We’ve done all the hard work, so you don’t have to! Read on for the top ten travel stories you need to know today.
1. What is Australia doing to prevent MH370 repeat?
Australia will take part in trials for a new aircraft tracking system designed to monitor planes more frequently.
The trial comes almost a year after Malaysia Airlines’ flight MH370 lost contact with ground control during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Since, crews have searched for the Boeing 77-200ER, which was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members.
2. Meet Australia & NZ’s top cruise agents
Meet this year’s cruise winners.
Rapper Drake wasn’t the only reason people were rushing to The Star in Sydney on Saturday, as hundreds of industry folk gathered for this year’s cruise awards.
Hosted for the second year in a row by TV presenter Hamish McLachlan and actress Melanie Vallejo, the evening celebrated the local industry’s top agents and commemorated the end of Cruise Lines International Association’s (CLIA) second annual Cruise3sxity Australasia conference.
The crew from Avalon Waterways all dressed up for the annual cruise awards.
This year, the Cruise Industry Awards night was almost twice as large as previous years, with more awards, more attendees and bigger entertainment.
World’s Leading Cruise Lines opened the evening with a grand performance made up of singing, dancing, sailor hats and acrobats.
Click here for more images and the full list of winners.
3. Qantas Holidays’ race is over!
Top agents explore the UK and Ireland courtesy of Qantas Holidays.
It’s back to reality for the 60 Australian travel agents who spent the past week racing around the UK and Ireland courtesy of Qantas Holidays.
Over nine days, the group of top travel agents were divided into four groups and sent off to explore England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales.
Itineraries were bursting with different activities and team challenges as they competed to be named Qantas Holiday’s Race Around UK and Ireland winning team.
4. CLIA’s ‘smart’ Masters cruise
TravelManagers snap a pic on Celebrity Cruises’ massive deck chair at Cruise3sixty.
Cruise agents will be dancing with robots and surfing on simulators at this year’s CLIA Masters Conference.
It was a welcome surprise for agents at last week’s Cruise3sixty conference, when it was announced this year’s Masters Conference will be held aboard the world’s first ‘smart ship’ Quantum of the Seas.
Event host and TV presenter, Hamish McLachlan, made the announcement to hundreds of agents who had travelled from around Australia and New Zealand to Sydney for the annual conference.
5. Virgin takes business class across the Tasman
Virgin Australia has taken its award-winning Business Class product across the Tasman, as part of plans to rollout the premium service in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
The inaugural return flight with Business Class onboard flew from Auckland to Sydney late last week. All other services come into effect on 31 March this year.
Virgin is currently refitting 10 of its Boeing 737 aircraft with the 2-2 business class configuration, which also features leather seating, menus by celebrity chef Luke Mangan and priority services.
Guests in the premium class will also have access to newspapers until noon daily, a gourmet tea selection and premium Australian alcoholic beverages.
Last week, Virgin also revealed it is the third airline to become a Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) executive partner, to deliver air and cruise benefits to the association’s members and the general public.
6. INDUSTRY RATES: from $60 per night in Asia
Australia and New Zealand travel professionals can pick up accommodation in Asia from $60 per night including breakfast as part of Complete Travel Marketing’s special industry rates for 2015.
Complete Travel Marketing currently holds an extensive portfolio of unique tourism products in South East Asia and the Indian Ocean with destinations including Bali, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Mauritius.
Rates start from as little as $60 per night including breakfast and all products offer first-class hospitality with some of them giving the option to upgrade to a private pool villa or to take advantage of 24/7 butler service or club level access.
“We think the Australian and New Zealand travel industry deserves a reward for all the support they gave us last year by selling our products to their customers.”
Charlie Ridout, Complete Travel Marketing co-founder
7. Sabre’s new ‘powerful’ airline solutions
Image: Iryna Rasko/Shutterstock
Sabre Corporation has been busy developing three new data-drive solutions designed to help airlines offer personalised services to travellers.
According to Sabre, the three new products bridge the gap between passenger perceptions of an airline’s customer service delivery and the efforts of that airline to create a differentiated customer experience.
Solutions include Sabre’s Customer Data Hub; Customer Experience Manager; and industry-first, Dynamic Retailer.
Dynamic Retailer created flight and ancillary offers using personalised customer insights to generate incremental revenue. The solution can also be used by airlines to identify and offer relevant services to passengers.
Virgin America is the first airline to deploy all three solutions, which president David Cush says will allow the carrier to better understand guests.
“These new solutions give us invaluable insights into our guests to create tailored experiences that drive loyalty, and support our mission to make flying good again.”
David Cush, Virgin president
8. Mercure expands across APAC
Accor’s network of Mercure hotels continues to grow, with the announcement of four new Mercure hotels joining the group in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
The Ballarat Lodge & Convention Centre will be rebranded to Mercure Ballarat Hotel & Convention Centre in March 2015.
Hotel Launceston in Tasmania will be rebranded to Mercure Launceston in April 2015, complementing Accor’s other Tasmanian property, The Sebel Launceston.
The 74 room Best Western Goulburn in New South Wales will join the Accor network in March 2015 and be rebranded as Mercure Goulburn.
And in New Zealand, the Abel Tasman Hotel in Wellington will rebrand to Mercure Wellington Abel Tasman as of March 2015.
The new properties will increase the number of Mercure hotels across Australia and New Zealand to 49.
Last week, Starwood also announced an expansion in the Asia-Pacific region, with 30 new properties in sites like China, India and Southeast Asia.
9. Marriott Rewards update
Clients that haven’t used their Marriott Rewards membership in the last 24 months will have all accumulated points forfeited from 1 February next year.
The notification was sent in an email advising members that those that have not engaged in qualifying activity since 31 January 2014 have until 31 January, 2016 to do so before the policy is enforced.
Qualified activity includes redeeming points, making a purchase using one of the group’s credit card or hold a qualifying meeting or event, which allows them to earn points through the Rewarding Events Program.
Activities that do not count toward maintaining an active status in the Marriott Rewards program including gifting or transferring points; receiving points as a gift or transfer; and earning points through social media programs, such as #MRPoints.
10. Air Tahiti Nui’s new fleet
Air Tahiti Nui is replacing its ageing Airbus A340-300 fleet with four new Boeing 787-9 aircraft on long haul flights.
The switch is expected to take place during the fourth quarter of 2018 to deliver the latest innovations and comfort to international guests.
Aircraft will operate on services from Papeete to Tokyo, Narita, Auckland and Los Angeles.
“The new fleet investment will help future-proof travel to and from The Islands of Tahiti, and assist the acceleration in visitor growth.”
Michel Monvoisin, Air Tahiti Nui Chairman
Need to Know Extra: Criticism over Thailand’s ‘stalker’ ad
Thailand’s new marketing campaign seems to have hit a nerve with travellers, because it features a man who tracks a woman down through her Instagram photos.
Tourism Thailand was hoping the 16-minute long ad named ‘Love en Route’ would lure travellers to visit the country’s picturesque sites, beaches and temples.
But the piece has met some criticism from travellers and viewers who said the video came across as more stalker than cute.