There's a Buzz of excitement about the Pacific Asia Travel Association's annual conference which will be held in the SAR next April. The keynote address, entitled The Future is Now, will be made by Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin, famous for his moon walk during the Apollo XI mission of July 1969. The direction of tourism in the new millennium will be in our skies, it is said, and some companies are already taking advance bookings for space tours. Mr Aldrin is on the advisory board of Space Adventures, which already operates zero gravity flights. The US-based private company believes space tourism is the next step. So does the former astronaut, and he will tell the conference why. A taste of culture Going to Osaka? The Ritz-Carlton hotel in that city has come up with 'Savory seminars' with a cultural flavour. Twice monthly, participants can learn the rituals of the Japanese tea ceremony, followed by a kaiseki luncheon; once a month there will be lunch with instruction on the art of pairing tea with Chinese cuisine. Other 'seminars' include the European Table, lunch with the French manager of La Baie restaurant with tips on etiquette and table manners and a lunch in which a sommelier will guide diners on matching wines with food. For further information, call the toll-free number (800) 96 2064 or the hotel directly at (81-6) 6343 7000. P&O takes the plunge P&O Travel's Sports Vacations arm has launched 45 live-on-board vessels worldwide for experienced divers, operating in places including the Caribbean, the Red Sea, Seychelles, the Maldives, India, Thailand, Burma, the Philippines, Indonesia and Micronesia. The dive boats, staffed by professional divers, are fully equipped and offer deluxe accommodation with meals. The boats can be chartered by groups of divers or joined by individuals, and include catamarans, schooners and yachts. They can accommodate from eight to 28 passengers. A diving holiday in the Solomon Islands chain, which extends across 960 kilometres of Pacific Ocean, for example, on board the Spirit of Solomons, which can accommodate 26, would cost $1,760 per night per person, twin-sharing. This would include full board, airport and hotel transfers, unlimited diving with tanks and air fills. Air fares are, of course, extra, and flights can be arranged by P&O. For further information, tel: 2921 8718, fax: 2956 2698. Safety first for Asia Business travellers in the Asia/Pacific region are the world's most status- and safety-conscious, the annual OAG Business Travel Lifestyle survey shows. They will not take a free flight if it means travelling over the millennium, but they are willing to ignore company rules to get a better-class air ticket. They spend the longest time away from home of business travellers worldwide and love executive lounges and priority check-ins. But they aren't very sociable in-flight, preferring to snooze than to talk to the passenger in the adjoining seat. The survey, representing the views of nearly 3,000 business travellers worldwide, and covering the one-year period up to mid-1999, also found that two per cent of them had flights diverted because of air rage; business trips are on the increase, meaning more time away from home; and more hotel reservations and car rentals were made through the Internet. Around 25 per cent of business travellers' air tickets were paperless and issued electronically. Bridging the Gulf Virgin and Gulf Air have started a frequent flyer partnership which allows members of Virgin's Freeway and Gulf's Falcon schemes to earn miles by using either airline. Flight coupons for Europe A 'Passport to Europe' scheme has been introduced by Alitalia and KLM Royal Dutch Airline, offering a package of intra-European flights on nine airlines (Alitalia, KLM, Air UK, Braathens Safe Air Transport, Regional Airlines, Transavia, Eurowings, KLM Excel and KLM City Hopper) at a special rate when issued in conjunction with an international ticket on either Alitalia or KLM. Passengers must purchase a minimum of three coupons for US$300 (about HK$2,330) up to a maximum of 12 coupons at an additional US$100 each. One coupon will be taken from the 'Passport' for each flight boarded. The maximum validity will be the same as the international ticket issued on Alitalia or KLM. Call Alitalia at 2543 6998 or KLM at 2808 2111 for further details. Gold Coast golf package If you are heading to Queensland's Gold Coast, Hyatt Regency Sanctuary Cove has a three-night golf package. The hotel is set in the heart of a 405-hectare fully integrated resort, which has two golf courses. The package, costing A$475 (about HK$2,356) per person, on a twin-share basis, includes three nights' accommodation, daily buffet breakfast, one round of golf on The Palms (a public course at Sanctuary Cove) and one round on The Pines (a private course which is rated No 2 resort course in Australia), electric golf cart hire, a half-hour professional golf lesson and unlimited access to the golf driving range. Copy for Signposts should be faxed to 2980 3140