Roberto Luna, 43, a member of the Executive Board of Kuoni Switzerland, recently took over as head of the company. He replaces Thomas Stirnimann, who is moving to the Swiss company Travelhouse Group as co-owner and CEO. Roberto Luna, a highly qualified professional, takes over leadership of the key Swiss Strategic Business Unit. As a proven and very experienced expert in the tourism industry, he will keep Kuoni Switzerland on its successful course and help it to develop further.

Beijing plans to inscribe seven more sites, including the Marco Polo Bridge and the nearby Wanping county, which witnessed Japanese aggression in China between 1937 and 1945, on UNESCO ´s World Heritage List. The Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau said Beijing has also recommended its ancient imperial city, the downtown imperial garden Beihai, an ancient observatory and three temples on the city´s outskirts to the United Nation´s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Black sandy beaches, warm Pacific breezes, bubbling lava and the waves of Waikiki top the list of world travelers´ vacation fantasies, that according to a recent poll conducted by Ipsos, a U.S consulting company. When people were asked to name any place they would want to go on vacation if they had the time and the money, Hawaii was the choice of 14 percent, more than any other specific place.

Two large tourism websites in Chinese mainland and Taiwan agreed earlier this week to join hands in promoting tourism across the Straits. China´s leading online tourism service provider, Ctrip, and Taiwan´s premier online tourism service provider, Eztravel, agreed to cooperate and share resources and technology, following the Chinese government´s decision to allow mainland residents to tour in Taiwan, Under the agreement, Ctrip will serve the travelers who booked for mainland tour at Eztravel after their arrival at the mainland, while the Eztravel will serve the travelers who booked for Taiwan tour at Ctrip after their arrival at Taiwan.

A site on the Shiretoko Peninsula in eastern Hokkaido, Japan, is expected to be added to UNESCO´s World Heritage List this summer following a recommendation by an advisory body, government officials said. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources has told UNESCO that Shiretoko would merit inclusion as a world natural heritage site because it meets the criteria in terms of ecosystem and biodiversity, Japanese Environment Minister Yuriko Koike said.

Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) has joined forced with a range of companies operating in tourism to draw up a new plan to attract more students into the sector. The so-called Magic Touch initiative is due to be launched later today. Speaking ahead of the launch, DIT´s head of tourism, Alex Gibson, said: "We´re trying to encourage these companies to work with us in making the tourism and hospitality industry more attractive to prospective students".