1) Modern Family Aus episode a hit
Qantas has recorded a spike in US visitors following the airing of the episode which saw ‘Modern Family’ tour down under. Around 9.6 million Americans tuned in to watch the highly anticipated debut the TV show filmed in Australia. The episode also reached number one on iTunes “Top TV Episodes” list. Qantas flew the cast and crew from the popular TV show from Los Angeles in February, hosting the Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan during the two-week filming that took place at iconic Australian locations such as Sydney Harbour, Bondi Beach and the Great Barrier Reef. The episodes will promote Australia as a travel destination across 29 countries worldwide including The United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong and New Zealand – all key sources of visiting tourists.
2) AFTA website better than ever
AFTA has announced their new look website with improved navigation and accessibility. The website allows agents to learn about AFTA’s ongoing work in the travel and tourism industry while keeping up to date with the latest industry news and events. There is a dedicated events page for NTIA and an area where you can learn about ATAS and what is required when applications open in May. Agents are encouraged to register through the new website for the May workshop on Becoming Travel Accredited.
3) All Seasons jet all class
Four Seasons is offering a ticket to the world’s most fascinating destinations aboard the custom-designed Four Seasons Jet, enjoying personalised itineraries and exceptional service at every point of the journey. The jet comes with an on-board service of professionals to ensure that you travel in total comfort prior to arriving at deluxe Four Seasons accommodations. All this for a small ticket price of $140,000 for the on-board concierge, chef, leather flat-beds and staff to cater to your every need.
4) LH introduces paid seat reservations
Effective today, passengers flying long-haul on Lufthansa will have to pay for their seat selection. The implementation of Advance Seat Reservation (ASR) requires passengers to pay per seat booked on long-haul flights for the lowest booking classes K L T S W in Economy. The change allows guests the ability to purchase exit row seats and other preferred seating. Travel agents will receive further clarification in the coming days how to process this via GDS using EMDs as the form of payment, however in the meantime are urged to go online at www.lh.com to make seat reservations for their clients.
5) Schoolies Unleashed in Europe
School leavers can now enjoy schoolies celebrations throughout Europe with the launch of Unleashed Travel’s first chaperoned European travel packages. The European experience package launched on 23 April, the European tour is scheduled for November/December 2015. A high volume of students requested a more cultured travel experience, and Unleashed listened, now offering the opportunity to visit 18 of Europe’s most-famous cities in 18 days. Unleashed is advising students to get in quick if they want to secure their end-of-school holiday. Packages start from $2,799 per person, including accommodation, meals and a London sightseeing tour.
6) Speedy INDABA sessions
Back for another year at INDABA are the highly successful Speed Marketing Sessions. According to South African Tourism Chief Executive Officer Thulani Nzima, the successful engine for brokering business at INDABA is a “quick, easy solution for hosted buyers wanting to plug into a diverse array of South African leisure tourism offerings.” The Speed Marketing Sessions will take place at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre in Durban in Room 22. In these sessions, global buyer delegates will be introduced to a wide variety of South African product, including everything from action-packed adventure and unique experiences to cosmopolitan hot spots. INDABA 2014 opens on 10 May. Click herefor more information.
7) EY and SA doubles freq flyer miles
Frequent flyer members of Etihad Airways’ Etihad Guest and South African Airways’ Voyager loyalty programs can enjoy double miles points when they fly with the partner airline before 30 June 2014. The promotion marks the start of a partnership between the two airlines’ frequent flyer programs, building on the signing of a Commercial Co-operation Agreement in September 2013. In addition to the comprehensive range of codeshare and interline air services the partnership has enabled, it also provides for greater cooperation between the airlines’ frequent flyer programs, enabling passengers to earn and redeem miles when flying with the partner airline.
8) Dive into the Maldives Roadshow
Australian agents can learn how their clients can Dive into the Sunny Side of Life in one of the world’s top rated dream destinations, the Maldives, through a series of roadshow events. The Roadshow will stop in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, offers the Australian travel industry an opportunity to receive the latest destination updates as well as meet the representatives from some of the Maldives’ most popular hotels and resorts, who will be flying to Australia.
9) Book window opened on Trenitalia
Australian agents can now book instant purchase fares on Italian rail network Trenitalia through Rail Plus 120 days before a train’s departure. Previously the point-to-point fares could only be booked a maximum of 90 days prior to a Trenitalia train’s departure. Rail Plus General Manager Sales & Marketing Greg McCallum says the extension is a “welcome development for travel agents because it means all elements of a European itinerary can now be wrapped up simultaneously.”
10) Holiday Inn opens in Sapporo
Holiday Inn has entered Japan’s Hokkaido, opening the ANA Holiday Inn Sapporo Susukino in the island’s largest city. Located in the city’s entertainment district, the conversion hotel provides the perfect base to explore the vibrant city and surrounding Hokkaido which is famous for its abundance of year-round activities, locally-brewed beers and annual snow festival. The 178-room ANA Holiday Inn Sapporo Susukino becomes the fourth Holiday Inn hotel to open in Japan, and is the perfect mix of business and pleasure for the comfort-seeking traveller to the city.
11) Bora Bora added to Aranui
Tahiti’s freighter cruise line Aranui has put Bora Bora’s impossibly blue lagoon as a regular highlight while adding the famed Society Islands to its 2015 program. Every 14-day Aranui roundtrip cruise from Papeete will call at Bora Bora as well as French Polynesia’s mysterious Marquesas Islands and the pristine Tuamotu atolls. Aranui’s Regional Representative Australia New Zealand Laurent Wong said there had been such an overwhelming response to this year’s Bora Bora visits that it made sense to add the island to all of the cruise line’s 17 departures in 2015. The new program will take guests to three very different yet equally stunning French Polynesian archipelagoes – the Marquesas, Tuamotus and Society Islands – and show off some of the most naturally beautiful and untouched islands in the world,” Mr Wong said.
12) African nights with &Beyond
Experience the ultimate African bush safari and spend a night under the stars with the launch of &Beyond ‘Night under the Stars’ at Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa. Following a leisurely afternoon game drive, guests arrive at the private camp in the middle of the bush complete with comfortable beds with full duvets and warm blankets draped with billowing mosquito nets. Twinkling lanterns hang from the trees and a campfire blazes as guests fall asleep under an impossibly starry sky to the sound of hyena calling in the distance secure in the knowledge that an armed guard will patrol the site throughout the night.
13) MSC in the Med
Re-affirmed its Mediterranean heritage, MSC Cruises are consolidating and strengthening its presence in the Mediterranean through one of its flagships for the 2015 northern summer season. MSC Divina will be deployed in the Western Mediterranean beginning May 2015, for twenty 7-night/8-day cruises. The cruise will become the perfect choice for passengers wishing to explore the beauties of Europe and the #MedWayOfLife and thanks to the mix of ports of call, travellers will have the opportunity to visit a variety of destinations such as the Cinque Terre and Portofino, the Balearic Islands, Cannes and Monte Carlo, Naples and its breath-taking coast, without forgetting the legendary Rome and the much sought-after Barcelona.
Was sourced from carryon
