Tuesday 23 August 2016 Issue 3378

I n c o r p o r a t i n g Ta b s o n Tr a v e l

7 Pages This IssueNews.......................... p1, p2, p3, p4, p6Air New Zealand .............................. p5The Travel Brokers ........................... p7

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For a tiny country at the bottom of the globe, Kiwi travellers are mak-ing a high level impression in the US as an emerging market to watch. Yesterday a delegation of California tourism representatives was in town to meet with the trade and capitalise on the growing demand from New Zealand. Later this week Brand USA chief executive Christopher Thomp-son is making his first visit to New Zealand—a move said to be a direct reflection of the interest New Zealand is generating in Washington DC.At the same time the latest Statistics New Zealand figures show Kiwi de-

partures to the US were up 21% for Jul a result which Brand USA New Zea-land manager Wayne Mitcham says is not surprising.“Back in 2005 we had 139,000 New Zealand departures to the US—10 years later we’re sitting just on 300,000 and climbing,” says Mitcham, who’s at-tributing the ever climbing figures to the increase in air capacity combined with the very competitive fares in the market.

. . . Trade Support Key“The new airlines that have come on board [operating between the US and New Zealand] have added around 165,000 seats a year—and now, im-portantly, we need to work with the trade to support the flights and sell experiences to and beyond those gate-ways,” says Mitcham. “It’s no longer about selling the trip of a life time, it’s all about repeat visitation—and a lifetime of trips.”Mitcham says Thompson’s inaugural stop in New Zealand this week is an important milestone for Kiwi travel to the US .“His visit is really testament to the Brand USA’s commitment to the New Zealand market—and the inter-est New Zealand is generating at the highest level.” See pg 4 for more.

Kiwi Market Grabs US Tourism Attention

London Night TubeLondon’s first 24-hour underground service has finally started. The Night Tube runs on the Central and Victo-ria lines on Fri and Sat nights, and is due to be launched on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines in the northern autumn. There’s also plans to expand it to more lines, (and poten-tially the overground) as modernisa-tion plans are completed. Trains run every eight-20 minutes depending on the line, and travellers are charged standard off-peak fares. See tfl.gov.uk

NZ Trolley Dollies?James Corden could be in for a surprise if he accepts Air New Zea-land’s offer to partake in cockpit karaoke—after images of uniformed pilots posing in the cockpit with in-flatable dolls hit the headlines. According to a Stuff report (which includes some interesting support-ing images) the national carrier is now investigating ‘a series of inap-propriate images’ of its staff rang-ing from a video showing a crew member spitting and a pilot kissing a blow up doll in the cockpit. While the Stuff report says the im-ages which have surfaced on social media are about four years old, and some of the staff members have left, an investigation is said to be underway.

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News & Product

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FJ Name ReminderFiji Airways is reminding travel agents to please use the passenger’s correct full name when issuing tick-ets, as it has had some instances of agents using clients’ nicknames which results in them being denied boarding. The name in the client’s passport, and the one on the ticket, must be the same, stresses the carrier.

Philly Tourism ApptThe Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau has appointed Jeffrey Yau as international tourism sales manager for the Asia Pacific region, including New Zealand. Yau is charged with increasing visitation and spend and will work with operators to en-courage them to include Philadelphia in their itineraries; and expand Phila-delphia’s presence at tradeshows and events. The move is in response to strong growth and interest from the Asia Pacific region.

WA’s New Campaign: ‘Just Another Day’

To u r i s m We s te r n Au s t r a l i a unveiled its new marketing cam-paign, Just Another Day in Western Australia, today as it flagged closer ties with the Kiwi trade and a re-newed presence in the market here.The campaign was unveiled at a lunch in Auckland today, and has been de-veloped to promote the everyday WA experiences that locals sometimes forget to appreciate, says Tourism WA acting chief executive Gywn Dolphin.“WA has so many extraordinary ex-periences that cannot be found else-where in Australia, or in some cases the world, but those of us who are lucky enough to live in the state tend to be blasé about its uniqueness and beauty,” says Dolphin. “The premise behind the campaign is to highlight all these experiences that West Austra-lians take for granted but visitors find memorable and extraordinary.”It will also allow the STO to promote the major developments that have been taking place in and around Perth over recent years, including the Eliza-beth Quay development, some 2000 new hotel rooms to open by 2018, the AUD1 billion redevelopment of Perth Airport, construction of a 60,000-seat stadium, the redevelopment of Fremantle, and upcoming upgrades at Scarborough Beach and Rottnest Island.“Our recent tourism marketing cam-

paigns have focused almost exclusive-ly on regional WA but greater Perth has gone through some dramatic changes and has a lot to offer as a destination in its own right,” says Dolphin. “As Perth continues to evolve, so will the campaign and we will be able to share more Perth stories with the world.”

