Creative Christchurch fights back February 20, 2012
Posted by janeefraser in Hotels, NZ & Pacific Islands, Travel, Travel tips & trends.Tags: Christchurch, earthquake, New Zealand, Relaxing Journeys, tourism, Travel
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It will be a sombre day on Wednesday when Christchurch marks one year since the powerful earthquake that claimed more than 180 lives and turned parts of the picturesque city into rubble. But far from relying on the long process of rebuilding to slowly bring about recovery, the city has been fighting back with an abundance of energy and creativity.
While the complete rebuilding of the city is thought to be at least five years away, visitor numbers are expected to return to normal long before then. The chief executive of Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism, Tim Hunter, says visitor numbers from many overseas markets have already recovered, with the earthquake pretty much now being forgotten.
For the Australian market, which received far more media coverage of the earthquake and its aftershocks, numbers are still down about 30 per cent. ”The issue we have in Australia is that… (click here to keep reading this article by Jane E. Fraser)
Japan back in business February 16, 2012
Posted by janeefraser in Asia, Travel, Travel tips & trends.Tags: Asia, earthquake, Japan, Travel, World Expeditions
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It has taken a long time but Australian travellers are finally returning to Japan. The nation’s tourism industry is experiencing a long-overdue pick-up in demand as we approach the anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that wreaked havoc on large parts of country in March last year.
“With a natural disaster, there’s generally a much quicker recovery than we’re seeing in Japan,” the chief executive of World Expeditions, Sue Badyari, says. ”The recovery has been very slow … we’re sitting at about 30 per cent [sales] of what we were for 2010-11. I think you have to link that to the [fear of] radiation.”
Badyari says the Australian government’s message that it is safe to return to Japan has taken a while to get through to tourists. There has been a notable improvement in bookings since… (click here to keep reading this article by Jane E. Fraser)
Last minute bookings going out of favour? February 14, 2012
Posted by janeefraser in Travel, Travel tips & trends.Tags: online travel, Travel, travel trends, travel.com.au
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Shorter booking times have been one of the strongest trends in travel over the past decade but our habits appear to be changing.
An annual survey of 2200 people by online travel agency travel.com.au shows almost half of us are booking domestic flights one to three months in advance and the most common booking period for overseas flights is four to six months before the trip.
The survey results, released exclusively to The Sun-Herald, show less than five per cent of travellers are booking overseas flights within a month of departure.
The general manager of travel.com.au, Renee Welsh, believes the reversal of the late-booking trend is due to (more…)
So it themes February 10, 2012
Posted by janeefraser in Events, Travel, Travel tips & trends.Tags: cruises, cruising, Travel
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When was it decided that every cruise must have a theme? Food and wine, wellness, photography, comedy, science … think up a theme and it probably exists.
Among those joining the ranks this year is Oceania Cruises, which is offering themed sailings for the first time. The “signature sailings” feature across 10 European voyages, themed around food, wine, music and health and wellbeing. There will be guest performers or presenters on each voyage and activities will include seminars, cooking classes, wine tastings and concerts.
Oceania says groups with shared interests have often cruised together in the past and the theme cruises will create a further opportunity for like-minded travellers to cruise together.
MSC Cruises is currently operating a “diet cruise” in the Mediterranean, presumably… (click here to keep reading this article by Jane E. Fraser)
Onboard dating: matches in the sky February 7, 2012
Posted by janeefraser in Airlines, Travel, Travel technology, Travel tips & trends.Tags: dating, flying, Travel
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It seems many an airline traveller takes a fancy to the person in the seat next to them.
Hundreds of people have left their details on a new website that aims to reunite people who have met on plane journeys. In its first few weeks, wemetonaplane.com has had more than 20,000 page views, as people search for that attractive someone with whom they never traded numbers.
Stories have been logged by people from all over the world, leaving the flight number, date and other details of the flight to help identify the person they are trying to find. A search algorithm is used to find any stories posted by other passengers from that flight, in the hope the attraction was mutual.
The site, which is the brainchild of Sydney businessman Will Scully-Power, is yet to declare a match but he says (more…)
Costa disaster promoting cruising? February 2, 2012
Posted by janeefraser in Travel, UK & Europe.Tags: Costa Concordia, Costa Cruises, cruises, cruising, Travel
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Proving there is no such thing as bad publicity, Harvey World Travel says it has had an increase in inquiries about Costa Cruises after the capsizing of the Costa Concordia in Italy.
Harvey World and other cruise-booking specialists say there has been little or no fallout from the January 13 incident that claimed at least 15 lives off the western coast of Italy. Cancellations have been limited to bookings for the Concordia itself and most of those affected have opted to transfer to other cruises.
