Bombing anniversary draws visitors to Darwin January 27, 2012
Posted by janeefraser in Australia, Events, Travel.add a comment
Darwin expects an influx of visitors next month when it marks the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Darwin (frontlineaustralia.com.au).
February 19 marks 70 years since the first attack on Australian soil; the start of a 21-month-long raid on Australia’s north. The anniversary will be marked by a two-week program of events, including a re-enactment at the Darwin Cenotaph.
The Bombing of Darwin Heritage Tour guide, Garry Gallagher, says the event will be one of the last opportunities for people to hear firsthand accounts from those who defended Australia. ”Visitors will hear the stories of our servicemen brought to life … see important war sites and understand just how close we were to (more…)
The hottest travel destinations for 2012 January 9, 2012
Posted by janeefraser in Adventure travel, Africa, Asia, Australia, North America, NZ & Pacific Islands, South America, Travel, Travel tips & trends, UK & Europe.Tags: Travel, travel trends
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By now you’ve probably seen at least one list of what will be the “hottest” travel destinations for 2012.
Each year travel companies and publishers trip over themselves trying to come up with quirky and inspiring lists of countries and cities for the hipsters among us to visit.
Kyrgyzstan, anyone? Have you been to Suriname? And really, you must see Togo. No?
Here, travel industry leaders predict the real travel hot spots for 2012. In other words, where we will actually go.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/sit-back-and-spin-the-globe-20120105-1pmhl.html#ixzz1ivYIn1Gw
Keeping your cool with Christmas travel December 13, 2011
Posted by janeefraser in Airlines, Australia, Events, Travel, Travel tips & trends.Tags: Christmas, holiday travel, Travel
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There’s nothing like a long airport queue or crawling traffic to test your Christmas spirit, so here are some tips to surviving Australia’s busiest travel period.
If you’re flying
For domestic flights, the peak days are expected to be December 22 and 23, with January 19 the predicted busiest day on the other side of Christmas.
A spokeswoman for the airport, Tracy Ong, says passengers travelling during that period should plan to arrive early, check the latest information on what they can take through security and use internet check-in if possible.
You can check in online up to 24 or 48 hours before your flight, depending on the airline, then all you have to do is drop off your bags. Checking in online can also allow you to choose your own seat, which could save you the dreaded middle seat on what is sure to be a full flight.
If you’re planning to drive to the airport, reserve some parking now, as many options will be booked out ahead of Christmas.
The Sydney Airport website, sydneyairport.com.au, is a good resource for other options for getting to and from the airport, including taxis, shuttle buses, buses and trains.
Another tip if flying is… (click here to keep reading this article by Jane E. Fraser)
The truth about working in travel December 4, 2011
Posted by janeefraser in Australia, Travel, Travel tips & trends.Tags: careers, recruitment, Travel, travel agencies
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Do you dream of working in travel? Think it sounds like a glamorous kind of industry?
The good news is that travel agents and others in tourism are reasonably well paid these days, with an average salary of about $67,000 according to a new survey by travel recruitment specialists TMS Asia Pacific.
The bad news is that as salaries have gone up, the perks that have given the industry its glamorous image are fast disappearing. In the 2011 TMS Salary Report, only a third of respondents listed free or discounted travel as an additional benefit of their employment conditions.
“Industry rates”, which can provide discounts of up to 75 per cent on standard prices, used to be a big attraction for travel employees, even though air tickets were generally on a “stand-by” basis, with no guarantee of a seat. For the majority of those working in travel, it seems these discounts are either no longer accessible or have lost their shine.
“It is definitely something that has declined over the years,” TMS’s general manager for Australia and New Zealand, Sally Matheson, says. “With travel being generally more affordable through low-cost carriers and discount websites, the attraction of stand-by tickets has lost appeal to a large extent. Employers can no longer solely rely on that fact in attracting newcomers to the industry.”
Matheson says what remains appealing for those looking at travel as a potential career is… (click here to keep reading this article by Jane E. Fraser)
When to go five-star… and when to get real December 2, 2011
Posted by janeefraser in Asia, Australia, Hotels, North America, Travel, Travel tips & trends, UK & Europe.Tags: Bangkok, Beijing, Berlin, Budapest, hotels, Hotels.com, Melbourne, New York, Paris, Sydney, Travel, travel deals, travel tips
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How much would you expect to cough up for a five-star hotel in a major city?
Travellers can pay anywhere from an average $192 a night to an average $499 a night in cities around the world, according to the latest Hotel Price Index from Hotels.com.
Berlin in Germany is the cheapest place to go five-star, with an average nightly rate of $192, while Budapest, Beijing and Bangkok also average less than $200 a night.
Sydney and Melbourne are in the next tier up but still relatively affordable, with nightly rates at five-star properties averaging $269 and $228 respectively.
The time to adjust your expectations or be prepared for financial pain is when visiting (more…)
A new era for Ayers Rock Resort November 22, 2011
Posted by janeefraser in Adventure travel, Australia, Hotels, Travel, Travel tips & trends.Tags: Accor, Ayers Rock Resort, Travel, Uluru
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A huge cash injection and a partnership with a leading hotel operator will arrest years of decline at one of Australia’s most iconic tourism properties, Ayers Rock Resort.