. . . Fundamental ShiftDolphin says the campaign marks a ‘fundamental shift’ in how Tourism WA promotes the state, and will see the STO create inspirational content to be distributed globally through its cooperative advertising campaigns with airlines, travel agents and tour operators.The creative assets will be rolled out in upcoming campaigns in New Zealand, with phase one featuring nine films covering Perth, the South West and Golden Outback. The assets will be used on television and online, in digi-tal and print advertising, and there will also be a dedicated microsite.A further nine films will be produced later this year, and it’s thought the campaign will last three to four years.See justanotherdayinwa.comPictured at today’s New Zealand launch of the campaign is Tourism WA’s recently-appointed New Zealand manager Kate Wright, Air New Zea-land trio Bianca Dufty, Adele Barker and Rachel Pedder, Tourism WA’s Kel-sie Johnston and Air NZ’s Annabelle Fowler.

Pearl Harbor War GamesAny clients heading to Pearl Harbor this week shouldn’t be alarmed if they hear gunfire or notice military activ-ity in the area, says Discover Hawaii Tours. Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam will be holding daily Harbor Defense Training 22-26 Aug as part of a mili-tary exercise, including small boat in-tercepts within Pearl Harbor channel and in the harbor itself. The training includes using weapons, but they’ll be firing blanks, promises the company.

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News & Product

If it’s on in NSW, it’s on sydney.com/nzPlease note that events are subject to change or cancellation (check relevant website for further details prior to the event). Destination NSW acknowledges and appreciates all photographic

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Air New Zealand is to ditch its Spaceseat pre-mium economy product in favour of introducing more premium econ-omy seats on its 787-9 and 777-300 fleet—in response to what it says is increased demand for premium travel.The carrier will spend more than $100 million increas-ing the number of Premi-um Economy seats on its 787-9s and refurbishing its 777-300s.NZ’s gm customer experience Carrie Hurihanganui says when the Space-seat (pictured) was introduced in 2010, it was ‘revolutionary and clearly the best option in the market at the time’.“However, seating technology and materials have come a long way since then and our customer research now shows consistently higher satisfac-tion scores for our newest Premium Economy offering so it’s time to con-tinue Air NZ’s evolution in this space,” she says.It’s a move that will introduce a con-sistent Premium Economy product across NZ’s long-haul fleet, and make it easier for agents to sell, says Le-

anne Geragthy, NZ’s gm regional gen-eral manager government, corporate and distribution. “We continue to see strong demand for our premium product through the trade, in par-ticular from the TMC channel. This long-haul front-end consistency in conjunction with our existing loy-alty offering continues to make NZ a compelling offering for the trade distribution.”

. . . New ConfigurationThe Dreamliners scheduled for deliv-ery from Oct 2017 will arrive with a new cabin configuration that increas-es the number of Business Premier seats from 18 to 27, and Premium Economy seats from 21 to 33.

Spaceseats Out, More Prem Y InFrom Feb 2017, all seven of NZ’s 777-300s will be progressively refurbished, which will include the introduction of the Dreamliner’s leather Premium Economy seat and Panasonic eX3 in-flight en-tertainment system. At the same time the 777-300 interiors will be refurbished and there will be re-freshed seats in Business Premier and economy, while Premium Economy seat numbers will in-crease from 44 to 54. The 777-300 refurbishment is expected to be

completed by late Nov 2017.