The brand leader of Cruiseabout, Mark Hodgson, says Costa Cruises this week notified agents that Concordia itineraries from March to November would be replaced by its other ships, Costa neoRomantica and Costa Magica. Hodgson says Cruiseabout has not had any customers wanting to cancel.
The online cruise specialist Ecruising says it was contacted by some concerned travellers (more…)
Giving until it hurts? January 30, 2012
Posted by janeefraser in Adventure travel, Travel, Travel tips & trends.Tags: Travel, responsible tourism, Planeterra, tourism, voluntourism, volunteering, G Adventures, ecotourism
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Volunteer-related travel has been one of the biggest trends in tourism in the past decade but who is measuring how much good it is doing? With “voluntourism” now a mainstream commodity, many are questioning to what extent the good-natured intentions of travellers are being matched by benefits to communities.
Concerns about the contradictory nature of some voluntourism programs have prompted the International Ecotourism Society and Planeterra – a non-profit foundation created by adventure tourism operator G Adventures – to commit to developing a set of guidelines for the sector. The organisations say the guidelines, which will be released in coming weeks, will help operators plan and manage their programs in a sustainable way and help travellers make “smart decisions” about which programs to support.
Wearing, who is an associate professor in leisure and tourism at the University of Technology Sydney and is on the panel developing the guidelines, says there are widespread concerns about… (click here to keep reading this article by Jane E. Fraser)
Chip fat to fuel our planes? January 23, 2012
Posted by janeefraser in Airlines, Travel, Travel technology, Travel tips & trends.Tags: airlines, aviation, biofuel, green travel, Qantas, Travel, Virgin Atlantic
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If there’s something we can expect to see a lot of this year, it is airlines talking up their green credentials. From chicken fat to algae, carriers are busy looking for new ways to fuel their planes and reduce their emissions.
Several airlines have already claimed “world-first” initiatives such as the first commercial biofuel flight, the first scheduled biofuel flight and the longest distance biofuel flight, and Qantas has announced its intention to operate Australia’s first biofuel flight early this year.
IATA has declared work on biofuels to be a major priority for the industry in the year ahead, with the association’s chief executive, Tony Tyler, saying it is “one of aviation’s great challenges” to reduce its carbon emissions. ”Sustainability is our licence to grow,” Tyler says.
The problem with biofuels and other green initiatives is that they… (click here to keep reading this article by Jane E. Fraser)
Trend watch: the new budget accommodation January 20, 2012
Posted by janeefraser in Travel, Travel tips & trends, UK & Europe.Tags: Britain, budget travel, camping, London, London Olympics, Olympic Games, Travel, travel trends
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Home owners in Britain and other parts of Europe are renting out their gardens as campsites for travellers on a budget. Campinmygarden.com lists properties ranging from urban areas to country manors, with gardens able to be rented for up to 28 days.
“With high household debt … the concept provides extra financial support to cash-strapped home owners, while offering holidaymakers [a] cheap alternative,” World Travel Market 2011′s Global Trends Report says. ”There are 350 gardens listed on Campinmygarden.com, from the UK to Romania. The site is mainly an urban phenomenon, bringing home farm stays to the city.”
The report says the key target markets for backyard camping are (more…)
Top travel trends for 2012 January 17, 2012
Posted by janeefraser in Airlines, Hotels, Travel, Travel technology, Travel tips & trends.Tags: American Express, Carlson Wagonlit, China, Facebook, Frommer's, near field communication, Travel, travel technology, travel trends, Twitter, voluntourism
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In a fast-changing world, here’s five things you’ll need to keep up with in 2012.
1. Prices are rising
We’ve had a fantastic run with cheap travel in the past few years but expect to pay a bit more in the next 12 months. Strong demand for business travel is expected to drive up prices of both airfares and hotels.
American Express predicts economy class airfares will rise between 6 per cent and 10 per cent on short-haul routes and 5 per cent to 9 per cent on long-haul routes, despite airline competition and the growth of low-cost carriers.
Hotel rates are also on the rise, with American Express predicting mid-range hotels will increase their rates by 3 per cent to 8 per cent and upper-scale hotels will add between 6 per cent and 10 per cent to their prices.
Global forecasts by Carlson Wagonlit Travel show we can also expect to pay more at overseas hotels, with modest increases in North America, Europe and Africa and increases of about 10 per cent in Latin America.
2. Channels are changing
Travel deals and information will be released in different ways as social media and other technology-based channels continue to grow. Hot deals are increasingly being sent out through… (click here to keep reading this article by Jane E. Fraser)
