The BridgeClimb brand will live on under new owners Hammons Holdings who won recently won commercial climbing and tourism rights for the Sydney Harbour Bridge. BridgeClimb is the incumbent company and its contract expires at the end of September. In mid-August Hammons Holding bought BridgeClimb’s assets and today confirmed the iconic brand would continue, appointing Scenic […]
Tag: Travel
Accor CEO Sebastien Bazin says business travel down 10% long term
Accor CEO Sebastien Bazin believes business travel will “never return to the new normal” and that in the long term corporate numbers likely sit around 10% less than they were pre-COVID. Short term, until mid-2021, he estimates business travel will be down 25% to 30%. “Longer term, my expectation is going to be it will […]
‘Thredbo’ is not owned by anyone, says Federal Court Judge
The decision by management at the Thredbo mountain resort to own the name ‘Thredbo’ sparked a series of events that backfired spectacularly yesterday when the Federal Court determined they could do no such thing, ruling in favour of businessman Glenn Smith, who operates numerous local accommodation businesses and websites including Thredbo.com. Thredbo, which has been […]
Winners and losers in Tourism Australia restructure
Tourism Australia has announced a major restructure which Managing Director Andrew McEvoy says is aimed at boosting consumer marketing, improving online strategy and execution while giving TA a role in finding new investment for Australian tourism infrastructure. The restructure sees the departure of key executive Richard Beere and strengthens the role of marketing under Nick […]
Viator smashes it: big profit after years of losses
No pain no gain. That could be the mantra at tours and activities business Viator, which has staged an incredible turnaround over the past 12 months due primarily to the hard-headed vision of Dermot Halpin, who has shaken the company up and made it profitable – literally tens of million of dollars in the black – […]
Changes ahead for GDS business model
President and CEO of Abacus, Robert Bailey, admits that the rise and rise of low cost carriers will inevitably lead to changes in the 40-year-old business model of Global Distribution Systems. “Low cost carriers will be a catalyst for change,” Mr Bailey said. “What the change will be I don’t know.” Mr Bailey said low […]
Brendan Murphy believes Australia’s international borders will stay closed for 2021
Australia’s highest profile medical professional, Dr Brendan Murphy, pictured, says he doubts that Australia’s international borders will reopen this year. Dr Murphy acknowledged ABC News Breakfast yesterday it was a “big question” and that “I think that the answer is probably no. “I think that we’ll go most of this year with still substantial border restrictions, even […]
Border openings drive car hire bounce back at Hertz
After a tough year in which demand slumped through COVID by up to 90 per cent, Hertz Asia Pacific boss Eoin MacNeill says demand is bouncing back with the car hire giant starting to rebuild its fleet after cutting it by almost 40 per cent during the height of the pandemic. MacNeill says corporate has […]
Booking fees, questions, lawyers and Webjet
Flight booking fees – now eliminated at Zuji and Expedia – appear to be a sensitive topic at Webjet, which charges up to $49.90 in fees to process international airline bookings ($29.95 processing fee, $19.95 price guarantee), and $29.90 for domestic airfares ($19.95 processing fee, $9.95 price guarantee). Lawyer Paul Zawa from Minter Ellison got in touch with TravelTrends.biz on behalf […]
James Baillie, Co-Founder, Baillie Lodges
James Baillie is a 20-year veteran of high profile Australian luxury lodge properties. Having (almost) grown up on Heron Island, James became the founding managing director for P&O Resorts in the 1998 and steered Australia’s first portfolio of premium experiential properties including Lizard, Bedarra & Wilson Islands and Silky Oaks Lodge. When P&O sold to […]
Hertz cuts Australian fleet by 40%, calls for border openings, launches #backontheroad
Hertz wants to get Australia moving again. Eoin Macneill, Vice President, Hertz Asia Pacific, today called on Australian governments to start opening borders and encouraging travel, revealing a lack of demand has forced the car rental giant to cut its Australian rental fleet by 40 per cent, from 35,000 vehicles to an estimated 20,000 sedans, […]
Chris Hall, Group Managing Director, APT
Chris Hall has been in travel industry for over 25 years. During this time he has held roles in sales, marketing, product development, executive management, and Board positions. His career in the industry has seen him work within the wholesale, retail, touring, and cruising sectors. Along with various roles in the industry Chris also was […]
Back to the future as Flight Centre buys Topdeck
Flight Centre has bought 90% of Topdeck Tours, a company started by FLT founder Graham Turner in 1973. Topdeck Managing Director James Nathan will retain a 10% shareholding in the business. Mr Nathan also runs Back-Roads Touring in which FLT has a 67% stake and will continue to manage both businesses. The deal values UK-based Topdeck Tours at £21.84m. […]
One trick ponies – just 15% of global short term rentals use more than one OTA channel
Check out this Venn diagram from Transparent, which dramatically illustrates how one dimensional the distribution strategies are of most short term rental property managers – just 15% are using a multi-channel strategy – and of course the market dominance of Airbnb. Transparent explains: “In addition to booking power, Airbnb controls the lion’s share of inventory and […]
Rob Smith, Divisional Director, Merlin Entertainments
Rob Smith is the Divisional Director of Merlin Entertainments Australia and New Zealand, the second-largest attraction operator in the world. With over 17 years’ experience in the tourism and attraction industry across Europe, the US and Asia-Pacific, Rob leads the overall management, regional strategies and financial/non-financial responsibilities for Merlin’s 13 attractions in Australia & New […]
Schwartz flies high, invests in Sydney Seaplanes
Just six weeks after Sydney pub baron Justin Hemmes was quoted as a potential buyer of Sydney Seaplanes, hotel mogul Dr Jerry Schwartz has swooped and invested in the business. As part of the investment, Schwartz, an aviation buff, will add two amphibious aircraft he owns to the Sydney Seaplanes fleet, increasing it to six […]