CNN International has merged the Asia-Pacific-focused travel website CNNGo.com with a new global digital travel enterprise - CNN Travel. Details from CNN below.

CNN Press Release: CNN International today announced the launch of a new digital channel, CNN Travel, expected to become the most dynamic, engaging and relevant online destination for the world's luxury, business and leisure travelers.

Through a network of more than 800 travel contributors around the world, CNN Travel delivers up-to-the-minute travel news, destination insights, inspirational travel ideas, original observation and thoroughly-researched city and country insider guides with directions to the world's hottest restaurants, bars, hotels and activities.

CNN Travel brings together the best of CNN's existing digital travel portfolio and CNNGo.com, the successful Asia Pacific-focused travel start-up launched in 2009. The Hong Kong-headquartered team which launched CNNGo.com and has managed the popular site ever since, will continue at the helm of the international CNN Travel platform, working with international travel contributors to provide users with the distinct voice, authority and local insights which have made CNNGo.com such a hit.  

"CNN Travel takes the best of CNNGo.com, shakes it up and expands its horizons to create an online travel destination unlike anything else out there. We are incredibly proud of the success CNNGo.com has had over the last three years and are thrilled to be taking it global with the creation of CNN Travel," said Andrew Demaria, editor in chief of CNN Travel.

"CNN Travel's blend of reporting, global network, international partnerships, contemporary voice and social media reach will position the site as a compelling travel destination," said Peter Bale, Vice President and General Manager of CNN International Digital. "What Andrew calls ‘CNN in jeans' gives the site a fresh and vibrant tone."

"CNN.com has launched a series of groundbreaking initiatives throughout 2012, including our partnership with Facebook around the U.S. Elections, CNN Trends, and CNN Soundwaves. CNN Travel is an outstanding addition to this roster and we are confident our international users will quickly embrace the site's unique tone and reportage," Bale added.

CNN Travel features standalone destination guides on Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, along with dedicated sections on Travel News, Aviation, Hotels, Food and Drink amongst others.

CNNGo, CNN's culture and travel website has expanded its coverage and launched Sydney as its seventh featured city. CNN's press releases follow.

CNN Press Release: CNNGo just couldn't stay away from Australia's biggest city any longer - Sydney is now the seventh city to be on the CNNGo.com travel and lifestyle site.

The introduction of Sydney on CNNGo will bolster tourism to, and interest in, the city - offering users from Sydney, from Australia and all over the world a unique insight and perspective into this vibrant and culturally rich destination.

Launched late 2009, CNNGo explores travel, lifestyle, personalities, entertainment and trends in the most fascinating and diverse places in the world - Bangkok, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, and now Sydney.

Andrew Demaria, Editor in Chief at CNNGo, said this week, "We are delighted to launch CNNGo Sydney as the latest city to be featured on the CNNGo.com site. Sydney is a major international city. CNNGo's unique focus on Sydney is created locally in the city, by residents that know the city intimately. We aim to provide the ultimate insiders guide for Sydney-siders, Australian tourists and international visitors."

"We focus on the new, the topical, the fascinating, the diverse, the unknown - presenting insider angles from experts in their field that find and provide to our users the most interesting experiences of and insight into this wonderful city."

CNNGo Sydney is created by an expanding network of dozens of Sydney-based writers, journalists, photographers, opinion-makers, bloggers, personalities and trend-setters with experienced Sydney journalist Matt Khoury at the helm as CNNGo Sydney Editor. Matt - who is based at Turner's Sydney office in Pitt Street -- has travelled to almost 60 countries and has written for local and international media, including News Limited and Fairfax.

CNNGo is a city and regional guide produced by insiders for insiders. The site is more than just places to go, things to buy or experience and endless suggestions for great restaurants and bars to enjoy. It offers hard to find insight and perspectives into the characters and culture of each location.

As an independent site that adheres to CNN's editorial Standards and Practices, CNNGo provides a detailed, balanced, real and often gritty ‘view' of the featured cities for locals and travelers alike. It is presented as a sharp, witty, knowledgeable, concise companion produced by those with firsthand experience in each city.

Speaking in Sydney this week, Khoury said, "CNNGo Sydney will allow Sydney-siders to be urban tourists. But we'll also take global tourists to a Sydney they won't necessarily find out about elsewhere. Because we update the site multiple times daily, we can take our readers on constant unique journeys all over the city, giving them insight or experiences across so many aspects of life here - for instance, from Sydney's Rockabilly trend to the city's burgeoning burlesque scene - by exposing the city's unique underground culture, examining the latest dining fad or finding more about the fascinating people that make up this town."

"We will explore places and trends in Sydney that will be new to both global and local tourists, even new to most Sydney-siders. We will seek out the quirky, interesting and novel and always have a sense of humour, doing our best to avoid the clichés and fluff. CNNGo Sydney is aimed at being that comfortable, down to earth, reliable tour guide that speaks the language you speak," added Khoury.

Demaria is hoping Sydney-siders will also be among the first to share their insights into the city, its culture and lifestyle with the world by submitting iReport images video footage to the site.

The launch of CNNGo Sydney coincides with the introduction of iReport on CNNGo -- which will enable users across Asia to share their unique local insights and perspectives of the world around them.

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CNNGo is introducing CNNGo iReport as a dedicated space for community connections, outreach and sharing, specific to travel, entertainment and lifestyle experiences and pursuits of its readers. Designed specifically for users to broadcast and share their stories and perspectives, users can comment on, recommend and share each others' iReport submissions via Twitter, Facebook and other social networks.

A sneak peek at CNNGo Sydney's launch stories reveals what global and local audiences will be reading about:

50 reasons why Sydney is the world's greatest city (launching on the site this weekend)

Eugene Tan' Amazing photos of Bondi beach

Sydney's sushi Nazi

Goodbye Gday mate - light-hearted opinion piece on dispensing with embarrassing Aussie slang, written by CNNGo's Sydney City Editor Matt Khoury

General Russell Crowe - insight into how the Oscar winning actor directs his Rabbitoh minions

Burlesque is back: Sydney women reveal more than flesh

Sydney's modern day Oscar Wildes

Exposing Sydney's underground party scene

The best Aussie travel songs

Bondi Beach bars: A small bar renaissance

Will Oxford Street's gay identity survive?

Monsieur Camembert: Turning Marrickville into Sydney's musical heart