Skill up on all you need to know with bite sized travel news designed specifically to help you, the Travel Agent, be your best.
Read on for this week’s travel news that Travel Agents need to know:
1. Hawaiian Airlines is implemented smart bag restrictions
Hawaiian Airlines will no longer accept smart bags containing non-removable lithium ion batteries as checked or carry-on luggage beginning Jan. 15. These batteries have been known to short- circuit, posing a safety risk for airlines.
Smart bags featuring removable batteries may be carried on and stored in the overhead bin as long as they remain turned off for the duration of the flight in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Regulations regarding lithium ion batteries.
Passengers may check a smart bag if its battery has been removed. The detached battery, which must be carried in the cabin, will need to have its terminals isolated to prevent a short circuit.
2. Live chat now available with Wendy Wu Tours
Click and connect in an instant to the experts in Asia travel with the launch of Wendy Wu Tours’ new live chat platform at wendywutours.com.au.
Wendy Wu Tours’ new live chat service allows Agents access to quick answers to their clients’ questions about tours and solve any problems faster. The service will be available during business hours; Mon-Fri 0900-1730 and Sat 0900-1300.
Head of Sales Vara Glover said: “With increasing pressure on Travel Agents’ time, the new live chat feature means that agents can book their clients’ holiday to Asia with “live” support from our experienced reservations consultants. It means that agents can multitask, doing two things at once. It’s just another way that Wendy Wu Tours is always on-hand to support the trade.”
3. YOU’RE INVITED to ‘connect’ with DMS
Committed to collaboration and consistency, DMS Destination Marketing Services serves up its interactive roadshow again in 2018. Providing the events industry with a dynamic showcase in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland, DMS Connect is the market’s only event with an unparalleled volume of DMC experts under one roof.
Targeting leading incentive, event and high-end leisure professionals working in the international travel space, DMS Connect creates a platform for free-flowing interactions with the world’s premier destination management companies. The roadshow also allows attendees the opportunity to win extraordinary prizes showcasing the all-encompassing DMS network of not only DMCs, but partnerships with major airlines, hotel chains and tourism boards.
For those with clients enthused by major sporting events, DMS Connect 2018 will see Travel Russia in attendance sharing their hot tips for the FIFA World Cup 2018; JTBGMT providing the latest on RWC 2019 and the Summer Olympics in 2020 and Lafayette Group highlighting their tailored made programs for the Ryder Cup in Paris 2018.
Connect kicks off in Auckland on Monday 19 March at the Maritime Room; Melbourne on Wednesday 21 March at Metropolis; and Sydney on Thursday 22 March at Doltone House – Jones Bay Wharf.
Click here for more information.
4. World Expeditions adds its weight to fight against Orphanage Tourism
World Expeditions and its school and youth brand, World Youth Adventures, are delighted to announce membership of the Rethink Orphanages Network, an organisation working to prevent the unnecessary institutionalisation of children in developing countries.
Joining Rethink Orphanages’ working party is World Expeditions’ newest initiative in the company’s long standing opposition to the practice of institutionalising children, in which children live in institutions, outside of family-based care.
In 2013, World Expeditions become the first Australian tour operator to remove all instances of orphanage tourism from its programs, when research first revealed a direct relationship between the increase in the number of orphanages in developing nations and the increase in tourism numbers.
World Expeditions Responsible Travel Manager, Donna Lawrence, says she is heartened to see that this very serious human rights issue is gaining traction within the media and that other travel companies are now taking a stand against Orphanage Tourism too.
More information at www.worldexpeditions.com or www.rethinkorphanages.org/ or call 1300 720 000.
5. Sneak Peek at Bunnik Tours’ new Middle East Program
After a hugely successful mega famil, which saw the Bunniks and 45 Agents travel to Egypt in late October, Bunnik Tours’ brand-new 2018/19 touring program for the Middle East has been finalised and the brochure is at the printer.
The upcoming season’s program includes two amazing ‘in-style’ journeys in Egypt and Jordan, as well as 10 classic itineraries through Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey and Kenya.
Book your clients before April 27, 2018 to take advantage of the $250 per person earlybird saving.
Get an early view of the program by clicking here.