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. Something BIG is cooking for tomorrow
KarryOn has the exclusive on some smoking hot news coming tomorrow of a campaign launch we’ve been working hard on with a number of industry partners.
HINT: Watch Sunrise tomorrow morning!
In the meantime, here’s a taste of the big news: What’s red and white in the backyard?
2. Wotif.com set to re-brand next week
Since the $703 million takeover by Expedia Inc. in 2014, iconic Aussie online brand Wotif.com has been peddling hard to maintain itself as a market leader whilst been hit by a drop in sales and US currency.
Now that the migration onto the Expedia technology platform is complete, the next evolution for the brand is almost here with a re-brand coming next week together with the launch of a significant advertising campaign with the new tagline ’The home of holidays’.
The campaign which is the first that Wotif.com has embarked on in years, will feature across TV, Radio, digital and Social Media and aims to firmly re-plant its stake in the ground as Australia and New Zealand’s favourite domestic booking hub.
“In the online marketing area you are going to see Wotif be more aggressive and I have no doubt it is going to turn positive once we put these marketing dollars behind it,” Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told KarryOn yesterday at a lunch in Sydney to celebrate 10 years of Expedia in Australia.
3. Expedia.com.au hits 10 years in Aus
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi speaking yesterday at the 10 year lunch
Expedia.com.au yesterday celebrated 10 years of its operations in Australia at The Sydney Opera House with a lunch in Bennelong Restaurant and KarryOn was there to get all the news.
The event was hosted by Expedia Inc. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, Mark Okerstrom (CFO), Georg Ruebensal (MD Expedia ANZ) and Daniel Finch (MD Wotif Group) who gave an update on the consolidated business and the brands individual journeys to date in Australia.
CEO Khosrowshahi noted that Travel Agents signing up for the TAAP program is “one of the fastest growing areas for the business and one we are very proud of”.
4. Dawn Princess cruises over to P&O
The P&O Cruises Australia team will have one more ship to play around with and agents will have thousands of new P&O beds to sell as Carnival moves Dawn Princess out of the Princess fleet and into P&O.
The move comes one month ahead of the arrival of the company’s highly anticipated two new ships – Pacific Aria and Pacific Dawn – which embody the line’s ‘No Place On Earth‘ tagline with new restaurants, activities and social spaces.
With a total of three new ships plus its existing three vessels – Pacific Jewel, Pacific Dawn and Pacific Pearl – P&O will have six ships in its fleet and some 10,888 beds sailing out of Australia.
5. Jetstar flies to the Cook Islands
Qantas’ budget offshoot, Jetstar, has announced it will start flying to the Cook Islands next year, but Australians will still have to stop by New Zealand to get there.
Starting in March the airline will fly between Auckland and Rarotonga, increasing competition for Air New Zealand, the main carrier currently travelling between the two destinations.
Services will depart Auckland on Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday and return on the same day.
6. Chinese tourists to knock Kiwis out in Aus
Kiwis are set to lose their stronghold as Australia’s number one international market to Chinese travellers sooner than you’d expect, if current trends continue.
New Zealand has topped the list of international arrivals for years, but new predictions suggest the weakened Australian dollar, our proximity to Asia and the steady incline in arrivals from the region, will see tourists from China and Hong Kong overtake Kiwis by as soon as mid-2016.
According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics, Chinese visitors have already starting nudging their way closer to New Zealand figures, with around 953,200 Chinese tourists visiting during the first eight months of the year as well as some 212,400 from Hong Kong.
7. INCENTIVE: Win a trip to the Maldives
To celebrate the release of Wendy Wu Tours new 2016 programs, the tour operator is giving agents the chance to win a five-night package to the Maldives.
To be in the running consultants need to make a booking on one of Wendy’s 2016 Classic, Discovery or Deluxe tours by 31 October and answer in 25 words or less: Outside of the Maldives, what is your favourite NEW Wendy Wu tour/product and why?
The prize includes five nights accommodation at the stunning Centara Ras Fushi Resort & Spa in an over water villa with full board and return airport transfers by speed boat- for both the winner and a guest.
Entries must be emailed to maldivesexperience@wendywutours.com.au with the booking number and passenger’s name.
8. VisitBritain uses a ‘Spectre’ of Bond to attract visitors
The man in the suit with a martini (shaken not stirred) in one hand and a gorgeous woman on the other is back and VisitBritain is cashing in on the popular franchise to entice more travellers to #HomeofBond.
With the 24th Bond movie, SPECTRE, scheduled for release next month, VisitBritain has launched a new ‘Bond is GREAT Britain’ campaign using images and behind the scenes videos to encourage tourists to ‘choose Britain – the home of Bond – for their next holiday’.
Created in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, the campaign will include a mix of outdoor billboards, print, digital and social media in 60 countries around the world, including Australia.
9. Last tickets available for TRAVELtech in Sydney
Get the latest on the ever-changing travel world at TRAVELtech Australia next Thursday at The Sheraton on The Park in Sydney.
There’s a focus on online travel, marketing, distribution and technology plus great networking which will have you leaving with the knowledge and tools to thrive in the year ahead.
With the travel industry in the midst of disruption with brash, well-funded new companies and business models upsetting the status quo there’s no better place to stay informed.
Click here for more information.
10. Helen Wong takes agents to hot new destinations
Smiles were all around as Helen Wong’s Tours lead eleven Australian agents to some of China’s hot destinations.
The special famil to the Sichuan province focused on Chengdu (home of the giant panda) Jiuzhaigou and its scenic alpine region, Huanglong, Dujiangyan and Leshan.
Pictured above are:
Front Row [L-R]: Naomi Liss – Travel Managers; Tracy Cosgriff – Travel Managers; Madelyn Austin – Our Vacation Centre; Kirsty Thomas-Thoeun – MTA; and Jaqueline Johnson – Anywhere Travel.
Back row [L-R]: Linda Critchell – MTA; Christine Gunning – Capital Travel Manuka; James Lochhead – Flight Centre Springwood; Janelle Paton – Escape Travel Willows; Shane Harris – Our Vacation Centre; and Erin Rauchle – Flight Centre Dubbo.
P.S: Uh oh, airline loses CEO’s bag
It’s one thing to lose a passenger’s bag, but what happens when you lose your CEO’s luggage?
Imagine the dread staff felt when their head honcho’s bag went missing while flying with his own airline.
Bradley Tilden, CEO of Alaska Airlines, admitted at a conference this week that his own luggage had been misplaced by his own team.
His bag went missing despite the carrier’s promise of delivering luggage within 20 minutes of a passenger’s arrival at the gate or they receive a $25 credit towards a future flight.
Tilden joked about the situation and did breathe a sigh of relief when his team eventually recovered his piece the next day.