Nimbin often gets portrayed as a drug-infested town, full of deat-beats, stoners and all sorts of undesirables. However, Jay Gentile had a different opinion, which he shares in Nimbin - Australia's Utopia
Australia is the top destination in the region for travellers with Visa cards followed by Thailand and Hong Kong.From Chinese travelers pay with plastic
Chinese are heading to Australia and charging an average of $253 bucks every time they pull out the plastic.
Around 1,000 Australians have flown to Bangalore just to be part of the test matches and completely soak themselves in the cricket culture. The City�s star hotels are booked and pubs are making hay after sunset. Three different tour operators have brought the Aussies to India in groups.From Aussie fans go pub-crawling
Gotta love cricket!
Promo time! For the past few months, I've been working on the Australia Guide. It has a bunch of info - there are articles on everything from visas to transportation options to city highlights. Go check it out and if you see anything that you think should be added, let me know! (court at bootsnall d-o-t com)
This hilarious story, Shortcut Mechanics, serves as a good reminder of why you should prepare when you're heading 'off-road' in the outback.
California, which attracts more foreign visitors than any other state except Florida, is reaping the benefits of the turnabout. The number of overseas visitors to California increased 21% during the first six months of this year, led by travelers from Japan and Australia.From Foreign Visitors Venture Back
You have to register to read the article - but I'll save you the hassle and sum it up. With the exception of Middle Eastern travellers, the number of visitors to California is on the upswing, especially those from those countries listed above.
Sydney has some of the world's best bars, at least, according to a whisky manufacturer.
"American universities are facing significant increased competition for the top international students from institutions such as Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada," he said. "The number of Chinese and Indian students going to universities in Australia last fall was up 25 percent. Great Britain saw a rise in Chinese and Indian students of 36 and 16 percent respectively."From Voice of America
It's no wonder that international students are deciding to head to Oz and other places instead of the U.S. With visa restrictions and the way the government oversteps civil liberties (Patriot Act anyone?), I'd go somewhere else too.
"If it goes well, we�d love to have one based in Australia, Japan, Europe, and based in South Africa, or Africa somewhere," Branson stated.From Space.Com
Australia looks to get its own launching point for private space travel.
One of the strongest line-ups of travel technology leaders ever assembled in Australia will address the fourth TRAVELtech Conference in Sydney on November 10.From Travel BizThis year�s conference will focus on technology companies� current drive to expand content, while also looking at trends in distribution and online travel.
"We anticipate that most people flying on Tiger Airways are either Singaporean or Thai or noncitizens who live in either country," Tiger spokesman Patrick Keenan said.From New budget airlines are fueling bargains on air travel within Asia
If you're heading to SE Asia, make sure to check out Tiger Airways for inter-region flights.
Our most recent work was a report entitled "Successful Tourism Destinations". France, Ireland, Australia, Barbados, Costa Rica, Jamaica, South Africa, Singapore, Dubai, Thailand and Mauritius were singled out. We discovered that 25 factors are responsible for their success, such as good governance, safety and security, having a recognizable identity and a national carrier.From A new approach to tourism management
An interview that doesn't have a lot to do with Oz, but it's interesting to see the countries the study grouped together.
One of the most popular ways to explore Cable Beach is on the back of a camel. Three companies operate rides that last up to an hour. Be prepared - the starting point of the tours is down at the "clothing optional" end of the beach, and you'll likely get a view or two of the "full-body tan" preferred by some Australians and tourists.From Australia's coastal, laid-back Broome sweeps cares awayThe undulating camel ride can be a bit hard on your personal down under, but it's a great experience to write home about.
Awesome write up on an area most Australians don't even get a chance to visit.
Travelers 50 and older continue to be the primary purchasers of luxury travel. They also prepare by spending more than their juniors on cameras and other photo equipment.From Travelers' picks to click: The best spots for photosThey're preparing for their dream destinations. The surveys found that photo buffs' top travel goals are Hawaii, Alaska and Australia. Results also showed their favorite subjects, from nature to people, with USTOA members suggesting some of the great destinations where those photographic themes can be found.
Sorry, gotta register for this one, but basically all they're saying is that Australia has a lot of pretty places to photograph.
Travellers arriving from 27 "visa waiver" nations overnight had to undergo two digital index-finger scans and have their photographs taken before clearing immigration portals.From Tighter US Entry Checks BeginThe new procedures apply to nearly two dozen European countries such as Britain, France and Germany as well as Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and Brunei. It extends a programme started in January that requires people arriving in the United States with visas to have their pictures and fingerprints taken.
I can't wait for more governments to start doing it to Americans in retaliation.
The Qantas Aussie Air Pass, starting from an incredible USD$999, gives American travelers three bonus domestic flights within Australia when they fly from the US to Australia with Qantas.From Air Pass Makes Oz Easy
Considering that you can grab flights from the US West Coast for under USD$700, Australia is rapidly becoming more affordable - at least, to get to.
"For the third time, you have voted Australia your favourite country in the world. You are particularly fond of the warm climate (92.33) and boundless scenery (93.29), but there is little about the country you don't like: it scored above 90 in six out of 10 criteria, only falling down on culture (a sheepish 73.42)."
From CN Traveller
I think Australia has plenty of culture - if you're from an English speaking country (like a majority of the participants in this survey), I think you just need to spend a little longer there to realize all the subtle differences.