As Byron Bay groans under the weight of tourists, Catharine Munro discovers that the conservation-minded coastal town's greatest problem is itself.From Beauty and the beastLast Australia Day was a surprisingly sedate affair in Byron Bay, the nation's counter-culture capital - to a point. The mayor swore in citizens, barbecues burnt and residents gathered to dig deep for victims of the Boxing Day tsunami.
The setting for the fund-raiser was the giant Beach Hotel, where proprietor John "Strop" Cornell sells dandy-cinos - dandelion cappuccinos as well as boutique beer. The peak summer season, when the town's population swells from 6,000 to 30,000, had almost passed and with it the flood of tourists that is as challenging to holiday towns as it is lucrative.
Byron Bay's residents amassed $97,000 at the charity auction in response to the Asian disaster, but midway through the event, they added their own special ingredient - staging an unplanned boycott against Public Enemy No. 1, retail magnate Gerry Harvey. In these emerald hills that nurture political dissent, it was a predictable response from a community that wants to preserve its eccentric, eclectic and, these days, exclusive appeal.
I wonder when Bryon Bay - and the tourists that flock there - are going to realize that its funky counter-culture days are over. There are a few great restaurants and cool hostels, but there are plenty of places to surf, soak and shop elsewhere in Australia. Despite the ranting and raving of its citizens, Bryon Bayites are just as superficial and materialistic as everyone else.
The article is kinda all over the place and doesn't propose any solutions to the future self-implosion.
Qantas and British Airways have restructured their economy class airfares for travel between Australia and Europe.From Qantas and BA simplify Australia-Europe faresThe airlines claim the new structure is more simple and flexible than the current model.
The new structure, to be introduced on April 26, will offer three fare types.
The no-charge introductions to New Zealand's larger cities give tourism operators the opportunity to show off their services.From Free city tours in the land of the KiwiNew ZEALAND, where backpackers first strapped on bungees, rolled around in inflated Zorbs (which are like human-size hamster balls) and hopped on their own budget bus lines, has another idea: free city tours.
Funded by local tourism operators who want to show off their services, the service has begun in Auckland and Christchurch and is expected to start in Sydney, Australia, in the next few months.
Guides from Stray Travel (www.straytravel.co.nz) provide information about the city's history and culture and point out key sites and activities. So while budget-stretching backpackers get a free city orientation, they also are exposed to local tourist services. Stray Travel offers its tours in other parts of New Zealand.
*Snorts*
Free is the only way I would ever take ANYTHING from Stray. My hop-on/hop-off bus experience with them in NZ was hellish, to say the least, and terribly dissapointing due to missed activities, Christchurch strandings and an offensive bus driver.
That said...go on the free tour. Why not? If you want to get a strong overview of the top attractions in a city, this is a good way to do it. Then, afterwards, you can return to the places you want to check out a litte more closely and not waste your time searching for the ones you don't.
IT is the show that has millions of Chinese television viewers enthralled by Australia, boasts China's version of Rove McManus as its host and it is all co-ordinated out of Queensland. Sunshine Coast and Brisbane-based film television producer James Lingwood is the executive producer of a series of 52 episodes of World On Screen � an interactive quiz show that is broadcast to millions of Chinese each week.From Quiz show goes gangbusters in ChinaThe former documentary maker teamed up with China's Hebei TV to make the series, in which three contestants are shown six, four-minute video presentations and are asked quiz questions based on the footage.
The massive benefits to regional Australia from wine tourism have been highlighted by a new report.From Regions reap from wine tourismThe report, A Profile of Wine Visitors in Australia 2003, found 4.9 million international and domestic tourists visited a winery in 2003, collectively spending a total of $4.6 billion during their travels in Australia.
Federal Tourism Minister Fran Bailey said the Tourism Research Australia report showed how important the sector was to regional Australia.
Cruising is not only one of the fastest growing sectors of Australia's travel industry, but also holds huge potential.From Cruising 'holds huge potential'Federal Tourism Minister Fran Bailey said that potential was behind the government's commitment to developing the cruise shipping industry through a review process currently underway.