. . . No GuaranteesNZ says there will be a mix of seats on the 777-300 fleet while the refurbish-ment is underway, and that the carrier will not be able to confirm if custom-ers booked in Premium Economy will be in the new seat or the Spaceseat.The carrier has provided a letter ex-plaining the situation for agents to give to customers who have an up-coming booking; and asks that clients who book from today are informed that NZ is unable to guarantee a par-ticular aircraft type. As aircraft are refitted they will display in the GDS as 77W rather than the current 773.For details CLICK HERE

Lagos Risk LoweredThe New Zealand Ministr y of F o r e i g n A f f a i r s a n d Tr a d e has lowered its risk level for La-gos, Nigeria, and is now advis-ing caution due to the threat of terrorism and violent crime. It con-tinues to advise against travel to oth-er parts of the country, for details see safetravel.govt.nz/nigeria

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UNCRUISE ADVENTURES2017/18 BROCHURE OUT NOW

1 Evelin Cuevas from Universal Studios and You Travel’s Mandy Veale. 2 Infinity Holidays’ Louise Sutton and LA Tourism’s Craig Gibbons. 3 Brand USA New Zealand manager Wayne Mitcham with Citadel Outlet’s Cynthia Schmitt. 4 Air NZ’s Thomas Gentz with Visit Napa Valley’s Corbie Smith and Leanne Cheesman from United Airlines. 5 Yosemite/Mariposa County Tourism Bureau’s Terry Selk with Lindsey Morgan from Hawaiian Airlines. 6 Visit California’s Phil Haines and Eden Stevenson from World Travellers. 7 American Airlines New Zealand manager Mario Santander with Brand USA’s Wayne Mitcham. 8 Flight Centre’s Ro Roberts with Cynthia Schmitt from Citadel Outlets and the Queen of Anaheim, Pip Ashford.

Kiwi travel growth to California shows no signs of abating and Visit California is looking to work closely with the Kiwi trade to get more New Zealanders to visit the state, more often.In Auckland yesterday on Visit Cali-fornia’s ‘Dream Big’ Australasian

Roadshow, the STO’s Phil Haines says Kiwi travel to the Golden State has increased by around 50,000 visits a year since 2012. “It’s such an incredible market at the moment,” Haines told those attending yester-day’s trade function.While acknowledging the advent

Trade Driving California Travelof new carriers operating between New Zealand and the US, and the competitive airfares in the market, Haines said the travel trade distri-bution was the driving force behind the continued growth. “We really have an opportunity to continue this great growth through the additional air capacity,” says Haines. “There’s so many options for people to fly into California, and with the prices there’s never been a better time to visit.”Haines was joined by a 17-strong delegation of visiting US tourism representatives from across the state which are looking to grow their share of their Kiwi visitation and further capitalise on the op-portunity. Some destinations beyond the gate-ways are already seeing a noticeable increase in the numbers of New Zealanders visiting. “In the last two-and-a-half years [Kiwi visitation] has just gone through the roof,” says Terry Selk from the Yosemite/Mari-posa Country Tourism Bureau. “The 100th anniversary of the National Parks has increased the profile and we’re definitely seeing increased demand from New Zealand.”

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Sydney Hotel Turns Art StudioAs part of its year of Insider Experiences, InterContinental Sydney is adding to its series, welcoming German artist Jeannine Platz as she brings the Suite View project to Australia. Platz has transformed the hotel’s suite into a unique art room, painting the view of the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, using only her hands. The finished product will form part of a collection of work to be showcased in Hamburg, Germany next year, alongside other iconic skylines such as from InterContinental New York Times Square and InterContinental Hong Kong. See suiteview-artproject.com

To celebrate the launch of the Air New Zealand and United Airlines Alliance, we are giving agents the chance to win a VIP trip to watch the All Blacks vs Ireland in Chicago and The 49’s vs Saints in San Francisco.

Plus exciting weekly prizes announced every Friday on Travel Today.

Go to www.airnzagent.co.nz/nz-and-ua-alliance-incentive to find out how to enter the draw.

