Tag Archive for: Tours

UA links with BNE

UNITED Airlines is set to commence flying three times a week between San Francisco and Brisbane from 28 Oct.

Scheduled for take off from BNE on Tue, Fri and Sun, UA will deploy Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners on the route, with the major US carrier enticed to launch the services via the Qld Govt’s $200 million Attracting Aviation Investment Fund.

The state’s Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the United Airlines deal would inject $73 million into the economy.

The post UA links with BNE appeared first on Travel Daily.

Source: traveldaily

VA scraps PHE/DPS

VIRGIN Australia has decided to stop servicing the Port Hedland to Bali route due to a “subdued” level of travel demand.

The once-a-week flight, which typically takes just over two hours to complete, was suspended for two years due to international border closures, with sales initially opening up to the public earlier this year.

The post VA scraps PHE/DPS appeared first on Travel Daily.

Source: traveldaily

Tas piques interest

THE Tasmanian Government’s Expressions of Interest for tourism opportunities in national parks is being enhanced to ensure a pathway for private operators to develop tourism attractions across the state.

Changes include reshaping the membership of the Tourism EOI Assessment Panel, and seeking further early-stage advice from Aboriginal organisations.

The post Tas piques interest appeared first on Travel Daily.

Source: traveldaily

US sets new tourism target

THE US Government today outlined an ambitious new visitation target which envisages the country welcoming 90 million international tourist arrivals annually by 2027, with visitor spending amounting to US$279b.

The benchmark is part of a comprehensive 2022 US Travel and Tourism Strategy which was unveiled at the IPW trade show in Orlando, Florida (see p2) by Grant Harris, the US Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Analysis.

Putting tourism and travel at the forefront of government policy was recognition that the sector is America’s second biggest export market, Harris said.

The new benchmark envisages a rapid rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, outstripping the 79.4 million figure for international visitors to the USA in 2019.

US arrivals dropped to 19 million in 2020, with Harris admitting “we’ve got a lot of work to do to get those numbers back up”.

Harris said in 2019, travel and tourism supported 9.5 million US jobs and generated US$1.9 trillion in economic activity.

“This is the vital sector that we want to continue to partner with and support and help regrow and come back stronger out of the pandemic,” he said.

Four key pillars involve promoting the US as a travel destination; facilitating travel to and within the US; ensuring diverse, inclusive and accessible travel experiences; and fostering resilient and sustainable travel and tourism operations.

Harris said the plan would include streamlining entry processes for international visitors, helping build tourism industry careers, and showcasing America’s unique tourism product.

The full strategy is available online at commerce.gov.

The post US sets new tourism target appeared first on Travel Daily.

Source: traveldaily

TravelCard eyes return

AUSSIE insurance provider TravelCard has flagged a full restart of operations in Australia after placing many aspects of the business in hibernation beginning Oct 2020 (TD 20 Oct 2020).

Speaking with Insurance News yesterday, the company’s Chairman Leor Catalan said the business was looking to reboot local services with a revamp of its products and experiences, pointing out the brand did not suspend all operations in Australia during the pandemic.

“While we hibernated new sales in Australia due to the restrictions on international travel, we maintained high service standards for previously sold policies continuously,” Catalan confirmed.

The brand’s Chair added that now more than ever, travellers appreciate travel insurance providers such as TravelCard that can support them in real-time while on trips.

The decision to pause its business close to two years ago, which at the time was underwritten by Hollard Insurance, saw the cessation of new travel insurance policies issued, as well as the renewal of existing insurance policies from 01 Dec 2020.

TravelCard is part of the UK-based PassportCard Group and launched locally back in 2018, focusing its efforts mainly on the broking channel.

The post TravelCard eyes return appeared first on Travel Daily.

Source: traveldaily

Air NZ appoints specialist

AIR New Zealand has taken more steps toward mitigating its environmental impact, creating a new Chief Sustainability Officer position within its executive.

Kiri Hannifin (pictured) has been appointed to the newly created role this morning, having successfully headed up the reduction of emissions at New Zealand supermarket chain Countdown over the last three and half years.

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran said sustainability is now the “biggest issue” facing the airline’s future, and requires an increased focus from a leader who will be a passionate public advocate for the changes all stakeholders need to make to deliver real change.

“As we rebuild Air New Zealand, we need to advance the extensive work already undertaken to become a truly sustainable airline,” Foran said.

“Kiri’s experience in driving change across the supply chain, engaging customers via tangible measures such as removing plastic bags from stores and diverting food waste from landfill will help our efforts move to a new level,” he added.

Late last year, the carrier sought help from entrepreneurs to help achieve its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, flagging zero emissions aircraft within five years (TD 21 Dec 2021).

Hannifin will start in her new role at Air NZ from 05 Dec.

The post Air NZ appoints specialist appeared first on Travel Daily.

Source: traveldaily

Qld given warm welcome

IT APPEARS many Australian travellers are keen to escape the wintery blusters impacting much of the country, with the sunny Gold Coast the most booked destination in recent months, according to new figures released by Booking.com this week.

The Qld hotspot topped the list by moving up from the third position it held pre-pandemic, while Melbourne, Sydney, Cairns and Brisbane rounded out the top five most popular locations.

The biggest mover in the top 20 list was Airlie Beach in Qld, which improved its booking position by seven spots to land in 13th position, while the Sunshine State’s Port Douglas also performed well, moving up the ranking by four spots to take seventh position.

New entrants to the top 20 when compared to 2019 included Palm Cove in Qld, which snagged the 16th most popular booking spot, as well as Townsville, which surged from 24th to 18th place.

In terms of the most booked snow destinations, Jindabyne in NSW took out top spot, followed by Mount Buller in Victoria, Thredbo in NSW, and Victoria’s Falls Creek and Mount Hotham.

The biggest improver was Bright in Victoria, which was up five places to land in sixth position.

The post Qld given warm welcome appeared first on Travel Daily.

Source: traveldaily

It’s time for Korea

IT’S the ideal time to promote South Korea, with the picturesque Northeast Asia destination now open to international tourists.

South Korea has rich culture and traditions, charming locals, and stunning natural scenery, and it is the perfect travel destination for both beginners and more experienced travellers.

MW Tours’ South Korea Express Tour takes travellers on a circuit of the country, from the capital Seoul to Yeosu, located in the south, and back again.

Weekly departures on this tour allow guests to travel when it suits – for more information, see the product profile on page eight.

The post It’s time for Korea appeared first on Travel Daily.

Source: traveldaily