"The continued development of a sustainable and efficient cruise shipping industry is a priority for the Government," she said.
The 77,000 tonne superliner Dawn Princess will next year become the biggest and most luxurious liner to be based in Australia.From Dawn heralds new Australian cruising markDawn Princess will offer a summer season of round-trip cruises from Sydney, sailing Australian waters, between October 2006 and March 2007.
The 1950-passenger Dawn Princess will offer almost three times as many beds as the 670-passenger Pacific Princess that she will replace.
The Whitsundays region will be promoted as an ideal winter destination in a new $800,000 advertising campaign aimed at those living in southern Australia.From Campaign to push Whitsundays in winterThe campaign, which will run until the end of June, is the second stage of the Whitsundays region's 'Out of the Blue' promotion.
Thai authorities have criticised the Australian Government for warning travellers to stay away from Phuket and Krabi, where thousands of people died in the Boxing Day tsunami.From Tsunami travel alerts costing us billions, say ThaisThe Tourism Authority of Thailand says revenue losses have surpassed 30 billion baht (about $1 billion), saying that many travellers are too scared to return to these areas despite a fast recovery.
Speaking at a travel conference in Phuket, the president of Thai Airways International, Kanok Abhiradee, said the region was "cleaned up and ready for tourists" on December 27, but this message was slow to get out.
Asked if Australia was wrong to maintain its travel warning, Mr Abhiradee told the audience: "Obviously there is a lot of parental concern from the Australian Government. I would not say it was wrong but I will say the Australian Government is very parental when it comes to its citizens."
The conference was told a tsunami early warning system, including emergency text messaging and marine monitoring, would be in place by the end of the month.
ON BOARD THE GHAN - The sudden jolt that awakens you from your post-lunch slumber is a not-so-gentle reminder that you are riding a "steel camel" through one of the harshest environments in the world -- the heart of Australia.From Riding the steel camel in OzThe bump comes courtesy of the slight rail buckling that comes with the intense heat of the day.
The Legendary Ghan railway, linking Adelaide in South Australia with Darwin 2,979 km away at the "top end" of this massive island continent owes its life to the real variety of camels driven by Afghanistan cameleers who first penetrated its harsh "red heart" 150 years ago.
Bill Bryson has been travelling the world for 30 years, and for half that time he's been turning his experiences into the stuff of comedy and bestsellers. But is he losing his touch?From Have beard, will travelWhat is it about Bill Bryson these days? Is he mellowing with age, getting kinder and more forgiving? Is he - God forbid - getting less funny?
Great Southern Railway today launched �Australia's Red Centre Holidays'. The campaign is built around travel packages to Alice Springs this winter aboard The Legendary Ghan in Gold Kangaroo Service, for travel from 1 March until 31 July 2005.From Australia's Great Train Holidays to the Red CentreLaunched with 3 select holiday packages, the '�Australia's Red Centre Train Holidays' brochure features a diverse range of travel experiences to Alice Springs.
Hotels and other tourist accommodation earned $396.1million last year, an $85.6m jump over 2003.From Hotels earn $85m more in 2004The Bureau of Statistics said the last quarter of 2004 saw a 24.8 per cent jump over the same period in 2003 with hotels earning $107m from accommodation, sales of food, liquor, telephone and other charges.
It said most visitors during the peak period came from Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America.
SYDNEY - Optus Mobile has launched a content partnership with Lonely Planet Publications enabling Optus Mobile customers to download Lonely Planet CityPicks travel guides to their Java-enabled mobile phones via the Optus Zoo mobile content portal. Lonely Planet CityPicks are destination guides for more than 40 cities across Australia, Asia, Europe, the USA and Africa. Featuring at least 50 recommendations per city, CityPicks lists key restaurants, bars, nightlife, shops and hotels on a traveller's handset. Optus Zoo subscribers can download Lonely Planet CityPicks guides from the Optus Zoo website via a PC or, if the phone is WAP enabled, download direct to their mobile phone for A$6.60 (including GST) each.From Australia's Optus Mobile Links With Lonely Planet
The Federal Government has called on the tourism industry to report unethical and illegal activities in a bid to stamp them out.From Industry needs to fight 'bad apples'Tourism Minister Fran Bailey said "a few bad apples" were threatening the future of the industry.
