THE WORLD’S FIRST INTERACTIVE 3D TRAVEL PORTAL LAUNCHES WITH “A JOURNEY TO EVEREST”

THE WORLD’S FIRST INTERACTIVE 3D TRAVEL PORTAL LAUNCHES WITH “A JOURNEY TO EVEREST”

www.3rdplanet.com

(December 2011, Singapore)
On 10th December 2011, Singaporean company 3RD Planet will be unveiled as the first interactive 3D online travel portal. Harnessing interactive media for global travellers and enabling experiential learning, 3RD Planet users will be able to explore the world’s most famous sights with the click of a mouse.

Experience the World in Interactive 3D

3RD Planet takes users further than ever before allowing them to virtually step into their desired location, delivering an unprecedented virtual travel experience to a global audience from the comfort of their home. With interactive 3D CGI scenes incorporating genuine sounds to replicate the environment, 3RD Planet serves as an experiential educational tool for all ages, as well as a consolidated source of information for those planning trips. Users will be able to navigate streets, explore buildings and gather information about some of the world's most iconic locations.

- Virtually ‘fly’ around the planet, zooming into specific locations
- Discover new places of interest
- Check out the world’s most famous tourism sights
- Walk through streets and interact with buildings and monuments
- Experience, educate and explore

“Journey to Everest”

The first taste of 3RD Planet will be available globally on 10th December with the launch of the inaugural experience – “Journey to Everest”. The first 1 Million people around the world to log on to www.3rdplanet.com will be able to sign up for free and immediately explore this first incredible journey, a snapshot of what is to come as 3RD Planet develops.

3RD Planet chose to launch with “The Journey to Everest” as it is one of earth’s great wonders; 3RD Planet unlocks the mystery and enables people all over the world to explore and discover. Working together with the Nepal Tourism Board, 3RD Planet has brought the key sights of Nepal to life in interactive 3D CGI. Users will virtually embark on the journey towards Mount Everest, discovering the highlights of the country and unearthing knowledge on route. Prachanda Man Shrestha, CEO of the Nepal Tourism Board, explains: “As a national tourism office, we place a strong emphasis in presenting our tourism attractions to the global market in a unique way. The beauty of Nepal cannot just be described in pictures and words, and 3rd Planet has an amazing technology that enables us to showcase our country in a totally new dimension.”

As a culturally rich country with ten UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Nepal is a dream destination for global travellers and 3RD Planet is able to showcase its myriad of remarkable destinations in a brand new way, with four locations in 3D. In 2012 the next stage will be unveiled and users will encounter the phenomenon of Mount Everest in the third dimension.

The Future for the Global Tourism Industry

With high quality graphics and an easy to use interface, 3RD Planet is a brand new marketing platform which enables the global tourism industry to showcase major tourism attractions and places of interest using interactive media.

3RD Planet demonstrates the extraordinary potential of the future of technology in tourism, with users able to explore the planet virtually within an immersive 3D world, flying through landscapes and narrowing down searches to key tourism spots, the “Coolest Places on Earth” or “Icons of the World.”

CEO Terence Mak, a Singaporean entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in the application of technology, developed the concept for 3RD Planet as an avid traveller himself. He felt there must be a better way to access locations around the world, both prior to a trip and for general interest, and recognised the potential of the powerful medium of interactive 3D technology to global holidaymakers. Mak summarises: “3RD Planet will offer end users an unparalleled experience to better visualise tourism destinations and equip them with more knowledge of what the locations have to offer before they travel.”

A new frontier for the travel industry and global travellers, 3RD Planet will launch on 10th December, with further locations rolled out over the months to come as 3RD Planet truly comes to life.

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Your interactive 3D travel experience starts here…
www.3rdplanet.com
LAUNCHES 10.12.11

SOURCE - WWW.TRAVPR.COM

TRIPINSURANCE.COM PARTNERS WITH E-TRAVEL TECHNOLOGIES INC. ADDS COMPLEMENTARY E-TRAVEL ALERTS TO ENROLLMENT SERVICES

TripInsurance.com announced that they have partnered with e-Travel Technologies Inc. to provide late breaking e-Travel Alerts to keep travelers informed about any events that could affect their travel plans at their destination. Late breaking email alerts are provided from the day they buy travel insurance, to the date they return from their trip.