The new owner of the resort, the Indigenous Land Corporation (an indigenous-controlled statutory authority that bought the property for $300 million earlier this year) has allocated more than $20 million to an upgrade of rooms and facilities, starting with the flagship Sails in the Desert Hotel.
It has also partnered with the world’s biggest hotel operator, Accor, which will help market the resort within Australia and to key overseas markets such as China.
Accor also brings experience in indigenous employment, which is one of the greatest challenges facing the property. As previously reported in this column, Ayers Rock Resort has never succeeded in securing more than a handful of indigenous employees and has had a dismal (more…)
Christmas, anywhere but here! November 14, 2011
Posted by janeefraser in Adventure travel, Africa, Asia, Australia, Events, Hotels, South America, Travel, Travel tips & trends.Tags: Christmas, Travel
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Thinking through the logistics of hosting and accommodating 11 people for Christmas this year, it’s easy to understand why many others are planning an escape.
Whether it’s the lure of a white Christmas, the desire to avoid family dramas or simply a convenient time to take a holiday, growing numbers of Australians are taking off for the festive season. Hotels all over the world are offering Christmas packages with feasts and other celebrations included and in many cases families are making multi-generational bookings for get-togethers away from home.
Holiday houses in favourite spots such as Palm Beach and Byron Bay are still popular but there is also plenty of demand for unusual Christmases, which can range from shopping in Tokyo to windsurfing in Morocco.
A spokeswoman for Intrepid Travel, Meg Koffel, says two key markets for Christmas travel are young professionals and multi-generational families. Hot spots for family Christmases are Borneo, Vietnam and other parts of Asia.
Young professionals, who are often taking advantage of a quiet time at work, are heading to places such as South America, Cuba, India and Vietnam. These travellers will often fly out just before Christmas and plan to be somewhere interesting, such as Rio de Janeiro, to celebrate New Year’s Eve, Koffel says.
A spokesman for STA Travel, Reuben Acciano, says young people often… (click here to keep reading this article by Jane E. Fraser)
The new look family holiday November 1, 2011
Posted by janeefraser in Australia, Travel, Travel tips & trends.Tags: family travel, Fiji, Gold Coast, Travel, travel with children, travel with kids
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Building sandcastles just doesn’t cut it for a lot of families these days.
Family holidays are getting highly organised and structured with much emphasis on education and experiences, according to experts. Plenty of families are still heading to the Gold Coast or Fiji for a beach break but growing numbers are signing up for African safaris, overseas cycling trips, cooking schools and jungle adventures.
“Families are throwing far more money at holidays,” says the managing director of Travel with Kidz, Wendy Buckley. ”Kids are now more involved and spoken to; parents almost feel accountable to their children. When they go on holiday there are big expectations; people feel they need to be doing more than the beach thing.”
The owner of BYOkids, Leah Squire, says the family travel market has split into two extremes: (click here to keep reading this article by Jane E. Fraser)
What’s hot for Schoolies October 18, 2011
Posted by janeefraser in Asia, Australia, Events, Hotels, Travel, Travel tips & trends.Tags: schoolies, schoolies week, schoolies.com, Student Flights, Travel, travel trends, Unleashed Travel
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Over two weeks next month, tens of thousands of high-school leavers will descend upon a handful of locations around the country to party hard in celebration of finishing year 12.
“Schoolies” is showing no signs of going out of fashion, with an estimated 60,000 students expected to head to recognised schoolies hot spots alone. This does not take into account those who organise their own trips or choose a destination away from the madding crowds. Nor does it take into account all of those who will be heading overseas, making the most of cheap flights and the buying power of the Australian dollar.
The brand leader of Student Flights, Darren Lloyd, says there has been a huge increase in demand for overseas schoolies trips over the past two years. ”Destinations like Fiji, Bali and Vanuatu top the list,” Lloyd says. ”The cost of a schoolies package overseas is comparable in price to a week at the Gold Coast, so more parents are encouraging their school leavers to join an organised overseas trip.”
Student Flights works with Unleashed Travel, a dedicated schoolies operator that has options including “schoolies only” trips where a whole island resort is chartered and only 17- and 18-year-olds are allowed.
Lloyd says while many school leavers book organised packages through operators such as Unleashed, the total size of the market is not known. ”Some schoolies are opting to ditch the schoolies week altogether and… (click here to keep reading this article by Jane E. Fraser)
Where the hotel bargains are September 19, 2011
Posted by janeefraser in Africa, Asia, Australia, Hotels, North America, Travel, Travel tips & trends, UK & Europe.Tags: hotel deals, Hotel Price Index, hotels, Hotels.com, Travel, travel deals
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The strong Aussie dollar has continued to drive down the cost of hotel rooms in overseas destinations while prices in Australia are rising significantly, according to the latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index.
Prices have fallen in popular cities across Europe, the US and Asia, while most Australian cities have recorded solid increases in rates, according to the index, which covers the first half of 2011.
The managing director of Hotels.com, Johan Svanstrom, says prices have fallen in many popular destinations for Australians, such as New York, London and Milan. Some of the biggest bargains overseas are New Delhi (down 38 per cent to an average $100 a night), Shanghai (down 23 per cent to $114), Cape Town (down 24 per cent to $146 a night) and San Diego in the USA (down 19 per cent to $128).
In Australia, (more…)