"We have to maintain Australia's reputation as a quality tourism destination," Ms Bailey said.
"Government and industry need to work together to ensure we stamp out unethical and illegal activities which, if unabated, will harm the Australian tourism industry.
It seems the idea of public transport, the way Australians want it, has been lost. But for environmental and social reasons we should be investing in public transport infrastructure, because it is obvious our romance with the internal combustion engine is unsustainable.From Public transport should drive our future
Hmmm...better travel options in Oz in the future?
Qantas Holidays launched a Rediscover Thailand campaign in conjunction with the Tourism Authority of Thailand.From Qantas Holidays launches back to Thailand campaignHead of Qantas Holidays, Simon Bernardi, said Thailand had always been one of the most popular destinations for Qantas Holidays customers and urged Australian travellers to get behind the post-tsunami tourism recovery drive.
"Thailand is dear to our heart and we hope our new marketing campaign, developed in conjunction with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, will help the country's vital tourism industry get back on its feet," Mr Bemardi said.
A remote tourist resort was virtually destroyed and a small aboriginal town damaged on Wednesday when a severe cyclone slammed into the northern Australian coast for the third time, officials said.From Cyclone ravages remote Australia town, resortCyclone Ingrid, packing winds of up to 260 kmh (162 mph), hit the tiny town and aboriginal reserve of Kalumburu, about 500 km (310 miles) southwest of the Northern Territory capital of Darwin, and then devastated the exclusive Faraway Bay resort.
The owner of Australia's newest domestic airline said he did not want to get into a price war with the "big boys", especially the notoriously aggressive Qantas.From OzJet doesn't want pricing warPaul Stoddart, the Melbourne expatriate who owns Italy's Minardi Formula One racing team, said Ozjet was seeking a small share of the market by filling in a gap left in the business travel sector.
"We are offering something that I don't think is a threat to our competitors," Mr Stoddart told a media conference at a private terminal at Sydney Airport.
"I see us as someone that can work alongside all of the players in the market place."
What, no pricing war? Really? Yeah right. Good luck OzJet...Quantas and its newest ally Virgin Blue are going to do anything they can to drive you out of business and go back to keeping a wary eye on each other.
RICHARD Branson's Virgin Group yesterday said it does not intend to sell any of its 25.1 per cent stake in low cost carrier Virgin Blue, rejecting a $1.90 per share bid from Patrick Corp. In doing so it sparked a war of words from Patrick's Chris Corrigan, who got himself into trouble with the stock exchange over his put down of merchant banker Grant Samuel's valuation of the airline.From Patrick wars with Virgin"Virgin Group does not intend to sell under the current offer and urges all Virgin Blue shareholders to take note of the advice given in the Virgin Blue target statement which values the shares at a much higher price than that offered by Patrick Corp," said David Baxby, chief executive of Virgin Management Asia Pacific.
Air New Zealand today announced the appointment of a star chef from one of Los Angeles� premier restaurants as the airline�s new menu consultant on flights originating from the United States to New Zealand. Govind Armstrong, executive chef and partner of the trendy Table 8 Restaurant, will lend his creative talent and vast knowledge of New Zealand cuisine to help develop a completely new menu for Air New Zealand�s Business Premier Class and Pacific Premium Economy Class travelers. The new menu options are expected to become available this summer, coinciding with the unveiling of Air New Zealand�s highly anticipated, new long-haul service.Article continues below...
