Incorporating Tabs On Travel

Fri 15 May 14 Issue 3074Another Great Travel Today Wraparound

“ The perfect cup of coffee, the perfect river setting, the perfect sunrise, in perfect silence – it’s as close as I’ve ever been to a feeling of pure peace. For a moment, I wished that the world would not wake up.”

Simon, 59 Paris, France N 48° 51’ E 2° 21’

scenicnz.com/wonders

Friday 15 May 2015 Issue 3074

6 Pages This Issue

News..............................................p1-4Aloha Friday .................................... p5APT .................................................. p6

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

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Record Visitors For OzThe highest amount of international visitors ever recorded landed on Aus-tralian soil in the 12 months ending in Mar. An impressive seven million plus arrivals fronted up at the vari-ous gateways, an 8% year-on-year growth. Tourism Australia MD John O’Sullivan said that the growth was being matched in spending, which was a key measure for the bureau’s long-term strategy. New Zealand-specific arrival figures are yet to be released.

Xmas Island Hols?Australia’s detention facilities on Christmas Island may be trans-formed into accommodation for tourists. The Australian government this week announced the planned clo-sure of the island’s detention facili-ties for refugees, and The Guardian Australia has reported the island’s administrator Barry Haase as say-ing the move would make way for new opportunities for the devel-opment of tourism on the island, including the resumption of charter flights. According to Australia’s new budget, the closure will save the country around AUD554 million in the next five years.

Subway Stampedes?Beijing police have warned com-muters that wearing ‘strange outfits’ on the city’s subways and trains increase the risk of stampedes.

TAANZ BSP AdviceTA A N Z y e s t e r d a y r e c e i v e d notification that there ‘has been an issue with the new Westpac Airpoints cards’. “In the case reported, the tickets rejected to cash meaning the issuing bank did not remit the funds from the credit card transaction to the agent,” says TAANZ boss Andrew Olsen. “It appears to be an issue with the card set up with BSP.” Olsen says TAANZ doesn’t know how widespread the issue is, but recom-mends agencies check their BSP in the first instance. If agencies detect any issues relating to this matter TAANZ urges agents to clog the issue with IATA (e-mail, bsphdakl@iata.org) and contact the airline and dispute the transaction. “Accordingly the airline should raise an ACM the value of which should be netted off the BSP total in this or sub-sequently impacted BSP periods,” says Olsen who adds airlines and the bank are said to be addressing the issue.

Air New Zealand will roll out three new weekly day-time flights between Perth and Auckland, ini-tially 11 Dec-01 May, the equiva-lent of a 32.9% capacity increase on the route. The move is ultimately to offer connectively through New Zealand between PER and the carrier’s US, Canada and Argentina flights—but there’s also an upside for outbound travel.“The reality is wherever there’s a capacity increase we will see the numbers increase—and we ex-

pect that to happen [to PER],” says House of Travel commercial director Brent Thomas. “WA travel from New Zealand continues to grow, albeit off a small base, and PER is a great place to visit with a huge amount of attractions, so we expect to see growth.The new PER services will be oper-ated by 767-300 aircraft, and will see NZ offer 10 AKL-PER services a week.NZ says it will continue to operate twice weekly seasonal PER-CHC services (12 Dec-29 Apr.NZ also notes that some flight times have changed to accommodate the ad-ditional flying. The additional northern winter AKL-PER flights are operated in partnership with Virgin Australia under the NZ/VA transtasman alli-ance. The GDS has been updated or see airnzagents.co.nz for details

. . . NZ’s AKL HubFlight Centre’s Simon McKearney says the additional PER flights could be a reflection of the carrier now connecting the dots with its new routes. “With Auckland fast becom-ing a hub for Air New Zealand we expect capacity announcements to be forthcoming more frequently.”McKearney says Flight Centre both here and in Australia ‘welcomes the opportunity to further enhance its offering to its customers’.

