Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy said Australia had finished ahead of Italy, New Zealand, Thailand and the United States and confirmed the country’s continued desirability among the Brits as a preferred holiday destination.

Mr McEvoy said that although the UK had suffered through some tough economic times in the past few years, the award demonstrated the “enduring appeal” that Australia holds for Britons.

“The timing couldn’t be much better either, with between 20,000 and 25,000 avid rugby fans from the UK set to hit our shores in the next few weeks for the eagerly awaited British and Irish Lions Tour. Together with the Ashes cricket series, starting in November, we’re expecting to see a big bounce-back in UK arrivals over the next 12 months.”

He went on to say that it was a great win for Australia, in one of our most important markets.

The UK remains one of Australia’s most established and largest source markets for international visitors, delivering 593,600 visitors in 2012 spending in A$2.9 billion. The Tourism 2020 strategy estimates that the UK market has the potential to grow to between A$5.5 billion and $6.7 billion in overnight expenditure by 2020.

The post Brits put Australia at number one appeared first on Travel Monitor.

Philip Wolf, founder and retired chairman, PhoCusWright, will moderate the panel with leaders of major travel suppliers including David Kong, president and CEO, Best Western; Michael Batt, founder and chairman, Travel Leaders Group; and Steve Singh, CEO and chairman of the board of directors, Concur.

The Luminaries of Travel CEO Panel brings together industry leaders who demonstrate the power of value creation through branding and technology to challenge traditional business travel approaches. These luminaries will tackle tough questions and discuss the risks and opportunities facing the future of business travel.

The post GBTA announces Luminaries of Travel CEO Panel appeared first on Travel Monitor.

One-way economy fares to Christchurch start from $217 and $392 return, while business class fares start from $722 one way and $1,402 return.

Emirates flies daily to Auckland from Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, and to Christchurch from Sydney.

These special fares are valid for travel for sale until 26 May. Valid for business class departures from 29 May until 30 November 2013. Blackout periods apply for economy class travel.

For more information visit www.emirates.com/au.

Read on for terms and conditions.

Terms and conditions:

·         Ticketing and sales between now and 26 May 2013 only

·         Valid for departures in economy class from 23 May – 19 September and 2 October – 30 November 2013

·         Valid for departures in business from 29 May – 30 November 2013

·         Economy class surcharges apply for Friday and Saturday departures.

·         Fees for changes and cancellations apply

·         Seats and class are subject to availability at time of booking

*The inclusive taxes and surcharges quoted are correct at 17 May 2013. These may vary slightly over the travel period.

The post Great deals on skiing NZ with Emirates appeared first on Travel Monitor.

Gourmet Getaway tour – local markets

Absolutely Abruzzo Tours offers personally guided tours of the stunning Abruzzo region of Italy. With tour groups no larger than 12 people, this allows you to discover new friendships and enjoy a nurturing experience. Best of all, Abruzzo is a safe environment making for a relaxing and much more enjoyably journey.

Absolutely Abruzzo Tours co-owner Luciana Masci said she created new tours just for women tours because of the many enquiries she had received.

“We’ve been taking people on tour in Abruzzo for several years now and each year I see an increasing amount of women travelling on their own or with girlfriends.

“These are women of all ages and from around the world and based on the amount of interest we thought we would set up some experiences with a more female slant,” Masci said.

“I haven’t met a girl who doesn’t love hanging out with her friends, sharing food and wine, travelling, and having a wonderful time and that’s what we plan to offer with these new tours,” she added.

With Absolutely Abruzzo Tours, guests experience guided walks through stunning mountain scenery, hands-on Italian regional cooking with village women using authentic recipes passed down through generations, shopping at outdoor fresh food markets, visits to centuries-old frescoes in quiet medieval churches, private operatic performances in centuries-old monasteries and above all get to share the Italian love of great food,
wine and culture.

Day tours and custom tours are also available upon request.

Contact Absolutely Abruzzo Tours on info@absolutelyabruzzo.com or freecall 1800 641 136.

For further information on tours available through Absolutely Abruzzo Tours visit www.absolutelyabruzzo.com
.

The post Holiday goddesses … tours just for women in Italy appeared first on Travel Monitor.

Huddleston believes hotel groups can increase revenue simply by augmenting static images with video.

“It’s no longer good enough just to go to a web page and see a few photos – there’s an expectation there’ll be video there as well. People want that ‘inspire me, inform me’ element and video is key. We say it’s still not too late to be early in video.”

Huddleston added that “In the States, 25 per cent of YouTube views are now on handhelds,” which illustrates how appealing the moving picture is over still photography.

Food for thought for travel companies …. make the content dynamic and appealing and the results could be surprisingly good.

The post Google travel head says add more video content appeared first on Travel Monitor.

Paradise Bay offers a blend of eco and luxury, and hosts a maximum of eighteen guests at any one time. It’s a romantic getaway – couples only, with no day visitors, mobile phones or internet. The resort has a private catamaran or fast ‘rib’ boat, allowing guests to explore the Whitsundays in comfort.

For more information visit www.paradisebay.com.au

The post Whitsundays resort to re-open appeared first on Travel Monitor.

Managing director Jackie Charlton said the cruise liner was interested in entering the key market very soon.

“We have been looking at this for some time and working out the possible connections to the island resorts,” Ms Charlton said in a statement.

“We have been approached by people in Malolo and Yasawa but have resisted as it has never been our line of business but we are in shipping so it will not be difficult to expand into a ferry operation.”

She said for the time being, the shipping company would limit its services to Malolo and the Mamanuca islands.

“But if demand to go to the Yasawa Group becomes strong then we will look at it.”

The post Captain Cook Cruises eyes Fiji island transfers appeared first on Travel Monitor.

The resort had to score 9 or more out of 10 from over 250 reviews, have a significant community or environmental program and have received at least three major industry awards in the past year, in order to be on the list. 

The awards have singled out 33 “outstanding properties across Asia Pacific” and only four Fiji hotels made the cut.

Reviews on HotelsCombined are aggregated from over 27 million reviews from multiple travel and review sites. Hotels are ranked out of a potential score of 10 – so achieving a score of 9 or higher is quite a feat.

The post Castaway Island on a winning streak appeared first on Travel Monitor.

Haiti, Saudi Arabia: Reconsider your need to travel

Colombia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama: High degree of caution

The post DFAT travel advisories appeared first on Travel Monitor.

AFTA chief Jayson Westbury congratulated all nominees and finalists and thanked the industry for once again getting behind the awards.

“Peer recognition is such an important measure of success and it’s great to see such strong ongoing industry support for the awards.  The calibre of nominees is again extremely high this year so well done to all of our nominees and best of luck to our finalists.”

The panel of judges, selected for their wealth of experience and industry knowledge across a range sectors, will determine the winners.

“There is no doubt that the judges have a tough job ahead of them,” Mr Westbury said. “Not only will they be analysing the most deserving winners, the judges will be selecting half of the 33 category winners from finalist presentations, which will begin soon.”

Click here to view a video detailing the ‘top 5 tips’ for the finalist presentations.

Join in the conversation on Twitter @AFTAOfficial

The post AFTA announces 2013 National Travel Industry Awards finalists appeared first on Travel Monitor.