These alerts help them plan for their trip with useful information about their destination, and keep them posted on any important news events that could affect their travel plans or safety. TripInsurance.com is the first travel insurance supplier to provide this level of innovative customer service.

Read more at TravPR.com - http://www.travpr.com/pr-9681-tripinsurancecom-partners-with-etravel-technologies.html

EXPEDIA.CO.UK NAMED ‘BEST HOLIDAY BOOKING WEBSITE’ BY CONSUMERS

Travel booking website Expedia.co.uk has scooped the award for ‘Best Holiday Booking Website’ at the prestigios Travolution Awards 2011.

The coveted award, which was voted for solely by consumers, will be the third Expedia has won this year.

The awards ceremony, which took place on 11th October at The Roundhouse in London, saw Expedia fend off stiff competition from the likes of Thomas Cook and Virgin Holidays, to scoop the award.

Read more at http://www.travpr.com/pr-9400-expediacouk-named-best-holiday-booking-website-by-consumers.html

MOMONDO WINS ANOTHER TOP TRAVEL AWARD

Danish travel meta-search site Momondo.com has won the “Best Travel Website” award from the prestigious annual Danish Travel Awards. The event, just held in Copenhagen, is where more than 350 national travel industry leaders gathered to celebrate the year's best achievements in the travel and tourism business.

Read more at - http://www.travpr.com/pr-9262-momondo-wins-another-top-travel-award.html

PHARMACIST FROM OKLAHOMA FINDS OUT ABOUT ACTIVE NEW ZEALAND FACEBOOK CONTEST THROUGH A FRIEND. THEN WINS!

After a popular, Facebook-only contest to kick off their upcoming season, Active New Zealand awards Oklahoma Pharmacist, John Suggs, with what he believes will be his Trip of a Lifetime – hiking, biking and kayaking around New Zealand.

Read more at - http://www.travpr.com/pr-9254-pharmacist-from-oklahoma-wins-active-new-zealand.html

MALAGACAR.COM, THE LEADING COMPANY FOR CAR HIRE MALAGA ANNOUNCES INCOMING OFFERS FOR GOLF PACKAGES IN MALAGA

Leading Malaga car hire company Malagacar.com is now offering a range of golf vacation packages in the Costa Del Sol region of Spain along with its usual car rental deals. The packages include hotel accommodation, golf green fees and car rental.

More on this news piece at TravPR.com

More on Malagacar.com.

KILKENNY CELTIC FESTIVAL: CELTIC FESTIVAL RETURNS IN SEPTEMBER

The Kilkenny Celtic Festival was created to inspire a broader and richer appreciation of the Celtic culture. This appreciation is conveyed through their beautiful language, music, dance, song, poetry, delicious foods, theatre productions and sport.

(TRAVPR.COM) UNITED KINGDOM - September 6th, 2011 - Ireland is famous for its cultural events, and the Kilkenny Celtic Festival is definitely one of the most popular ones. It starts on 28th of September but you'll want to plan on staying longer to take it all in.

The Kilkenny Celtic Festival celebrates everything Celtic by embracing and sharing their traditions and values through the live entertainment, street performers and delicious foods like traditional Irish stew, all taking place in the awe inspiring medieval city of Kilkenny and the neighboring areas.

Entertainment will include a variety of street performers, the Irish Youth Harp Orchestra, Children's story telling, and a parade. You can even take a workshop where you can learn a Celtic dance or attend a lecture discussing the multi-talented works of Irish Poets. There will also be the Parade of Nations showcasing all of the international groups that are featured in the celebration.

For an enchanting evening during the festival, you won't want to miss attending the Dinnéar Ceilteach where you'll enjoy traditional Irish food and performances by the talented entertainers visiting here. For more information visit http://www.celticfestival.ie/

The pricing for the events and workshops vary between €5 to €20 Euro.

Expedia.ie offers a wide range of hotels in Kilkenny that may appeal as a good base to festival enthusiasts, including the Lyrath Hotel and Newpark Hotel offering excellent spa facilities, great ambience and hospitality to unwind at the end of the day.

EXPEDIA - HEAD TO THE ANNUAL DINGLE MARATHON 2011

The Dingle Marathon takes the runners all around the breathtaking Dingle peninsula. It has fast become Ireland’s favorite marathon.

