Zimbabwe’s Tourism Ministry has presented a US$28 million budget to treasury for the sector’s wants during the June World Cup finals in South Africa, at a moment when one team contributing at the finals has decided to use Zimbabwe as their base.

Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi said on Wednesday the budget have been send to the Finance Ministry. “We have presented a US$28 million budget to allow Zimbabwe to fulfill its objectives before the World Cup in June and it is at present under concern,” he said.

He added that it was vital that the funding be offered before the end of this month for some of the projects to be finished on time. So far, US$1.5 million has been held from the private area for the establishment of 15 fan parks across the country. South Africa will not be able to hold about 450 000 visitors anticipated for the World Cup, opening up an opportunity for neighboring countries to advantage economically.

Zimbabwe, expecting financial benefits from the World Cup, has been busy trying to neat up tourist purposes, hotels and stadiums to lure World Cup teams and visitors. Mzembi said the government had since decided with one team that will be captivating part in the World Cup 2010 finals to use Zimbabwe as its base while another “brand team” was also allowing for using the country as its base.

He however could not be drawn into state the names of the two teams citing privacy. The southern African country’s tourism industry is option up after suffering a recession in the aftermath of President Robert Mugabe’s chaotic and frequently violent land redistribution exercise that involved negative publicity for the country to fright away foreign tourists.

The Okavango Delta has been elected as one of the top three finalists in the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) impressive 2010 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards.


The awards, which are an initiative commenced in 2003 in the stewardship of the WTTC, serve to be familiar with sustainable tourism development in the chosen areas.

Botswana Tourism Organization Public Relations officer, Keitumetse Setlang, said the awards are also intended to reveal best practices, including helping to improve the livelihoods of communities and behind the protection of natural and cultural heritage during sustainable tourism development.

Via ferrata (or iron road in Italian), is a mountain path consisting of a series of rungs, rails and cables embracing the rock face. There are more than 300 via ferrata roues around the world and the world's highest via ferrata, can now be found on Mt Kinabalu in Malaysia.

This is the first time that the sport of via ferrata climbing is being introduced in Asia. The highest point for the via ferrata starts at 3,400 m and ends at 3,800 m. An activity for everyone, the via ferrata is devised to give people with little or no climbing experience access to rock faces normally reached by mountaineers and rock climbers.

There are several requirements to follow the via ferrata activity, including having an average fitness level and able to hike up to 3,200 m in 6 hours; at least 10 years old and 1.3 meters tall, and especially do not have a fear of heights (or willing to conquer their fear of heights!).

This is challenging adventure, and those interested to experience via ferrata on Mt Kinabalu should note that the beginner's route will let the climber take their first experience along the granite walls of Mt Kinabalu (a journey of about 2- 3 hours).

Tokyo has newly been crowned the epicenter of superior dining, but many visitors to Japan watch the whole nation as a gastronome's paradise, writes Joanna Hall. Anybody who travels to Japan will rapidly be trained two things: food is a very serious business, and Japanese cuisine isn't all sushi and rice. Although it's a relatively small country, Japan is sacred with an extraordinarily rich variety of varied ingredients and cooking approach.

However Japanese food also has a burly focus on cyclic ingredients, joined with an attractive attention to detail when it comes to management. Even a fast-food bento box, sold at a railway station to a starving executive on his way residence from the office, is approved with loving care and attention.

Japanese food is definitely unique along with the great cuisines of the world, but it's only been in modern years that the country has come below the spotlight as a fine dining purpose. It all began in the stir of the new millennium, when numerous world class and celebrity chefs descend on the Japanese capital. In 2005, Gordon Ramsay of Hell's Kit-chen fame releases his first restaurant in Japan at the five-star Conrad Tokyo, and he was pursuing soon after by others counting the acclaimed Monegasque chef, Alain Ducasse.

Then, three years ago the French bible of gastronomy, Michelin, available it’s first Japanese guide aspect Tokyo. It was the respected publishing house's first foray into a destination exterior of Europe and the United States, and it prizes an inspiring 191 stars to 150 restaurants.

Assets speculators from Wenzhou who provided to the sky-high real estate values in the country's leading city are moving their cash into debt-laden Dubai. A group of 12 Wenzhou entrepreneurs just came back from a four-day visit in Dubai previous Friday to survey the diminishing real estate market.

