Qantas today announced engine reliability was a major factor in choosing the Airbus 350-1000 over the Boeing 777X for Project Sunrise – regular, non-stop commercial flights from the east coast of Australia (Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne) to London and New York – should it proceed. More
Researching this story for The Hotel Network was a real eye opener. Learned of one Road Warrior who booked an incredible 168 stays last financial year – that’s more than three a week. Meanwhile, there’s generational change with Millennials on the charge and hotels rolling out new accommodation models as a result. See full story.
We punch above our weight. That was the underdog mantra underpinning last week’s Tourism Australia briefing in Sydney. More
Now that Expedia Group Chairman Barry Diller (pictured) has sacked CEO Mark Okerstrom and CFO Alan Pickerill, taking control of the company, what will be the first thing he does? I think it will be to cut costs. More
Call it the Airbnb or Uber moment for holiday parks. Disruption has finally arrived in the sector – but with a twist. Established operators are facing increased competition from lightly or unregulated competitors, that are often free and operated by the councils they pay rates to. As you can imagine, there is friction. More
WTF is going on at Virgin Australia? Lovely staff, erratic product. For mine, VA is the Forrest Gump of airlines – as in, life’s like a box of chocolates “because you never know what you’re gonna get”.
If all you’ve got is price, what do you do to soften your image? More
It’s annual results season. Australian business travel giants Corporate Travel Management and Flight Centre have reported strong market share gains in a sector that Qantas, the nation’s dominant airline, today described as flat. Who are they taking share from? Full story.
This week the Australian dollar crashed to a 10-year low against the US dollar and there’s no bounce in sight as Donald Trump and Xi Jinping go head to head in a damaging trade war. What does this mean for travel and how can you prepare for the turmoil ahead? Full Story.
Business travellers wear smart clothes, travel in planes, stay in hotels with marble lobbies and have important meetings in glass-encased towers. Don’t they? More
When will it end? That’s the question some are asking about the global boom in serviced apartments, but the sector’s steep growth trajectory shows no sign of slowing with development pipelines in key markets such as Europe expanding, invigorated by the arrival of new brands and concepts. More
Vail Resorts now owns three out of the five major Australian ski fields following its acquisition of Mount Hotham and Falls Creek for $174 million from Merlin Entertainments last week.
MoreThe old saying goes that loyalty must be earned not bought. Lovely sentiment but one that is unfortunately not generally applicable these days.
More
New Executive Chairman Bob East has cleared the decks at Experience Co Ltd, with the company today downgrading its profit forecast and announcing the departure from executive ranks of its CEO Anthony Ritter and Founder/Managing Director Anthony Boucaut (Bowie).
MoreGeneva – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic results for 2018 showing that demand (revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) rose by a healthy 6.5% compared to full-year 2017.
MoreWhen Sue and Roger Humphris arrived in Beechworth a dozen years ago to run their first business together, it was just them, the kids and a sprawling 10 acre caravan park in the Victorian high country.
MoreLeading Australian travel business Concierge Travel Group has been bought by UK based corporate & event travel company Reed & Mackay. The sale includes the following brands: Concierge Business Travel, Concierge Traveller, Alquemie, Elegant Resorts & Villas, Freighter Expeditions.
MoreQueenstown, New Zealand’s leading international holiday destination, had the highest hotel room rates in Oceania through 2018, displacing perennial front-runner Sydney, which is still strong but adjusting to the competitive impact of numerous new properties.
MoreAcross the world there’s been crazy weather these past few weeks. But in the Swiss and French Alps it has been business as usual this winter. Snow, sunshine, alpine sport and spectacular scenery. I took these shots while travelling in Verbier and Chamonix, two of the world’s iconic mountain towns, in the second half of January. Get there of you can. And now, unfortunately, it’s back to work…
Hospitality has a multitude of moving parts but is, at its heart, a deceptively simple business, says Peter Bacon, GM of Bannisters Port Stephens.
“If you get the basics of hospitality right then everything flows from there.” More
Lawyers are supposed to protect the reputations of their clients, not trash them. But it looks like someone forget to tell the highly-paid legal eagles representing Expedia in Australia, who’ve inadvertently done a hatchet job on the credibility of once-iconic Australian subsidiary Wotif.com. More
Captain Cook Cruises has launched AHOY, Australia’s first ‘ferry hailing’ app. The first on-demand route started yesterday and covers Elizabeth Bay to Garden Island and Circular Quay in Sydney for a cost of $7.50, much cheaper than a cab, Uber or water taxi.
“Like popular ride sharing services, AHOY allows customers to locate their ferry, hail a ride and then track the ferries journey and time until it arrives, More
Blanket claims by low cost carrier Jetstar that “some fares were not refundable, and that consumers could only get a refund if they purchased a more expensive fare” may cost the airline $1.95 million. More
Ovolo Hotels is spending $5 million on its (relatively) new Canberra property, Ovolo Nishi, building 17 new rooms and revitalising the Monster Bar + Kitchen.
The new wing, designed by by Luchetti Krelle, will be finished by mid-2019. The fast-growing company is based in Hong Kong and has six Ovolo properties in Australia with more to come. More
Demographer Bernard Salt says the future is looking good for Australia’s holiday parks as the two most populous age groups – the Millennials and Baby Boomers – move into the sector’s sweet spot, albeit with very different intentions.
For the Millennials, it’s a family and mortgage thing.
“Millennials will be the fastest-rising demographic over the next 10 years,” says Salt. Nothing new in that but this time around they will be people in their 30s and 40s with kids. More
Tourism Australia (TA) predicts almost 8000 new hotel rooms will open in Australia next year following a bullish 2018 during which 56 new properties offering 6000 rooms opened around the country. More
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My name is Martin Kelly and I run Travel Trends, a content, marketing, research and strategy consultancy for travel businesses.
I help travel companies improve their positioning, communications, stakeholder engagement and public relations through content-led strategic initiatives.
Typically I develop a multi-tier approach including stories/blog posts, newsletters, media releases, white papers, reports and events - all designed to better connect business with their customers.
Often, my clients have neglected their marketing communications so I work with them to create credible positioning and messaging to ensure a solid, relevant platform before embarking on outreach.
I am also a respected travel industry analyst, contributing to Phocuswright's regional research reports while representing them as a speaker at events in Australia and overseas.
In terms of background, I started the Travel Trends website to support the No Vacancy and TRAVELtech conferences, which I founded and ran for many years before selling in 2016.
I've kept the site going as an example of my work and still file the occasional story.
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