Departure gate

Your passport to the latest destinations and airline promotions

Houston celebrates world's biggest rodeo

Cowboys from all over will be descending on Houston, Texas, for the world's biggest rodeo festival from March 1 to 20, with auctions, livestock exhibitions and concerts featuring country, rock and pop artists .

Among the performers will be Janet Jackson, Kid Rock and Keith Urban. (www.rodeohouston.com)

The town of Ribe in Denmark's south Jutland region will be hosting Denmark's largest Viking festival from April 30 to May 6. Artisans, archers, musicians and jugglers will take part in the colorful event, VisitDenmark says. On the opening weekend, visitors can admire the Viking warriors up close as the "wild guys" from the North get tattooed, engage in longbow archery contests and show off their fighting prowess. "Fortune-teller Gunna" will be there to look into peoples' futures.

(www.ribevikingecenter.dk)

Kiteboarders meet for 'world' cup gathering

The world's kiteboarding elite will be coming to the Dominican Republic resort town of Puerto Plata for the first-ever Kiteboarding Cup competition to be staged by the Caribbean country. The national tourism office said the event on the northern coast is set for Aug 13-15, with visitors invited not only to watch the competition and attend a number of concerts, but also to try the sport out for themselves. (www.godominicanrepublic.com)

Jazz music is sizzling up Poland's main winter sports town of Bielsko-Biala. From Feb 16 to 20 the "Zadymka" (snow flurries) Festival will feature a number of international jazz greats such as Brazilian singer Ceu and Candy Dulfer. Concert venues will include the Galeria Sfera and the Teatr Polski, the Polish Tourism Office said. The jazz party highlight will be the final concert at 1,000 meters up on the slope of the main mountain overlooking the city, with a performance by the Swiss band Hillbilly Moon Explosion. Bielsko-Biala is located some 60 kilometers south of the city of Kattowice. (www.zadymka.pl)

Business travel bouncing back

US companies are forecast to spend 5 percent more on travel in 2011 than they did last year - a sign of confidence in the economy that is giving a boost to airlines, hotels and rental-car companies. That's double the growth rate from 2010, which followed two years of decline.

Mainlanders head to HK for New Year sightseeing

During the seven-day Chinese New Year Golden Week, Hong Kong's visitor arrivals from the mainland shot up 15.7 percent compared to the same period last year, chairman of the city's tourism board said on Wednesday.

James Tien, who heads the Hong Kong Tourism Board, said from Feb 2 to Feb 8, 662,928 people from the Chinese mainland visited Hong Kong, setting a new high for the Lunar New Year holiday period.

Airline news and deals:

Flights added between Guangzhou and Kathmandu: Starting Jan 23, China Southern Airline increased frequency between Guangzhou and Kathmandu from three to six flights each week - flying every day except Tuesdays. CZ3067/3068 takes off from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport at 7:15 pm and arrives at Kathmandu at 10:15 pm. The return flight leaves at 11:30 pm and arrives at Guangzhou at 6am the next day.

Discounts from CSA: China Southern Airline is offering a 15-percent discount on first-class and business-class seats for all its domestic routes for seven weeks.

Passengers who book through the company's website and sales hotline can enjoy the special rate if they travel between Feb 18 and April 8.

The company is also offering cheap tickets for flights between Guangzhou and New Zealand (Auckland) through qq.csair.com. The price starts from 1,927 yuan including tax.

Deutsche Presse Agentur - Associated Press - China Daily - Xinhua

(China Daily 02/13/2011 page16)