Top-end travel guide brand Luxe has announced the launch of a mini-guidebook series in a bid to broaden its appeal in the competitive market.

Little Luxe are designed as short travel guides for “families on the go,” focusing on major cities and the family-friendly experiences they offer.

The first guides will focus on Asia, Luxe said, with Little Luxe Hong Kong already available and Little Luxe Singapore to follow in November 2011.

British business magnate Richard Branson hopes to launch a vessel into space within the next 12 months, kicking off an era of commercial space travel.

“The mother ship is finished… The rocket tests are going extremely well, and so I think that we’re now on track for a launch within 12 months of today.”

“This could be the beginning of a whole new era of space travel, which will be commercial space travel,” he told CNN’s Piers Morgan late Wednesday.

Passengers on Qantas will be the first in the world to have in-flight entertainment streamed wirelessly to tablet devices in a trial announced by the airline Thursday.

To be rolled out from the end of next month on one Boeing 767-300 flying domestic routes, the six-week test will see Qantas’s current entertainment programme broadcast to a tablet supplied by the airline.

The brand of tablet is yet to be confirmed, but Qantas said Apple’s popular iPad was among the models being considered.

Hong Kong’s flag-carrier Cathay Pacific is to become the latest airline to include premium economy seating.

The carrier will begin rolling out premium economy cabins next year between Hong Kong and Sydney, Singapore, Toronto and Shanghai.

Further destinations are expected to follow throughout 2012 reported Australian Business Traveller

Chic city guide publisher Luxe has launched a new bespoke gift set designed as the traveler’s perfect Christmas gift.

The new Bespoke Boxes hold eight or 12 Luxe City Guides and can be personalized with a selection of specific guides tailored to personal preference.

There are 33 Luxe City Guides covering cities around the world to chose from to fill the box, which is hand-crafted in carbon bookbinding linen and features a crimson interior and embossed gold logo.

Norwegian Cruise Line has announced plans for the world’s first at-sea tweetup for cruise-loving social media enthusiasts.

The SeaTweetup will be a three-night cruise around the Bahamas and is billed by the organizers as the world’s meeting for Twitter users at sea.

The cruise, departing Miami on November 18, will be hosted by Norwegian Cruise Line’s 2,002-passenger Norwegian Sky and is organized by, among others, social media TV show SocialBuzzTV and digital media consultants Social Esquire.