The seven Central and Eastern European countries sharing the Carpathian mountain range have agreed to jointly manage the sustainable development of tourism; a sector of fundamental importance to the region. Meeting at the 3^rd Conference of the Parties to the Carpathian Convention, the countries adopted the Protocol on Sustainable Tourism, drafted by UNWTO and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which lays the foundations for a coordinated approach to tourism (Bratislava, Slovakia, 25-27 May).

Y.A.B. Tan Sri Dato Haji Muhyiddin Bin Mohd Yassin (Right), Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, recently visited Phuket FantaSea, where they were welcomed by Director of Public Relations of Phuket FantaSea, Ms. Sirikun Ammaramorn (Left). The Deputy Prime Minister and his family were given a commemorative souvenir after attending the “Fantasy of a Kingdom” show at the “Palace of the Elephants”.

Chinese state media say a high-speed railway linking the capital, Beijing, and the financial hub of Shanghai will open by the middle of this year, ahead of schedule. China began construction of the $33 billion rail link in 2008, and originally planned to open it in 2012. But the official Xinhua news agency quoted railways minister Liu Zhijun Tuesday as saying the launch date has been moved forward to June. He did not elaborate.
The new Beijing-Shanghai railway will cut the travel time for the 1,318-kilometer route to less than five hours, compared to the current 10-hour rail journey.

by Reinhard Hohler, Chiang Mai

The Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia, Mahidol University, is pleased to announce the 11th International Conference on Thai Studies on July 26-28, 2011. Held every three years, the International Conference on Thai Studies is a well-established forum for researchers across disciplines to share knowledge and perspectives on Thailand, Thai culture and society and the connection between Thailand and the world.

The third edition of CULTOUR, Global Heritage and Cultural Travel Exhibition, will open on June 22nd in Quito, Ecuador.

CULTOUR is the first and only truly international travel exhibition directed to the heritage and cultural travel niche. This year CULTOUR is held in Quito, Ecuador, as support to the city as American Capital of Culture 2011 and as such the Ecuador Ministry of Tourism and the City of Quito sponsor CULTOUR 2011.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner comes to Berlin-Tegel on June 25th, 2011

To celebrate the German premiere of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, airberlin will be hosting an official ceremony at Berlin-Tegel Airport on Saturday June 25th, 2011 together with the aircraft’s manufacturer Boeing and Berlin Airports. Guests from the worlds of politics, business and the media are invited to this event. Following the ceremony, airberlin employees will also be able to see this long-haul aircraft for themselves.