THE travel trade in Australia and NZ have become an even more important part of Disney Destinations’ distribution strategy, with new arrangements implemented during the pandemic meaning travel advisors are a key channel to ensure clients make the most of their Disney experience.

Speaking to Travel Daily in Orlando today, Disney’s VP of Marketing & Sales International, Jeff van Langeveld, said it was important that agents are aware of the new system which requires park reservations as well as traditional multi-day passes.

“Capping numbers at Disneyland Resort improves the overall visitor experience, but we do have days that sell out,” he said, noting that currently it is possible to make reservations up to 120 days before arrival.

“We are working on extending that too,” van Langeveld said, in recognition of the longer booking lead times from long haul markets like Australia.

He said Australia continues to be a key market for Disney, with Aussie and Kiwi visitors in the top five int’l markets for Disney’s Aulani Resort in Hawaii and number three for Disneyland Resort in California which has just hosted an Australian contingent to showcase its Marvel Avengers Campus (TD 03 Jun).

Van Langeveld also foreshadowed a significantly higher profile for Disney Cruises in the ANZ market as the fleet expands.

Van Langeveld was part of a large Disney contingent welcoming key trade partners at a special VIP event at Disney’s EPCOT theme park in Orlando prior to the official opening of this year’s huge IPW trade show – more on page three.

The post Trade “vital” for Disney appeared first on Travel Daily.

Source: traveldaily

SYDNEY, Brisbane and Perth airports were able to turn a profit last financial year despite the catastrophic downturn in traveller volumes, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Airport Monitoring Report has revealed.

ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said the “surprising” result demonstrated the resilience of the airports, despite profitability margins falling sharply across the board on pre-pandemic levels.

The trio of airports had a combined operating profit in 2020-21 that was around 5% of what it was in the last full financial year before the pandemic, with Sydney Airport falling by $483 million alone to $148.46 million.

Reporting showed that Brisbane Airport fell from $329 million to $48.1 million, while Perth Airport saw its operating profits plummet to $26.8 million from $128.43 million posted during the 2019/2020 period.

Melbourne was the only major airport that failed to recover to profitability, moving from a $338.94 million profit in 2019 to a $106.82 loss in the latest period, driven by Victoria’s longer periods of COVID travel restrictions.

Meanwhile the consumer watchdog’s report also cited concerns expressed by commercial operators that airports may attempt to recover operating losses from tenants in the future by deploying a “take-it-or-exit” negotiating position.

“These commercial operators indicated that such actions would increase their costs and would ultimately flow through to end-consumers through higher price,” the ACCC’s study noted.

Hire car operators at the four big airports also indicated that revenues were between about 10-50% of pre-pandemic levels, with some forced to close booths or sell part of their fleets to generate enough cash flow.

The ACCC added it would be monitoring airports’ profit margins as they have regional monopolies and substantial market power in affecting other stakeholders in the travel sector.

The post Airports show resilience appeared first on Travel Daily.

Source: traveldaily

TOURISM Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) has partnered with youth travel platform Global Work & Travel to launch a new campaign to attract more working holidaymakers (WHM) from Europe.

Aimed at addressing the severe staff shortage in the region, the First Class To Paradise social media campaign matches inbound travellers aged 18 to 30 with a partner employer in Cairns and the surrounding areas.

There are currently thousands of jobs that need to be filled in Tropical North Queensland, with tourism and hospitality operators bearing the brunt of the shortage as they desperately try and keep pace with a growing demand from travellers to the region.

Part of the marketing push also involves rewarding one traveller with a First Class flight with Singapore Airlines from London to Australia when they register with TTNQ and pay for a working holiday trip through Global Work & Travel.

Global Work & Travel CEO Jurgen Himmelmann said the WHM campaign/incentive was a timely reminder for inbound travellers that working in Nth Qld is a perfect way to see some of the state’s most sought after tourism experiences.

“It’s a great way to let the UK and European travellers realise that they have the opportunity to work and play in a part of the world where they can easily access the Great Barrier Reef, the Daintree and an endless choice of…experiences,” he said.

For the year ending 2021, the number of domestic overnight travellers to Tropical North Queensland increased by close to 40% when compared to 2020, representing a total spend of $2.7 billion in the region.

The post TTNQ makes WHM push appeared first on Travel Daily.

Source: traveldaily

CHIMU’S Global Relationship Manager, James McAlloon (pictured), has set out to complete a coast-to-coast walk across Australia to raise money for multipurpose healthcare provider Purple House.

McAlloon’s original quest to walk all the way to the WA coast was thwarted when the McGowan Government enacted hard borders during COVID-19 outbreaks, however the resourceful travel exec still managed to raise $40,000 for South American families suffering from a lack of tourists on his original Footsteps for Food trip.

CLICK HERE to donate to the latest cause and follow his trip.

The post James on last leg appeared first on Travel Daily.

Source: traveldaily