"Govind's creations are simple and delicious, combining a focus on high-quality produce with carefully-defined flavors - perfect for our onboard premium service," said Gus Gilmore, vice president of Air New Zealand � The Americas. �The new menu will highlight the best of New Zealand cuisine, allowing travelers from North America to get a taste of New Zealand�s culinary style and culture the moment they set foot on our planes.�
Govind�s distinctive approach to cooking, easygoing style and long dreadlocks have helped him become one of the brightest culinary stars in the United States, both in the kitchen and on television. This year he is also serving as a celebrity chef for Crystal Cruises and Cunard�s Queen Mary II, and is regularly featured on a range of television shows including NBC�s The Today Show and ABC�s The Great Domestic Showdown. In addition to the ample recognition he has received in the United States for his culinary talent, Armstrong was also recently selected by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise to serve as a culinary ambassador, helping to promote New Zealand food throughout the United States. Air New Zealand selected Armstrong to refresh its in-flight menu based on his familiarity with New Zealand cuisine and creative integration of New Zealand produce into his dishes at Table 8.
�I�m a huge fan of New Zealand wine and cuisine, which makes it an honor for me to help reshape Air New Zealand�s premium service menu,� said Armstrong. �My goal will be to showcase the best tastes of New Zealand, using only the freshest ingredients the country has to offer. Travelers are in for a real treat.�
Air New Zealand also appointed Geoff Scott, executive chef of the Hilton-Auckland�s popular White Restaurant, to develop the menu for premium meals on long-haul flights out of New Zealand. Scott is celebrated for using his international culinary experience to complement the best of New Zealand produce, enhancing his dishes with delicate sauces and unique Pacific Rim flavors.
Armstrong and Scott join the star panel of prominent culinary talents from around the world that are members of Air New Zealand�s Chef Consultant Program. Other consultant chefs include Kiwi expatriate Peter Gordon of The Providores in London, who consults on menus from the United Kingdom; Rex Morgan of Citron in Wellington, who provides the creative direction for the food served on the short-haul network and in Air New Zealand�s Koru lounges; and Tony Adcock of Harbourside and Fish in Auckland, who provides industry insight and expertise for the airline�s overall menu development. Air New Zealand�s Chef Consultant Program has been in existence for nearly ten years, developing New Zealand-inspired menus that have earned the airline industry recognition for its first-class food and beverage service.
I'll believe it when I taste it....
There are claims a proposed cruise ship terminal on the Gold Coast could put a new $350 million facility at Hamilton on the Brisbane River out of business.From Gold Coast plan may threaten Brisbane cruise ship terminalIt comes a day after the 300-metre Sapphire Princess was forced to dock among container wharves at the Port of Brisbane because it could not fit under the Gateway Bridge.
A NEW breed of "four-star backpackers" has replaced the down-at-heel drinkers and dossers familiar to previous generations of Antipodeans making the rite-of-passage journey to London. The estimated 750,000 Australians and New Zealanders living in England at any one time still know how to party hard.From Four-star backpackers make markBut recent changes to working holiday visas mean many of them are now well-paid, highly-qualified professionals who also know how to work hard and save hard.
Thanks Joe E
According to the National Centre in HIV Immunology and Clinical Research in Sydney, young backpacking women are the new face of HIV infection in Australia.From Dirty dancing with a devil in disguiseWhile gay males are still the most predominant group infected, latest research shows that the majority of new HIV diagnoses are in women who have had a partner from a high-prevalence country such as sub-Saharan Africa, Cambodia, Thailand and Burma.
The disappearance of backpacker Peter Falconio after an alleged ambush in Australia is being made into a TV film.From Backpacker mystery to be TV movieThe 28-year-old from Huddersfield is said to have been killed by a man he stopped to help in the Outback in July 2001. His body has never been found.
Getting the most out of an overseas trip begins with homework, says a Purdue University classics professor. Whether visiting a foreign country for a week's vacation or living abroad, the principles for getting the most out of your travel experiences are the same.From Professor Guides Novice International Travelers with Top 5 List
Strong growth in business and holiday travel to Indonesia will see the republic reopen its tourist office in Sydney this year as Garuda Indonesia expands its Australian flight capacity by around 20 per cent.From Indonesia to reopen Australia tourist officeThe deputy minister of marketing for the country�s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Udin Saifuddin, said Indonesia attracted a total of 420,000 business and private visitors from Australia in 2004.
