Looking for somewhere different to escape Canadian winter? With the seasons upside-down Down Under, December to March is high summer in Australia. So throw off the parkas and pack your sunscreen with three new packages from $1,949.From Tourism Australia Offers Three New Packages to Canadian Travelers
What about the U.S. winter????
AN outback horror movie inspired by Australia's notorious backpacker murders has been selected for competition at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.From Murder flick lands Sundance roleMade for less than $2 million, Wolf Creek draws on the grisly crimes of Ivan Milat and the disappearance of British backpacker Peter Falconio.
*shudder*
The number of overseas visitors to Australia during fiscal 2003/04 rose nine per cent to 5,057,200, breaking the previous record of 5.031 million set in 2000/01, when tourism was boosted by the Sydney 2000 Olympics.From PROFILE - AUSTRALIA'S INBOUND TOURISM INDUSTRY (NOV 2004)The strong results are attributed to overseas marketing efforts and a revival in international travel after SARS and other factors affecting global stability influenced traveler sentiment.
Good news for Australian tourism!
Qantas Frequent Flier points members will soon need fewer points for a free domestic flight, but business travellers are balking at a clampdown on upgrades.From Qantas changes the rules for frequent fliersThe programme, which has about 400,000 members in New Zealand, is being revised to make it easier to earn awards for short flights but harder for international travel.
The changes are the first in three years and follow a revamp of other airline points programmes, including Air New Zealand, which this month converted its Airpoints to air dollars.
Woo hoo. Free domestic flights. Bleck. ALthough I don't really care about the upgrade issues...
Britons are flocking to Australia and with its sun, sand and cheap housing, Perth is their favourite destination, says Lynne GreenwoodFrom Paradise, on the other side of the world
If I could pick anywhere to settle in Oz, I would definitely go to WA. Article doesn't really explain why Brits are flocking there versus elsewhere in the country, however.
AUSTRALIA'S booming cruise industry has doubled in size with the maiden voyage from Sydney in mid-November of the largest liner ever based in Australia, P&O Cruises' Pacific Sun.From Sun has risenIn a rare event, the Pacific Sun and P&O Cruises' boutique Australian liner, Pacific Princess, both sailed from Sydney Harbour on November 18 to launch the line's biggest summer cruise season in its 72-year history.
Ten young New Zealand women have been flown to the mid-north of South Australia � just outside the historic town of Burra � to film a new reality TV show, Miss Personality.From Beauty contest entrants find a rough touchdown in Aussie realityThe women, chosen in auditions and tests in New Zealand were told they were participating in a show involving overseas travel and a beauty pageant, but were left in the middle of nowhere.
Enough of these already!!!!
Although more are taking up travel insurance, just what are they covered for?From More holidaymakers taking up travel insuranceIt seems that holidaymakers would rather be safe than sorry.
Aside from booking plane tickets and hotel rooms, Singaporeans are also buying travel insurance in a hurry.
Check out what travel insurance can protect you from here.
They are gap-year backpackers who trek through the Andes and lounge on idyllic beaches in Thailand to satisfy their wanderlust. But they are not seeing the sights of the world before starting on a career - they are taking a break from one.From Backpackers welcome a new generation: stressed-out executivesA new wave of senior backpackers has joined pre-university students who frequent the world's youth hostels on limited budgets to see some of the planet's most beautiful sights.
Unlike the undergraduate in waiting, the older traveller is seeking to escape a 14-hour day at the office and hoping to reassess his or her life.
A YouGov of 2,013 people aged 26 to 34 found that gap years were no longer the preserve of students in search of golden sands and holiday adventures. Many regarded their gap year as a chance to reflect on life as well as a final fling before they settled down to a life of children and domesticity.
The research found that in particular, jaded executives in their late twenties and early thirties were quitting their high-salaried jobs and selling their homes to re-examine their lives on extended trips abroad.
There is a shock. Nick to know they have a study to back up what many people have been noticing for quite awhile.
An Australian phone company is offering customers the chance to blacklist numbers before heading out for a night on the town so they can reduce the risk of making any embarrassing, incoherent late-night calls.From Protect yourself from drunk dialing
This has nothing to do with travel, but was too funny not to put up here!
A GERMAN and another European backpacker were branded a disgrace today after being fined for desecrating the eternal flame at Brisbane's ANZAC Memorial.From Shrine vandalism 'a disgrace'The two men, in Australia on study visas, faced Brisbane Magistrates Court following their arrest at 3am (AEST) today.
Too bad that these guys discraced both backpackers and their home countries.
Blue Mountains YHA, a fully renovated art deco 1930s landmark, is celebrating after winning the 2004 Best Backpacker Accommodation at the 2004 New South Wales Awards for Business Excellence held at the Westin Hotel, Sydney.From Tourism industry gets another gong
Best of the Best!
HAYMAN Island is Australia's top resort experience, the nation's most discerning travellers have decided.From Hayman resort tops readers poll
Top resorts? I wouldn't know...can I nominate the nastiest hostel instead?