NZ’s 30% PER Increase

Fri 15 May 15 P2

News & Product

‘BEST TOUR OPERATOR’ ‘BEST CRUISE OPERATOR’

Vote for APT at www.taanz.org.nz/ntia-voting-forms/

Thank you for your continued support!

APT are thrilled to have been nominated for

in the 2015 TAANZ National Travel Industry Awards.

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Having access to airlines (including low cost car-riers) and their ancil-lary products as well as hotels, car rental com-panies, TripAdvisor re-views and more—all in one space—is what sets apart Travelport’s Smartpoint solution, says Travelport general manager Pacific Kaylene Shuttle-wood. The new features of the ‘rich content and branding’ Smartpoint, she says, create value and growth to travel agents’ business. Agents have access to a large number of airlines and their ancillaries, which is a highlight, she adds. The ‘revolutionary’ feature enables agents to book things such as in-flight WiFi, specific meals, premium baggage, blankets, specific seats, and more, for their clients, without hav-ing to break their workflow. Plus, it has attracted a large number of low cost carriers, with the likes of easyJet and Ryanair on-board, offer-ing cheaper options for clients. The GDS has been on show throughout New Zealand this week, with road-shows in Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland.

. . . High DemandShuttlewood says Smartpoint is proving to be very popular with Kiwi agents, and to keep up with demand, it is strengthening its Kiwi team, with another account manager and a trainer set to come on board. Shuttle-wood says feedback from agents

already using Smartpoint has been ‘phenomenal’, and they are especially excited to announce Stella Travel has signed on to use Trav-elport as its premium pre-ferred GDS.

Smartpoint Is ‘Leading The Way’

MH KTM UpdateMalaysia Airlines has an update for affected passengers travelling to/from Kathmandu to 30 May. On refundable tickets, date changes are permitted to defer travel to 31 Aug, with the penalty fee waived, subject to availability, to be completed by 30 May. On restrictive tickets, date changes are permitted for travel to 31 Aug, change fees are waived, subject to availability, to be completed by 30 May.

‘BEST TOUR OPERATOR’ ‘BEST CRUISE OPERATOR’

Vote for APT at www.taanz.org.nz/ntia-voting-forms/

Thank you for your continued support!

APT are thrilled to have been nominated for

in the 2015 TAANZ National Travel Industry Awards.

&

SEE PAGE 7

Hawaiian Holdings Hawaiian Holdings, parent company of Hawaiian Airlines, has reported its first quarter financial results. Key notes include a GAAP net income of USD25.9 million; adjusted net income, reflecting economic fuel expense and excluding loss on extinguishment of debt, of USD24.7 million, an increase of USD25.6 million year-on-year. HA president and chief executive of-ficer Mark Dunkerley says, “producing these record results for the seasonally weak first quarter demonstrates the growing strength of our business.”

. . . HighlightsDuring the Q1 2015 HA introduced the first of its 18 refurbished Boeing 717 aircraft with an interior retrofit and a standard consistent layout of 128 seats in Mar. To date, seven air-craft have completed the refurbish-ment, with all remaining 717 aircraft in the company’s fleet expected to be retrofitted by the end of the year. Anew A330-200 aircraft was also added un-der lease financing.

Free WiFi In DubaiMore than 200 locations in Dubai reportedly now have free WiFi services, thanks to Telecom operator Du. Loca-tions include the Dubai Metro, Dubai Tram, Knowledge Village, Dubai Media City, Global Village and more, plus, the report says all parks and beaches of Dubai Municipality will have WiFi ac-cess by the end of the year. The compa-ny also has plans to roll out the service in Abu Dhabi, with reports saying this could happen as early as Jun, as well as in other emirates.

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Fri 15 May 15 P3

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careers your journey starts herecareers.airnz.co.nz

We are looking for an experienced Travel Consultant to join the Holiday Store in Queenstown.

You will be someone who is committed to the business of making people’s travel plans easy, affordable, safe and fun. As a Holidays Store Travel Consultant, you will provide a professional and complete leisure travel service to our customers and make sure every interaction is a memorable experience. You understand our customer needs and are fully committed to partnering with our customers to provide a world-class travel solution.

