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. Hacker uses Virgin’s Twitter page to call Kanye a douche
Virgin Australia may have issued a diplomatic apology, but social media users (particularly Kanye West haters) are applauding the carrier after its Twitter account was hacked yesterday.
Count your blessings Virgin, it’s not everyday an airline is hacked and receives consumer compliments – this might actually be the most positive hacking story in aviation history.
In case you missed it: at around 5.19pm on Tuesday 16 February, a tweet was issued by Virgin Australia’s Twitter account.
2. Molinaro to step down as GM of Uniworld
General Manager of Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection, John Molinaro, has announced his departure from The Travel Corporation (TTC), after eight years with the company and almost 40 years in the cruise industry.
Molinaro will remain with the company until March, with a successor to be announced shortly.
He said he made the decision to “place a greater emphasis on personal life”.
“It has been an immensely enjoyable period leading a tremendous team at one of the most prestigious brands in the travel industry.”
John Molinaro, Uniworld GM
The Travel Corporation Australia CEO John Veitch added that the company was “extremely sorry” to see Molinaro depart.
“During his eight years with us and made an enormous contribution to the growth of Uniworld during this time. We sincerely thank John and wish him and his family all the very best for the future,” he said.
3. Sintack raises its stake in helloworld
Sintack Pty Ltd, the company owned by well known travel industry pair, Irene and Spiros Alysandratos, is now the second largest shareholder of Helloworld Limited after increasing its stake in the company to 19.91 percent.
On 12 February, Sintack purchased 7.2 million shares from two companies – Europe Voyager NV and UBS Australia Holdings.
With the additional shares, Alysandratos’ company is now around 0.6 percent ahead of third largest shareholder, Qantas, but still well below helloworld’s CEO Andrew Burnes and Cinzia Burnes’ 40 percent.
The Alysandratos duo have been involved in Helloworld Limited for some time and in May last year selected Peter Spathis to replace Stephen Bennett as a non-executive director on the board.
4. Travel agents, expect more Hawaii bookings
Travel agents, if you haven’t already seen an increase in Australians booking Hawaii then you should start experiencing a rise in the coming months.
Why? Because Hawaii Tourism Oceania is taking images of its beaches, culture and activities straight to Australian travellers for the first time.
This morning, the tourism bureau launched its first consumer brand campaign in Australia aimed at generating more awareness for the destination and building on the ever-growing number of Aussie visitors.
5. Solid results for CWT
Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) says it has achieved solid financial results for 2015 year despite a challenging economic climate.
For the year, the company welcomed new business sales to US$1.7 billion and stable transactions at 61.4 million.
Overall sales volume reached US$24.2 billion, which CWT sees as a reflection of the “significant curtailment in travel expenses by energy customers”. Excluding the impact of the energy portfolio, transactions increased by 1.3 percent.
The company’s North American transactions increased by 1.1 percent, while in Europe, Middle East and Africa they declined by 1.2 percent. Latin America volume was off 7.8 percent due to the weight of the energy sector and the economic recession in Brazil.
CWT CEO, Douglas Anderson, attributed the company’s strong results to the ongoing focus on enhancing technology offering, the deployment of mobile hotel booking on CWT To Go and the global launch of CWT AnalytIQs.
6. Changes to the ATAS Charter & Code of Conduct
Updates to the ATAS Charter and Code of Conduct have been approved unanimously by the Board of Directors.
The new version of the documents went live on 1 January, with changes designed to ensure it “remains a mark of quality in the travel industry and in the minds of the consumers”, according to AFTA CEO Jayson Westbury.
Among the updates is a new review process for suspended accreditation, which sees the AFTA CEO in charge of assessing any cancelled accreditation when an appeal to be reinstated is submitted. He takes the job away from the subcommittee of the Board.
Further, the nine recommendations adopted by the AFTA Board of Directors from the review have been incorporated into the various governance documents. One of note is the lifting of minimum requirements to training qualifications for consumer facing sales staff within an ATAS accredited agency to 30 percent from the previous 20 percent.
Click here to read over the revised documents.
7. Lindblad isn’t sweating the competition
Lindblad is feeling confident about its place within the adventure cruise market and isn’t breaking a sweat over the rising number of competitors, according to its local boss.
