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. Australia is getting a newbuild cruise ship! Oh wait, it’s not & this is why…
How excited were you back in January this year when P&O Cruises announced it was giving Australia its first newbuild cruise ship?
Not like Royal Caribbean sending its recently launched Ovation of the Seas or Seabourn giving us Seabourn Encore for a couple of months (although both very exciting), but here’s a brand spanking new, straight from the factory vessel and it’s all yours Australia.
It was a good day not just for P&O Cruises, but the entire cruise industry because it really emphasised the fast-growing nature of the industry and the demand for a modern ship to sail around our shores year-round.
2. Stop everything – flights to Malaysia are selling from $490 return
Right this very second, it costs more to buy an iPhone, digital camera or even some versions of an iPad than it does to fly to Malaysia and back.
How crazy is that!
Malaysia Airlines is having a ridiculous sale right now whereby travellers who book over the next six days can secure return flights to Kuala Lumpur from $490.
3. Japan backs Qantas with a new campaign
Qantas delivers the flights and Japan’s tourism leaders promise to deliver the travellers with a new marketing campaign targeting the people of Victoria.
Unveiled today to coincide with the launch the Flying Kangaroo’s new direct flights from Melbourne to Narita, Japan National Tourism Organsation’s (JNTO) new radio and digital campaign aims to generate mass awareness of the new route while also showcasing the destination.
The campaign, which goes live from tomorrow, will be heard by Melbourne Radio station Fox 101.9 FM listeners as well as those who access JNTO’s own online channels.
4. The Travel Authority sticks with Helloworld
The Travel Authority has re-signed with helloworld for business for the next three years with the decision underpinned by the group’s unique value proposition.
Managing Director Peter Hosper said The Travel Authority Group was delighted to be continuing its partnership with helloworld for business, and said no other group has offered the full range of value-adds and benefits.
“There is nothing like helloworld for business on the market to help our company meet our business objectives and support our ongoing growth,” he said.
5. We took a quick tour of Ovation of the Seas & found these cool things
Oh hey, in case you missed the Today Show live broadcast, the dozens of articles and hundreds of social media posts – Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas is in Sydney.
The vessel arrived early yesterday morning, a year-and-a-half after the cruise line first announced the third Quantum-class ship for Australia.
Some 5,000 passengers were on the monster cruise ship when she sailed in, and despite the rainy weather, most cruisers were keen to see inside the Opera House, take pictures of the iconic Harbour Bridge and inject over $3.3 million in passenger spend.
6. INCENTIVE: Garuda’s launches $25 gift card incentive
Sell a Garuda Indonesia flight and receive a $25 Eftpos Gift Card.
The carrier has launched a new incentive for Travel Agents ahead of Christmas, which will see every consultant receive a $25 Eftpos Gift Card for every ticket sold.
The incentive is available on flights departing Australia in February or March 2017.
Agents simply need to issue tickets between 15 December 2016 and 31 March 2017 and email their details along with PNR and ticket number to incentives@garuda-indonesia.net.au.
7. Earn 15% commission when you book…
The Rembrandt Hotel in Bangkok is offering Australian conference organisers 15 percent commission on the entire conference and accommodation cost for residential conferences held in 2017.
Conveniently located just off bustling Sukhumvit Road, the Rembrandt offers conference space for small board meetings and up to 800 guest cocktail parties. The hotel can also provide space in various layouts and for smaller events, smartly appointed boardrooms for business meetings that seat up to 12 participants.
To take advantage of this offer please quote “Roam ANZ” when requesting pricing and information. Email catering@rembrandtbkk.co for more information.
8. Europcar’s top seller is…
DriveAway Holidays New South Wales BDM Blake Wiggins has won a A$100 VISA Gift Card in a promotion run by Europcar.
The prize was part of an incentive Europcar ran to increase awareness and sales for Interrent in New Zealand by members of DriveAway’s sales team.
Blake won for a solid growth on Europcar’s Interrent sales in NSW for New Zealand.
9. Resource is sponsoring TIME
Rapidly emerging outsourcing hub – Resource – has secured a sponsorship with the Travel Industry Mentor Experience (TIME).
Maxine Wiggs, the head of Resource, said: “Resource is powered by a stable of energetic freelancers skilled at just about anything you can think of”.
“We have team members completing projects and tasks, filling resource gaps, and bringing new thinking to businesses right across the travel industry. It’s a real buzz watching them work and help workplaces test ideas, ramp up their social, analyse their current marketing, run workshops and the like.
“We see a similar dynamic in the TIME program: Smart cookies collaborating, testing ideas and themselves, affecting personal and professional change. We are thrilled to be part of it”.”
TIME is currently seeking applicants of its 25 intake of mentees commencing on 22 February 2017 – a significant milestone for a program founded in 2009. In that time, TIME has accelerating the leadership paths of 150 graduates from more than 60 travel, tourism and hospitality businesses.
Interest parties should contact Marie via email time@travelindustrymentor.com.au.
10. PCOs discover the beauty of Oman
A group of Australian PCOs were flown to Oman with Etihad Airways and treated to a tour of the Sultanate with Oman Tourism.
During the day, the group absorbed Muscat’s major cultural and architectural sites such as the Grand Mosque, The Mutrah Souk and even a little golf. There was a bit of dolphin-watching and snorkelling at Bander Khayran as well as a visit to the Oasis city of Nizwa.
By night, PCOs enjoyed high-end accommodation with stays at the Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa as well as the Anantara Al Jabel Al Akhdar Resort.
11. This is how Travel Counsellors thank their suppliers
Off the back of last year’s successful event, Travel Counsellors recently thanked trusted partners and suppliers with another exclusive, pre-Christmas cocktail party. Held earlier this month in Melbourne’s luxe Blackman Hotel Penthouse, the attendees enjoyed views of Albert Park while catching up over drinks and canapes.
More than 45 suppliers joined the Travel Counsellors Head Office team to not only reflect on the wins of the last year, but catch up on their lives outside of work.
Described as an intimate event, Travel Counsellors’ Managing Director, David Hughes, said supplier relationships are a big part of the company’s success, which is why the home-based group prides itself on building strong relationships with reliable suppliers and products.
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