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Travel Today, Tuesday 23 August 2016 Page 5

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News & Product

AUGUSTLindblad Expeditions Agent BreakfastsAuckland South: Wed 24, Urban Soul Cafe, 0715, Wellington: Thu 25, Amora Hotel, 0715,

SEPTEMBERBula Marau Fiji Roadshow - Couples & LuxuryTauranga: Mon 05, Mills Reef Winery, 0700-0930.Hamilton: Mon 05, Ferrybank Reception Centre, 1730-2015.Christchurch: Tue 06, Peppers Clearwater Resort, 1730-2015.Wellington: Wed 07, InterContinental Hotel, 1730-2015.Auckland: Thu 08, Pullman Hotel, 1730-2015.Auckland North Shore: Fri 09, QBE Stadium, 0700-0930.

AccorHotels ShowcaseAuckland: Tue 06, Pullman Auckland’s Princes Ballroom, 1600-2000.

TAANZ NTIA 2016 Gala DinnerAuckland: Sat 10, New Zealand Room, Level 5, SKYCITY Convention Centre, 1730.

Discover AmadeusAuckland: Tue 13, Rydges, 59 Federal Street, Cnr Kingston Street, 0800-1115.

Scenic Ever Wondered SessionsHamilton: Mon 19, Ferrybank Function Rooms.Tauranga: Tue 20, Mills Reef Winery, Bethlehem.Auckland: Wed 21, Waipuna Hotel, Mt Wellington.Auckland North: Thu 22, Bruce Mason Centre Takapuna.

Globus & Cosmos Europe/UK Launch 2017Dunedin: Thu 15, The Savoy, 1745.Christchurch: Mon 19, Dux Central, 1745. Petone: Mon 19, La Bella

Italia, 1745.New Plymouth: Tue 20, Novotel Hotel, 1745.Kerikeri: Tue 20, Fishbone Cafe, 1745.Whangarei: Wed 21, Killer Prawn, 1745.Timaru: Thu 22, Mocca Cafe, 1745.Invercargill: Mon 26, Kelvin Hotel, 1745.Hamilton: Mon 26, Hamilton Gardens Cafe, 1745.Auckland, West: Mon 26, Black Salt, 1745.Auckland, North: Tue 27, Takapuna Boating Club, 1745.Tauranga: Tue 27. Macau Restaurant, 1745.Queenstown: Tue 27, Prime Waterfront Restaurant, 1745.Auckland, East: Wed 28, Celsius Gastrobar, Botany Junction, 1745.Napier: Wed 28, Crown Hotel, 1745.Nelson: Wed 28, Cafe Affair, 1745.Blenheim: Thu 29, Raupo Cafe, 1745.

The Travel Corporation 2017 Launch EventAuckland: Wed 21, venue tbc.

Destination NSW Agent Quiz NightsAuckland: Tue 27, Albion, 119 Hobson Street, CBD, 1730-1900.Christchurch: Wed 28, Lonestar Riccarton, 364 Riccarton Road, 1730-1900.

New Zealand Travel Has Talent grand finalAuckland: Fri 30, The Great Room, Langham Hotel, 1900.

OCTOBERGlobus & Cosmos Europe/UK Launch 2017Wellington: Mon 03, Shed 5, 1745.Pukekohe: Tue 04, Town & Mouse Cafe, 1745.Palmerston North: Wed 05, Distinction Palmerston North, 1745.

Industry Diary

The successful candidate must be well groomed, possess excellent communication skills and good product knowledge, with the desire and ability to exceed clients’ expectations.

Proven Sabre and SAM skills and proficiency in Microsoft Office are essential.

Applications will only be received in writing by close of business Wednesday, 31 August and should be sent in confidence to:The Directors, Capital Travel Ltd, PO Box 32, Wellington 6140or info@capital.travel

INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANTOur corporate travel agency requires an additional consultant with minimum of 2-3 years’ experience

SQ Planting TreesSingapore Airlines staff headed out into the Wellington sunshine to plant trees at Elliott Park yesterday, as part of the carrier’s renewed partnership with Sustainable Coastlines. Pictured is: 1 SQ’s Shahreen Goodrick, Kate Mayo, Felicity Bakx, Sandy McFadyen-Rew, Simon Turcotte and Jessica Cribbens. 2 Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown with Singapore Airlines general man-ager New Zealand Simon Turcotte.