Speaking to KarryOn days before Lindblad’s 50th anniversary last month, the company’s Australia General Manager, Gareth James, said the line is at an advantage because it is the ‘originator’ in the citizen-explorer voyages sector.
In case you didn’t know, Lindblad’s history stretches back to 1966 when founder Lars-Eric Lindblad took the first group of explorers and scientists out to Antarctica aboard the MS Lindblad Explorer.
8. Emergency repairs to commence on Vanuatu’s int’l runway
Vanuatu’s leaders have secured a contract for emergency repairs on the international runway at Bauerfield Airport a few weeks after two airlines suspended services to the destination.
Last month, Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand pulled their flights while Qantas paused its codeshare with Air Vanuatu, citing safety concerns for passengers and staff.
However, last week the Vanuatu government reached an agreement with New Zealand civil contracting company, Fulton Hogan, to commence emergency repair work on 15 March.
The task is expected to be completed within 56 days of signing the contract, which would bring completion date to around 6 April this year.
The cost of repairs is expected to be around AU$1,770,428, however it will resolve the issues that caused airlines to suspend their flights.
Air Vanuatu, Fiji Airways, AirCalin and Solomon Airways have continued flights as normal to Port Vila during this time after conducting their own independent assessments which confirmed the safety of the runway.
9. New & old Venture Holidays in the UK & Europe
Venture Holidays has released its new UK, Europe and Morocco brochure for 2016/17 featuring a new look, old favourites and a range of new content.
Newly added activities and tours include sightseeing in Cambridge and Bletchley Park. There’s also the London Rock Tours visiting sites synonymous with Rock ‘n’ Roll during the ‘Swinging 60s’.
Cruising is a new favourite for the programme, with Norwegian Cruise Lines’ European cruise itineraries featured for the first time.
In Paris travellers can take a guided tour of vintage Paris and the flea market at St Ouen; dinner with a Parisian family; a market visit with a cooking class; a St Germain pastry and chocolate tour; and a private guided tour of Montmartre with dinner and a traditional French cabaret.
10. itravel agents ‘cluster’ in Western Sydney
itravel held its first Cluster Training session 0f 2016, giving all agents the chance to meet and engage with a range of suppliers.
Held in the Elizabeth Room at Mounties Club in Western Sydney, the cluster is set up like a speed-dating process where consultants receive quick product updates, booking tips and destination knowledge.
Representatives at the first cluster were from APT, Etihad, Africa Safari Co., Norwegian Cruise Line, Travel Cube, Trafalgar and Air New Zealand. There was also a Head Office update from Head of Strategic Partnerships, Kim Wudko.
P.S. Need information on California? This the team to talk to
They’re not just an unbelievably attractive bunch with great smiles, they’re some of the most knowledgeable people in Australia regarding anything California.
This week, Gate 7 announced an expansion to its Visit California team to help manage the company’s strong growth into 2016.
Among the new appointments are former Tourism Australia Strategist, Laura Jones, who is the new Account Director; and Kat Wanoa and Phil Haines who are the new Content Manager and Travel Trade Manager.
The three will work with Kristy Meudell, Gate 7’s Director of PR for the past six years, who continues to drive the public relations efforts for Visit California.
“We’re excited about the additional depth of diverse experience we are bringing to our team.”
Jo Palmer, Gate 7 Managing Director
“Our service offering to destinations and iconic tourism products in marketing to the Australian and New Zealand markets is rounding out to become really comprehensive across trade, PR, content, social, events and activations.”
Outside the California team, Gate 7 has also appointed Stefanie Eberhard take the reins as Account Manager at the German National Tourist Office, while Penny Brand is representing a variety of Gate7’s Southern and Northern Californian destinations as Account Manager, including Californian ski destinations (North Lake Tahoe & Mammoth), South Lake Tahoe, Sacramento, Napa Valley and San Diego.
James Cooley joined the agency’s collective of PR Account Managers, looking after a mix of destinations within California including Greater Palm Springs, Huntington Beach, Universal Studios Hollywood and Sonoma County Tourism.
P.P.S: Hawaiian Airlines looks ‘hawt’ in North Bondi
Hawaiian Airlines has taken over North Bondi to sponsor the famous North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club’s iconic surf boats as well as the Rough Water and North Bondi Classic ocean swim races held in January and February.
Competitors go into a random draw for one lucky male and one lucky female to win a trip to Hawaii, courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines.
Click here for more pictures.