A company offering guided tours through Canada for people with disabilities and a discovery trail of the ancient Moche civilization of Northern Peru are among the winners of this year’s UNWTO Ulysses Awards. The awards ceremony will be held during the Gala Dinner of the ‘UNWTO Algarve Forum on Tourism and Science: Bridging theory and practice’ (1-3 June 2011) in Vilamoura, Portugal.

As INDABA 2011, Africa’s biggest travel and tourism show, opened in Durban tonight, South Africa’s warm people and their extraordinary ability to enhance the domestic and international tourist experience took centre stage. With South Africa’s capability as a global mega event host and world-class business and tourism destination now firmly enhanced, the innate human connection of its citizens and tourism industry is now seen as a key factor to continue to appeal to the discerning international and domestic traveler.

“Sports tourism is the sleeping giant of the global travel and tourism industry worth an estimated $600 billion dollars-this is not a niche market but rather a significant part of the global market” World Sport Destination Expo’s findings.

In ancient Greece and Rome, mega sporting games attracted local and regional athletes as well as large crowds of spectator tourists from beyond empire borders. Hosting of sporting games was an honour, an act of prestige and status. The first sports stadia accommodated between 15 000 and 50 000 spectators.

In cooperation with TCEB, the Thailand Convention and Events Bureau, we produced this “special”. Bangkok has so much to see and so much to do that we decided to split this “special edition “ in two parts. Here you will see part number one – part number two will follow in one week. If you need more informations or ideas you can send  us a mail: Bangkok@tourism-insider.com

During a special visit in Bangkok, our editor-in-chief Joachim Fischer meets the President of TCEB ( Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau) Mr. Akapol Sorasuchart for  an exclusive background  discussion at the TCEB-headquarter at the Siam Tower.

After crusing the small channels with a speedboat and a delicious lunch on a island of the Chaophraya River  a chill out in the beautiful garden of the Mariott Hotel is a must. But the following dinner cruise could be a very memorable  stop on your MICE Trip through Bangkok. This cruise is both a great culinary experience and while comfortably seated on board , a perfect opportunity to learn more about the Chaophraya River, its wildlife and its various landscapes. This might help better understand Thailand´s history and the growth of its amazing capital Bangkok, city of angels.