Skill up on all you need to know with bite sized travel news designed specifically to help you, the Travel Agent, be your best today and tomorrow.
1. The one US destination Agents keep underestimating
“Travel Agents don’t realise what they’re going to get here until they come and experience it.”
The USA generally gets a good rap from Australian Travel Agents, whether they’ve travelled to the country or not. There’s enough information out there to give them an overall impression of the various states and cities without making the journey across the Pacific (although there’s nothing quite like experiencing something in person).
Except when it comes to this one spot.
2. Cambodia introduces dress code for Angkor Wat
Travellers who don’t dress ‘appropriately’ for the Cambodia’s religious site, Angkor Wat, will be refused entry, according to new reports.
Commencing from 4 August, overseers of the religious monument, Apsara Authority, will enforce a strict dress code to ensure visitors are respecting the “temple’s sanctity”.
Women will either have to wear pants or skirts below the knees, while no singlets or tank tops will be permitted, with all shirts required to cover the shoulders, The Australian reported.
3. WIN a trip to Rio with Helloworld Volleyroos
![shutterstock_421013719[1]](http://karryon.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/shutterstock_4210137191.jpg "The Daily Travel Agent Bite: Fri 8 Jul 30")
Helloworld aren’t just going to Rio with Australia’s basketball team, they’re also heading there with our volleyball team, helloworld Volleyroos, and they want to take two lucky people with them.
Entries for the trip of the lifetime are open now, and consumers have one week to enter the competition before it ends on 15 July 2016.
Click here to enter now. Winners will receive two return flights to Rio with Qantas Airways, seven nights accommodation in Rio de Janeiro, a dinner with Sydney 2000 Gold medallist Kerri Pottharst as well as special functions with Volleyball Australia in Rio.
4, P&O Cruise’s new ship is like Aria & Eden, but better
Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden may have launched the new, sophisticated era for P&O Cruises’, but Pacific Explorer will be the ship to really drive the cruise line’s evolution when she sets sail next year.
Speaking at the unveiling of the vessel in Sydney last night, P&O’s President, Sture Myrmell, described Explorer as the “next step” in the line’s progression, which includes more passenger capacity, extra dining spaces and new, exciting activities.
“Adding Eden and Aria expanded the company’s national footprint by providing opportunity to homeport across the country,” he said.
5. Travel Counsellors get ‘appy’ with customers
Travel Counsellors is giving its consultants a new way of connecting with their clients through the launch of the company’s first consumer app ‘my TC’.
Unveiled this month, the app is available through the Apple Store and Google Store. It provides leisure and corporate customers with instant access to travel information, itineraries and travel documents, as well as offering constant contact with the customer’s Travel Counsellor if required, reflective of the company’s focus on making the experience as personalised as possible.
Rob Snelson, IT Director at Travel Counsellors, said the company is “excited about the launch of my TC”.
6. Club Med plans to open Ski Resort in Tomamu
Club Med continues its expansion across Asia’s popular ski areas with the announcement of a new resort in Japan’s Tomamu, Hokkaido. The property will compliment the group’s China-based ski resort Club Med Beidahu slated to open in November this year.
According to the company, the expansion of ski resorts in Asia signifies a marked move by Club Med to remain a global leader in ski resorts and the premium ski holiday experience.
Club Med Tomamu Hokkaido will offer guests a plethora of activities and will be located only 30 minutes away from existing Club Med Sahoro Hokkaido.
7. AAT Kings hits the high note with this funky new coach
AAT Kings has ripped the seats from one of its coaches and replaced them with lounges and a piano as part of new, musical way to sell more tours.
The retro-fitted AAT Kings coach aka the First Mobile Piano Bar will travel up and down the East Coast of Australia, parking at Agencies and urging consumers to hop on board for a bit of karaoke before booking a holiday.
Hitting the road earlier this week. the coach will travel to over 30 regional and coastal towns over the next four weeks including stops in Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide plus a number of places in between, from Ballina to Bairnsdale and Toowoomba to Traralgon.
8. California heats up with MasterChef Australia
California’s famed culinary offerings and renowned wine regions will be front of mind for thousands of Australian TV viewers, as MasterChef Australia travels across the Pacific for a week of episodes.
The top seven contestants will be encouraged to dream big as they cook their way through the Golden State, visiting San Francisco, the Napa Valley, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and San Diego thanks to Visit California and Qantas.
Joining the MasterChef Australia judges across the week are some of the most respected chefs in the US including two-starred Michelin chef Dominique Crenn; wine maker Phillippe Bascaules and head chef Alex Lovick; food truck aficionado and chef from Guerilla Tacos, Wes Avila; and Curtis Stone who opens the doors of his LA restaurant, Maude, where three contestants will battle it out to stay in the competition.
Click here for a sneak peek at ‘California Week’.
9. Big congratulations to Exchange Me
Royal Caribbean and Creative Cruising surprised Laura Kostouros in-store at Exchange Me in Bardwell Park, NSW with her Top Achiever prize in the RCL and Creative Cruising May incentive.
Laura was delighted to win a Royal Caribbean International cruise of her choice. Exchange Me specialises in corporate travel and school groups, such as themed sport and language tours.