(TRAVPR.COM) UNITED KINGDOM - September 1st, 2011 - Dingle Marathon 2011 starts on Saturday, the 1st of September and includes a variety of marathon levels. The runners, taking part in the races, travel around the Dingle Peninsula, which National Geographic once referred to as "the most beautiful place on earth".

The half marathon takes you toward the Ventry to Slea head and concludes near Dunquin. The course is 13.1 miles long and has some unique twists and turns. It follows along some of the best landscapes what Dingle has to offer. It's a challenging half marathon with numerous hills to cross, crisscrossing the landscape. The scenery along the way is breathtaking with panoramic view of the Blasket islands.

The full marathon takes you past Dunquin, through some incredibly challenging yet rewarding courses, providing the same remarkable scenery. It travels 26.2 miles around the peninsula and comes to an end at Dingle town(approx. 45 miles from Killarney).

Both the marathons begin at 9AM at the sea front in Dingle town. It costs €55 to take part in the half marathon and €65 for the full marathon. For more information see http://www.dinglemarathon.ie/.

Exepdia.ie offers a wide range of hotels in Killarney that may appeal as a good base to marathon enthusiasts, including the Gleneagle hotel or Muckross Park Hotel and Cloisters Spa offering excellent spa facilities to unwind at the end of the run.

About Expedia

Expedia, Inc. is the world’s leading online travel company, empowering business and leisure travellers with the tools and information they need to easily research, plan, book and experience travel. Expedia, Inc. also provides in-destination concierge service and activity desks for travellers. The Expedia, Inc. portfolio of brands includes: Expedia.com®, hotels.com®, Hotwire®, Egencia™ (formerly Expedia Corporate Travel), TripAdvisor®, Expedia Local Expert™, Classic Vacations® and eLong™. Expedia, Inc.’s companies operate more than 70 global points of sale in more than 40 countries, with sites in North America, South America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Expedia, Inc. is a component of the S&P 500 index. For more information, visit http://www.expediainc.com/ (NASDAQ: EXPE).

With access to 140,000 hotels around the world (including boutique hotels as well as major hotel brand names),over 300 airlines along with specialist tools to help refine these choices, Expedia.ie helps travellers to find and create the trip that best matches their individual requirements.

RED SEA HOLIDAYS EXPANDS PORTFOLIO FOR 2012

Red Sea Holidays has announced a range of new products as well as early booking discounts, low booking deposits and new flight links, ahead of their 2012 brochure launch, scheduled to hit the shops later this month.

UK - August 26th, 2011 - Red Sea Holidays has announced a range of new products as well as early booking discounts, low booking deposits and new flight links, ahead of their 2012 brochure launch, scheduled to hit the shops later this month.

For 2012, Red Sea Holidays is offering their largest and best choice of holidays to Egypt to date, securing their place as the UK’s leading specialist tour operator to the Red Sea. The independent tour operator will offer a range of early booking discounts, with a guaranteed £75 saving per booking in summer 2012 departures (booked before 30 September 2011), and £50 off per booking on winter 2011/2012 departures (valid for departures between 1st February and 12th April) and booked before 30 September 2011.

In addition, the operator is offering a range of fantastic new resort and unforgettable new excursions, providing visitors to the Red Sea even more reasons to travel with Red Sea Holidays:

* New resorts Taba & Taba Heights in the North of the Red Sea are ideal for diving and golf, as well as for excursions to Jerusalem and Jordan. Red Sea Holidays will feature the Intercontinental Taba Heights and the Three Corners El Wekala Golf Resort in Taba Heights, as well as the Hilton Taba Resort & Nelson Village in Taba.

* Red Sea Holidays’ newest multi-centre tour combines a 7 night Nile Cruise with 3 nights in Cairo, home to so many of the world’s most prized ancient treasures. Visitors can choose from the MS Grand Rose, the MS Grand Preziosa or the MS Grand Star, combined with the four-star Sofitel Le Sphinx Hotel in Cairo on a B&B basis. Prices start from £1550 (based on a full-board basis on the MS Grand Star)

* Red Sea Holidays has added a number of new hotels in Sharm el Sheikh and El Gouna to their portfolio and have opened two brand new properties in Makadi Bay – the Makadi Spa and the Sunwing Waterworld Makadi. New hotels in Sharm el Sheikh featured in the brochure will include the AA Amwaj Hotel & Resort, Park Inn Sharm el Sheikh, The Cleopatra Luxury Resort, the Hilton Sharm Dreams Resort, the Tropitel Hotel Na’ama Bay, Xperience St George and Xperience Kiroseiz Resort & Water Park. The Mosaique Hotel and the Fanadir Hotel in El Gouna have also been added to the Red Sea Holidays catalogue.