Overall visitor arrivals exceeded five million last year and tourism became the second largest earner after energy (oil and gas).
The Australian government granted permanent residency Tuesday to a 104-year-old Chinese woman who theoretically faced deportation after losing a last legal appeal for a visa.From Australasia: No airline allows 104 yr Chinese woman to travel; Australia issues visaIn a late-night statement, Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said she had exercised her discretionary powers to grant a visa to Cui Yu Hu "as my department had always intended."
A SHY plumber high on drugs was "trying his luck" when he made sexual advances to young female backpackers asleep in their beds, a court heard yesterday.From Hostel predator jailed: Drug highs led to sex attacks on backpackersDamien Peter Auksorius had difficulty meeting women and saw backpacker hostels as a place where he could meet them, his lawyer David Schreuder told the Hobart Magistrates Court.
This would be a good year for Yarra Valley wines, and spirits are high at the annual grape grazing festival, traditionally held on the third weekend of February. The spirit flows on for winegrowers in Victoria, which with South Australia and New South Wales, is at the forefront of the Australian wine industry. Wine is a new growth industry for Australia. Over the past 10 years, it has doubled in size, driven by exports. Now Australia leads the "New World" producers. Among global exporters, Australia lies fourth behind Old World producers France, Italy and Spain in terms of volume and value.From LETTER FROM AUSTRALIA: Quiet side to beer culture
An Australian holiday turned into a fight for life for a 22-year-old backpacker when he was bashed unconscious by a group of men in St Kilda at the weekend.From Pair wanted over tourist bashingThe man, believed to be from India or Pakistan, is recovering from surgery after being beaten in what police described as a savage and unprovoked attack.
TRAVEL websites designed to teach people about Australian culture are fraught with out-of-date guidelines, according to a Queensland etiquette expert.From Down Under travel tips 'nonsense'Tips such as "eating with your hands is perfectly acceptable" and "men may not always treat women as equals" are just a couple of the lessons tourists are learning online.
Hmmm....Australia Guide is pretty good, I think....
As an icon of a city, it is as instantly recognizable as the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty or the Golden Gate Bridge.From A symbol of an entire countryIt is almost 50 years since Danish architect Joern Utzon was chosen to build the Sydney Opera House at Bennelong Point on the Australian city's harbor front.
Australia will begin talks with the European nations aimed at liberalisation of aviation services between the two continents.From Talks cleared for Australia-Europe liberalisationFederal Transport Minister John Anderson said Australia would negotiate directly with the UK and other European nations for additional access by Australian carriers to major European markets.
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia would be updating threat assessments on Friday, fearing a possible terrorism attack after the conviction of fiery Muslim preacher Abu Bakar Bashir over the 2002 Bali bombings, Australia's top police officer said.From Australia fears violent backlash to Bashir verdictAustralian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said authorities could not rule out a violent backlash to Bashir being found guilty of an "evil conspiracy" to commit the bombings.
"That's always on the cards. We were concerned about this at the time of his arrest because he is such a significant figure," Keelty told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio.
DINGO pups are being smuggled out of the Northern Territory and sold on overseas black markets for $5000, the Sunday Territorian learned last night. The puppies are in huge demand as pets in the United States, Israel and Asia.From Dingo smuggling racket exposedDingo expert Barry Oakman said two pups found in a cardboard box in a Darwin backpacker hostel locker last year were definitely being smuggled out of the country.
The dingo ate my baby!
AIR Pacific has extended its low "Bula Fares" to long haul destinations and reduced its airfares by as much as 44 per cent.From Airline puts Bula fares on long haulThis follows its introduction of "Bula Fares" to New Zealand, Australia and South Pacific destinations last April.
