Retail travel is screwed. Hard to say but, after Flight Centre this morning announced it will lose between $825 million and $875 million for the financial year ending June 30, impossible to dispute. Flight Centre has already sacked or stood down thousands of its staff and closed many of its More ...

Sad sight but common sight this morning - a former Helloworld affiliate empty and up for lease in a half-dead shopping centre at Mona Vale on Sydney's northern beaches. It's a scenario endlessly repeating across suburban Australia. Hundreds of 'bricks and mortar' travel agencies have already shut their doors, many More ...

Forget about the Qantas pyjamas. There's a new aviation status symbol in the front end of the plane at 36,000 feet. And it's called a #snood. In a sign of the times, and precursor of what’s to come, Etihad has launched a 'luxury' face mask (dubbed a snood) for its More ...

Booking.com, the world's dominant online travel agent, will restructure its business and shed 25% of staff by the end of this year due to the impact of COVID-19. Up 4500 staff could lose their jobs, though final numbers are still being worked through, according to a US Securities and Exchange More ...

More permanent travel agency closures appear inevitable after the Victorian government ordered all non-essential retailers to shut their doors from Thursday for six weeks as part of its onerous Stage 4 Restrictions. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced the new restrictions in a last-ditch bid to bring the rampant spread of More ...

Fabulous story on the ABC website about how the power of celebrity, social media and stunning imagery from the Hemsworth bothers, Liam and Chris, combined to change the focus on the previously daggy Gympie region just north of Noosa on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Check it out!

It hardly seems possible, but despite all the adverse publicity about cruising and COVID, travellers across Asia-Pacific except Japan consider flying to be the riskier proposition.  More than a third (37%) of respondents to a survey commissioned by Sabre said they believed ''air travel posed the highest risk of infection More ...

Indigenous tourism - a star performer over the past decade - is among the hardest hit sectors of the  Australia's travel industry from COVID border restrictions with a new report revealing its heavy dependence on wealthy international visitors. The Indigenous Tourism Sector Analysis commissioned by Tourism and Events Queensland shows More ...

Last June 3.4 million passengers either arrived or departed from Sydney Airport, Australia's busiest aviation gateway. This June, that number had collapsed to just 174,000 - a precipitous decline of 95%. Most were domestic travellers: 142,000, which is better than May or April, however there is no prospect of a More ...

Helloworld has revealed that 125 of its franchise travel agencies have closed their shops due to the impact of COVID over the past few months.  The Australia and New Zealand retail chain - ASX code HLO - made the revelation when announcing a $50m equity raise of new fully paid More ...

Booking Holdings, Airbnb and the Expedia Group  have formed a regional lobby group called the Asia Travel Technology Industry Association, but it would appear there is something missing.  No Asian-owned companies are listed as members on the ATTIA website, while the entire association executive is drawn from the most senior More ...

Technology will play a key role in the long road to recovery from the COVID crisis for India’s hospitality industry, according to a comprehensive new report, Indian Hospitality at Tech Tipping Point, produced by RMS Cloud. The report reveals that hotels using cloud-based property and revenue management technology have been More ...

People get emotional about aircraft and the looming retirement from the Qantas fleet of the workhorse Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet has got a few people a bit teary, so  Qantas is running three one-hour  flights of nostalgia for aviation buffs and customers. The 747 has been serving Qantas since 1971 More ...

#Webjet had a monthly cash burn rate of $15 million for the June quarter and “nominal” revenue in April/May yet says it sees opportunity in adversity and is open to buying other companies despite the global travel slowdown almost certain to extend well into 2021. Optimistic. MD John Guscic said the More ...

Younger travellers are behind a surge in Australian holiday park bookings  and caravan sales according to an encouraging story on the ABC website. "The Caravan Industry Association of Australia said since the easing of restrictions in recent weeks, every state and territory had experienced a "boom" in caravan sales and More ...

Bain Capital has entered into an agreement to buy Virgin Australia, Australia’s second-largest airline, which entered voluntary administration on April 21.   Virgin Australia Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Paul Scurrah said: “This is a great day for Virgin Australia and a huge milestone as we move forward with More ...

Qantas today announced a total operational and staffing overhaul –  “rightsizing” all aspects of its operation to reflect anticipated long-term reduced demand. It’s part of a three year strategy to “guide recovery and return to growth in a changed market”.  All details contained in following media release: More More ...