"Since the depression on real estate in Dubai, I've led three groups of depositors to Dubai to examine properties," said Chen Zhiyuan, the president of Wenzhou Chamber of Commerce in the United Arab Emirates. Chen, who led the group of investors from Wenzhou, said they haven't made any benefit plans because the acquiring time is not grown-up yet.

"We'll still remain and observe what the local government will do to push the declining property market," Chen said. Wenzhou, China's personal capital powerhouse in the southern region of Zhejiang, is among the richest areas in the country and the origin of self-made billionaires who are manufacturing clothes, shoes, and other small supplies like lighters.

Chen said he arrive to Dubai with nothing a decade ago. "As a Chinese businessman, I have the benefit of receiving products from factories directly in a shorter stage and with a minor price. I saw the huge possible from the popular Chinese-made goods." Chen released the first China town hall in 2000 in Dubai, where hundreds of service shops were built, run by Chinese merchants mostly from Wenzhou. Chen started two smaller commodity malls to join Wenzhou businessmen because he considers that unity is always a tradition for Wenzhou merchants.

The number of foreign visiting Sweden climbed 3.3 percent in 2009, a new record high bucking the depression and a moribund European trend, new information from the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth prove.

The information that Sweden has direct to benefit from the global depression results from a mixture of four factors, Peter Terpstra, an analyst at the agency told The Local on Wednesday.

"Firstly, the depression has meant that people are ongoing to travel but they are not traveling as far, the similar thing change that occurred after 9/11."

"Secondly, Sweden's money has been weak in relation to the euro and this has profited tourism during the recession."

Peter Terpstra highlight that these factors are fleeting and are not amazing on which to base a long term tourism policy, but he added that the approval of specific measures has also improved Sweden as a tourist destination.

"Tourist communications has improved in Sweden. I am mainly referring to improved flight relations to Europe, the main tourist market in the world."

"Lastly, Trip to Sweden - the Swedish tourist panel - was able to respond quickly to the onset of depression and direct its efforts at our neighboring countries."

In whole, 5.8 million overnight stays were evidenced in Sweden in 2009, a raise of 3.3 percent on 2008. According to UN World Tourism Organization information for 2010, travel to and within Europe turn down by 5 percent as a whole.

The amount of Danes visiting Sweden rise by 20 percent on an annualized basis and this is, at least in part, an effect of the tourist team’s efforts, Peter Terpstra says.

"We have a lot of people close up to our margins who like to travel a lot. The Norwegians particularly respond to the favorable exchange rate."

The report specific’s that the depression has impacted the nature of tourism, with business traveler numbers down, and lesser cost option more popular.

Sweden's camp sites record a 6.1 percent boost in overnight stays while hotel numbers stayed at 2008 levels, with revenues falling by 5.2 percent.

A chain of events will be planned on Tuesday, Feb. 2, in the popular resort town of Bodrum to spot World Wetlands Day. The series to be held at the in Bodrum Municipality Meeting and Gallery room starts at 1 p.m. through a press conference and the opening of an presentation. A panel conversation will be held from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the significance and conservation of the wetlands. The World Wetlands Day marks the anniversary of the signing of the meeting on Wetlands on Feb. 2, 1971, in the Iranian Caspian city of Ramsar.

The day was famous for the first time in 1997. Each year, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and citizens’ groups take benefit of the occasion to assume actions aimed at raising public alertness of the values of wetlands, their benefits in general and the Ramsar Convention in particular.

The Mpumalanga Highlands Meander is situated in the higher reaches of the escarpment and it is sandwiched connecting the Cultural Heartland and the Panorama Route regions and includes the towns of Belfast, Dullstroom, Lydenburg, Machadodorp and Waterval Boven. The Highlands Meander is an area for mutually nature lovers and the adventurous at heart.

Dubbed the 'Trout Mecca' this area has a large quantity of perfect fishing waters that never cease to lure fly fishers in their droves. The imposing mountains and rivers of the Mpumalanga Highlands presents the chance for adrenaline pumping behaviors such as rock climbing, abseiling, canoeing, hot air ballooning and paragliding as mentioned few.