Return fares start from $1299 to Honolulu, $1599 to Tokyo, $1699 to Los Angeles and $1799 to Vancouver.
THE Federal Government has warned Queensland will be priced out of the tourism market unless it embraces labour market reform.From Wake-up call on state tourismFederal Tourism Minister Ian Macfarlane yesterday said the industry � worth $6.3 billion to Queensland's economy � needed to improve its competitiveness, particularly against cheap Asian destinations.
"It is important that tourism is not restricted by out-of-date labour market reforms," he said. "If we just sit back and say, well it is done, we will wake up in two or three years and find no tourists coming."
A 104-year-old Chinese woman could live out her days behind razor wires in a notorious Austra-lian immigration detention center, her attorney said yesterday.From Chinese centenarian faces detention in Australian centerThe Immigration Department has denied a visa to Hu Cuiyu, who came to Australia on a 12-month visitors visa in 1995 to see her adopted daughter Motoko Otani. Airlines denied her a ticket to return to her home in Xinjiang Province on the grounds that she was too old and frail for the rigors of airline travel.
Lawyer Julian Burnside said that after being declared an unlawful non-citizen, Hu could be taken into custody.
A quiet metamorphosis is occurring that will ultimately make Australian business less Australian. Many smaller enterprises are being 'born global': immediately competing to be the best in the world. The big corporations have, with the exception of some large mining companies and the departing News Corporation, failed to deal with globalisation. But that is not the end of the story.From Born globalA new type of company is emerging: adaptable, ambitious and suited to a cross-border world in a way that Australia's larger corporations are not. The big corporations are too big to be quick, but too small to be dominant in global business. The born-global companies are nimble and responsive, and as they evolve they will pose a new kind of competitive threat to Australia's domestically focused corporations.
The Prince of Wales will travel to Alice Springs today, the second leg of his five-day Australian tour.From Prince Charles to farewell Perth for Alice SpringsPrince Charles' final official engagement in Perth was a function at Government House last night.
After mingling with about 250 invited guests, including tennis legend Margaret Court and author and comedian Ben Elton, he thanked the people of Perth for their hospitality saying he had many fond memories of Western Australia.
"These memories are of enormous importance to me, and also all the memories of all the kindness you've shown me, and the fun I've had in this part of the world," Prince Charles said.
India may still be a rite of passage for the backpacker. But it can also be done in style, as Max Suich and Jennie Sorrell discovered.From Beyond the Hippie TrailNow that Qantas has introduced a new service between Australia and Mumbai, the relative economy of a visit to India - and the new standards of comfort in hotels and travel - will soon become better known.
For the many Australians who have never been there, the biggest hurdle now is to negotiate the advice of those tedious Old India Hands who went there as backpackers or on the hippie trail and who, for reasons of economy or adventure, ended up in third-class rail carriages or desert buses, ill and miserable with vile stomach upsets, or worse. This was neatly summed up in the Sydney Morning Herald travel pages late last year by a correspondent who noted that to many jaded Australians, India still stands for I'll Never Do It Again.
Rau's case goes beyond bureaucratic bungling, as one editorial comment has it.From LETTER FROM AUSTRALIA: Cornelia caught in the Aussie detention policyIt brings together many strands of public debate in recent years, The Age contends: "...on human rights and civil liberties; on institutional and political accountability; on the neglect of people with mental illness; on damaging mindsets that have taken hold in Australia."
It's just another clapped-out campervan, carrying another load of Pommy tourists. But the vehicle that limped into Melbourne over the West Gate this week is remarkable - and not just because it defied all expectations when it didn't conk out on the Nullarbor.From We're all going on a virtual holidayOn board are the Kotting family of London: Mark and Tracy, both 40-year-old cabbies, and their girls Billie, 9, and Etta, almost 8. They are cyberspace celebrities - winners of the British newspaper scene's equivalent of a reality TV show.
The Kottings are blogging their way across Australasia, plotting their course with email missives read by thousands of virtual travellers.
Thanks Joe E!