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Thurs 23 July: 10 travel news stories you need to know today

We’ve done all the hard work, so you don’t have to! Read on for the top ten travel news stories we think you need to know today.

We’ve done all the hard work, so you don’t have to! Read on for the top ten travel news stories we think you need to know today.

1. Langham works with investigators

The Langham Melbourne

The Langham Melbourne is working closely with the Australian health department to trace the cause of a recent food poisoning outbreak.

During the weekend of 11 and 12 July around 77 people reportedly fell ill after attending a high tea at the hotel’s Aria Bar & Lounge.

Of those guests, around 44 were sent to the hospital with a suspected case of salmonella poisoning – six are said to have been sent to the emergency room for treatment, Herald Sun reported.

Read on

 

2. Bali update

Both Virgin Australia and Jetstar have resumed flights to Bali today.

Virgin Australia confirmed it will operate additional daytime flights between Australia and Bali in order to move affected guests.

However, the majority of services will experience a delay of up to one hour.

Jetstar also confirmed its Boeing 787 is back on the route today to take travellers to and from the destination.

 

3. Qantas heads back to the Sunshine Coast

travel news Sunshine Coast

Qantas announced it will resume flights between Sydney and the Sunshine Coast – the third retired route to be re-added to the airline’s network this month.

The announcement was made today and comes less than two weeks after reinstating flights on the popular Perth to Singapore route and revealing plans to relaunch direct services between Sydney and San Francisco.

Qantas originally stopped flying to the Sunshine Coast in 2004, when it handed the flights over to its low-cost subsidiary Jetstar.

Read on

 

4. Tourism Aus, Expedia aim to move online bookings

travel news Tourism Australia

Tourism Australia is going after the online travel market through a new multi-million dollar partnership with Expedia.

The agreement is the first official partnership between the bureau and an online travel agency.

According to Tourism Australia’s Managing Director, John O’Sullivan, it comes after seeing an increase in bookings to Australia coming through online agencies such as Expedia.

Read on

 

5. Qantas Holidays adds instant purchases

ebook-travelzoo-KarryOn

Qantas Holidays and Viva! Holidays have reworked their reservation system to include easyway – an instant purchase functionality.

This means, the company’s wholesale brands can now offer new dynamic content sources to agency partners for inclusion when packing holiday solutions.

Holiday components booked via the instant purchase rates will remain valid for 10 minutes during which time they must be paid for, either via credit card or enett on easyway after which the booking will update automatically to show a confirmed and paid segment.

So far, the purchase has ACCOR’s “Hot Deals” for immediate sale.

Over time, Qantas Holidays will release further instant purchase rates that will be available online and offline, with a key focus on destinations such as UK & Europe, Asia & USA.

“These rates further allow our partners to remain competitive in an increasingly online and dynamic environment.”

Peter Egglestone, Qantas Holidays and Viva! Holidays MD of Wholesale Brands

 

6. Amadeus’ new appointment + acquisition

Amadeus APAC

Amadeus in the Asia-Pacific region has a new leader, as Albert Pozo is appointed President of the region.

The announcement comes only hours after the technology company revealed the acquisition of Netherlands-based Itesso, a provider of cloud-native property management systems.

Albert, who takes office from 3 August 2015, will direct Amadeus’ corporate strategy for Asia Pacific, focusing on distribution and new business areas such as rail, hotel, payments and venture investments.

Read on

 

7. Princess Cruises brings Curtis Stone onboard

Curtis Stone

Royal Caribbean has Jamie Oliver; P&O has Luke Mangan; Holland America has Mark Best; and now Princess Cruises has Curtis Stone.

The battle for the best food at sea is really heating up as Princess becomes the latest line team up with a celebrity chef.

A new partnership signed this week will see the esteemed restaurateur set up a new specialty restaurant concept and menu onboard the line’s 18-ship fleet.

Read on

 

8. NTIA 2015 winners: Amadeus’ success story

travel news Amadeus 2

Regular updates to existing product and innovative new tech is the reason Amadeus’ solution was named Best Travel Agent Technology at this year’s NTIA Awards.

Speaking to KarryOn, MD Amadeus IT Pacific, Tony Carter, said by listening to customers the technology has successfully developed a winning-solution that ‘goes beyond any other solution in the market’.

Read on

 

9. A Star Alliance welcoming

Star Alliance feature

At a special ceremony held at Guarulhos International Airport this week, the Star Alliance member carriers welcomed their newest member, Avianca Brasil.

Speaking at the event, Mark Schwab, CEO Star Alliance said adding the airline to the network was an ‘important step’ to enhancing the Alliance’s proposition in Latin America.

“Brazil is the most important aviation market on the continent and we are pleased that from today onwards, we can once again offer domestic connections in Brazil.”

Mark Schwab, Star Alliance CEO

Star Alliance feature 2

Avianca Brasil is the fastest growing airline in Brazil, with an increase in market share between 2010 to 2014  from 2.6 percent to 8.4 percent

Further growth is predicted as Avianca Brasil and the other Star Alliance carriers serving the country will connect more passengers through the main Brazilian hubs in São Paulo – Guarulhos, Rio de Janeiro – Galeão and Brasilia.

 

10. Scenic explores the Rhine & Moselle with Getaway

Scenic

Tune in to Getaway over the next three weeks as David Reyne joins Scenic on a luxury Europe river cruise along the romantic Rhine and Moselle rivers.

The Nine Network will be screening three full half hour episodes on Saturday 25 July, 1 and 8 August.

With Scenic, David explores the historic streets and canals of Amsterdam, the starting point of this 15 day cruise on board Scenic Opal.

The cruise will take David down the Rhine to Belgium to visit Bruges; the pretty Dutch town of Veere, which he explores by e-bike; and the cities of Nijmegen and Maastricht.

The following week the host ventures to Germany, stopping in the city of Duisburg for an industrial coal mine excursion and picturesque Cochem, situated on the banks of the Moselle.

The last installment of David’s river cruise sees a visit to Heidelberg and Neiderworld Monument in Rudesheim.. The episode finishes off with a tasty visit to Mittelbergheim in the Alsace wine region and a walk through the Black Forest of Breisach.

What are your thoughts on today’s travel news stories?