With a new Saturday flight from Glasgow direct to Sharm el Sheikh for summer 2012, Red Sea Holidays hope to encourage more visitors to Egypt with their fantastic new range of holidays.

Jason Hilton, Sales Director for Red Sea Holidays quotes: ‘The Egyptian market is looking extremely positive. Sales for late availability are strong and forward bookings are very encouraging. Our 14 night Cruise & Stay holidays continue to be popular and provide guests with the best of all worlds. Red Sea Holidays provides a great choice of quality hotels, paired with excellent service. Combined with great value for money, we feel our holidays are a perfect choice for Brits seeking Sun, Sea and Culture.’

‘We’ve seen continued and growing support from the trade and we are hopeful that this will continue as Red Sea Holidays expands its product offering and choice of regional airport departures.’

Lead prices for Red Sea Holidays in 2012 are as follows:

Nile Cruises from £699 (MS Grand Star on a Full Board basis), Cruise & Stay from £899, All Inclusive options in Sharm el Sheikh from £549, Bed & Breakfast options in Sharm el Sheikh from £475, All Inclusive options in Hurghada from £569 and All Inclusive options in Makadi Bay from £629.

To book please call 0845 026 5973 / visit www.redseaholidays.co.uk

-ends-

For further information or to request a press trip please call Kate McWilliams or Stephanie Boyle on 0207 953 7470 or email steph@lotus-uk.co.uk

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SOURCE: TravPR.com

NETFLIGHTS.COM LAUNCHES ‘USEFUL INFORMATION’ SECTION TO AID CUSTOMER’S TRAVEL PREPARATION

In a bid to make travel preparation easier for customers, Netflights.com has added a ‘Useful Information’ section to their website where would-be travellers can find a wide range of travel related hints and tips

UK - August 26th, 2011 - In a bid to make travel preparation easier for customers, Netflights.com has added a ‘Useful Information’ section to their website where would-be travellers can find a wide range of travel related hints and tips. Amongst the new content are articles about finance, health and family travel – all designed to make travel that little bit easier and more enjoyable!

After finding that many customers were searching for information regarding travels’ frequently asked questions, Netflights.com compiled a list of the most relevant questions being asked on the subject. After completing the research articles were produced which allow travellers to have their questions answered by industry professionals with the minimum of effort.

With questions ranging from; ‘Is it safe to fly when I’m pregnant?’ to ‘What’s the best way to get money whilst I’m abroad? The Useful Information section aims to provide concise, up-to-date answers to the most frequently asked travel questions. Topics are regularly updated and additional articles are added as new questions arise.

A Netflights.com spokesperson said: “Our research showed us that that the same travel related questions were cropping up again and again and it made sense to collate the answers in one place for our customers to access. We know our customers are busy and if our Useful Information section makes the process of booking their holiday a little bit easier then it will have been a success.”

Find the Netflights Useful Information section on the Netflights blog, where you can also find travel inspiration, competitions, weekly challenges and fun suggestions of where to go next.

Follow the latest news from Netflights.com on twitter.com/Netflights and at www.facebook.com/netflights

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About netflights.com

Netflights.com is part of the Thomas Cook Group and guarantees fantastic offers on flights, hotels, holidays and car hire worldwide. Thousands of discounted airfares from over 135 airlines, reduced rates at over 15 000 hotels, great offers on holidays and car hire are all available at netflights.com, giving customers easy access to all the latest and best travel deals.

Netflights.com is a member of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), and every flight and holiday sold is ATOL protected, giving customers full financial protection and complete peace of mind when booking - whether online or over the phone.'

For further information please contact:

For enquiries regarding netflights.com;
Netflights.com Press Office - tel: 01772 525522
pressenquiries@netflights.com

For enquiries regarding other Thomas Cook Group brands
Thomas Cook Press Office - tel 01733 417272
Pressoffice@thomascook.com

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SOURCE: TravPR.com