Scenic Tours has launched two new brochures in New Zealand, covering Africa, China and Japan.The Oriental Wonders of China and Japan features six new itineraries including a new 24-day Journey to Shangri-la (from $15,975) which travels from Shanghai to Kunming, and includes two new cities for Sce-nic—Hangzhou and Suzhou. Also new is the 27-day Amazing China (from $18,785)—a combination of two tours which were both popular last year, it travels from Beijing to Shanghai and visits natural wonders.In Japan, clients can now opt for the

14-day Japan Unveiled (from $15,760) which includes new destinations Ky-ushu, Fukuoka and Nagasaki.Scenic has a range of earlybird offers for bookings made by 30 Nov for the brochure, including savings of $2000 per couple on 2017 China trips of over 21 days.

. . . New For AfricaMeanwhile in the Wild Wonders of Africa brochure there’s a new five-day Mozambique Escape extension from Johannesburg, which takes guests to Bazaruto Island. It can be added to any itinerary on Johannesburg from any date.There’s an earlybird offer of $2160 per couple off 2017 Africa trips of 12 days or longer when booked by 31 Dec.

Scenic Asia, Africa New York Hotel BoostNew York continues to lead in development with roughly 9% of all US hotel construction activity, according to STR’s Jul 2016 Pipeline Report. Of the 529,665 rooms in 4322 proj-ects under contract in the United States, New York accounts for 30,700 of these rooms; while of the 171,276 rooms in 1305 projects in the in construction stage, 15,770 of those rooms are in New York. “The more than 15,000 rooms in the in construction phase represent 14% of New York’s existing sup-ply, and that is likely to continue with more than 6500 rooms in final planning. This type of develop-ment creates a strong headwind for near-term market performance,” says STR.

Mandalay RenovationMandalay Bay Resort and Casino is Las Vegas has completed the fi-nal phase of its resort-wide re-model of more than 3000 guest rooms and suites, marking the completion of an approximately USD100 million remodel that began in 2015. The property’s newly remodelled rooms now feature refreshed colour palettes and modern designs, it adds.

Travel Today, Tuesday 23 August 2016 Page 7ADVERTORIAL

helloworld’s The Travel Brokers – the Best Travel Brokers in the World.

Pictured at the Supplier Awards function (sponsored by Qantas) at Peterson House is Janine Mallon, Lauren Shanks, Kathryn Roy, Anna Robbins, Belinda Buck (Qantas), Joanna Devereux and Jane Cockburn.

1 Best New Broker: Kay Humphries with Wendy van Lieshout and Jackie Bell.

2 Best Revenue Growth: Amber Simpson.

3 Two of the Winners of the TOP 5 Achievers reward: Tanya Franklin and Jacqui Currall

a review of the broker value proposi-tion and toolset, and outlined the value that the helloworld brand and combined retail network can deliver for the individual broker businesses under the ‘Bound by Blue’ theme. An excit ing brand refresh was launched by helloworld’s general manager – marketing, David Libeau, and interactive brainstorming seg-ments added value and crucial feed-back for future planning. Along with the reward of plenty of wine and sunshine, the group’s top performers were recognized and rewarded with an array of fabulous awards and prizes from Preferred Partners, including a record 11 over-seas trips for two. The group’s top performers weekend was also an-nounced, and the lucky five recipi-ents will be heading away to Fiji in November to celebrate their success.

The Travel BrokersConference 2016

The Travel Brokers ‘Bound By Blue’ conference held last week-end in the Hunter Valley focused on professional business coaching and ramping up the helloworld broker tool set.

Sixty-six brokers and suppliers spent a stunning, sunny four days in the Hunter Valley last weekend, learning from renowned international busi-ness coach Zac de Silva about how to be the Best Travel Brokers in the World. The interactive workshop sessions delivered practical step by step ways for brokers to raise their business performance, and challenged at-tendees to complete eight key busi-ness drills to assess their current performance. “Zac’s session really brought home the amazing skills, expertise and professionalism of The Travel Bro-kers, and gave us some new ways to build further on that, ensuring that our customers are our ambassadors,” said Jackie Bell, Head of The Travel Brokers network.Further business sessions included

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(with Wendy van Lieshout and Jackie Bell).

4 Pictured at the The Travel Brokers Gala Awards evening is Aaron Gilden and Gracia Lock of sponsor Air New Zealand.

5 Kaye Corrigan Amadeus, Kay Humphries and Gay Mathis.