fares such as betterFly
through to flexible, exclusive trips with the Lufthansa Private Jet.’
Today 70 percent
of all LPJ passengers fly point-to-point within Europe. Thirty per cent of customers use
the LPJ service to connect directly with onward long-haul flights operated by
Lufthansa or SWISS via Frankfurt, Munich or Zurich. Product innovations - such as the introduction of the worldwide
limousine service to and from the departure airport or access to the First
Class facilities at Frankfurt, Munich and Zurich - have guaranteed constantly
high customer satisfaction levels.
Until the
fleet has reached the required size for 2008, individual LPJ flights will be
operated by partners certified by Lufthansa. Flights are offered at a fixed,
all-inclusive price. Members of the Lufthansa Miles & More frequent flyer
programme are awarded 10,000 miles per flight leg. For more, visit
www.lufthansa-private-jet.com.