Sales focused and results driven, you are motivated by meeting targets to maximize revenue and value for the business. Flexible and confi dent under pressure, it goes without saying your outstanding initiative and professional approach to work is what will set you apart from the rest.

Leveraging your proven travel consultant experience and contacts, coupled with your expert customer service skills to seek opportunities to grow market presence in an environment of high competition. Driven, self-disciplined, upbeat, passionate and enthusiastic…you’re a fl exible individual who is ready to embrace a very exciting challenge.

You will be rewarded with a great salary and commission structure, have the opportunity to work with an iconic, well renowned New Zealand travel and aviation brand and be fully trained in the Air New Zealand way.

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Drive your travel career forward today. To apply, please go to careers.airnz.co.nz and enter job code 109973

*Please note this is a uniformed role. Please read through our uniform policy online.

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New DriveAway SiteDriveAway Holidays says its new website is the ultimate user-friendly experience. Improvements include a travel agent’s section under Agent Menu; the ability to search under city or airport code; improved car filter-ing and inclusions options; easier comparison of options; and high-lighted packages and inclusions to make upselling easier. Other improvements include the ability to download 14 on-line driving guides. See driveaway.com

Aussie Wine MonthWhat is marketed as Australia’s biggest celebration of its wine-making achievements takes place in the country’s 65 wine regions during May. The 4th annual Aussie Wine Month will have wineries and regions hosting tastings, dinners, winery walks, festivals and pop-up cellar doors while a range of pubs, bars and restaurants will have an all-Australian wine-by-the-glass list. Details, aussiewinemonth.com

GO QF Oz FaresReturn Qantas economy short life airfares for three – seven-night pack-ages to various Australian gateways are available from GO Holidays for sales to 30 Apr and travel 20 Apr-12 Dec. Cost pp s/d is from $635 ex AKL, $655 ex WLG and $625 ex CHC for three nights in Sydney; from $619/$635/$669 for three nights in Melbourne; and $1469 ex AKL for five nights in Perth pp t/s. Seven nights on the Gold Coast cost from $939 ex AKL and $985 ex CHC pp s/d and seven nights on the Sunshine Coast cost from $839/$885. Seven nights on the Gold Coast family share pp costs from $695/$739, while seven nights on the Sunshine Coast cost from $729/775.

Hotel ‘Shake-up’Private hotel owner CP Group is set to un-brand five managed properties, create new brand names and acquire more hotels in what is being called a ‘massive shake-up’ say reports. In a statement obtained by HM, CP Group says it decided to take over management of all its smaller hotels and run them in-house effective im-mediately. “The management of CP Group’s five hotels previously man-aged by Staywell Hospitality Group will join other hotels currently being managed by CP Group,” the company was reported as saying. Prior to be-ing managed by Staywell Hospitality Group, the five properties now back under CP Group management were formerly operated under Accor’s Mercure brand. However, CP says it intends to keep the larger hotels in the portfolio under existing brands, many of which are operated by Accor, the report says.

Have you got a funny travel story to share? We won’t publish

your name or agency details.

Send your funny travel stories to faith@traveltoday.co.nz

The FRIDAY FilesTrue stories from the mouths of

clients, as shared by Kiwi agents.

Back in the 80s I was a travel agent in the USA. I booked a family to Australia for a holiday and the father was most upset about losing a day. I attempted to explain the date line but he was not having any of that, I finally told him that he got the day back on the way home so he was happy with that.

The Sabre Corporation has signed a deal to acquire the remaining 65% of Abacus International for USD411 million. Abacus is currently owned by a con-sortium of 11 Asian airlines along with Sabre (which has a 35% stake in the company) and is described as ‘the leading GDS in the Asia-Pacific region’.“The Asia-Pacific travel market is the largest and fastest growing in the world,” said Sabre ceo Tom Klein. “Acquiring Abacus immediately combines the global capabilities of Sabre with the deep local market expertise of the leading Asia-Pacific

Sabre Buys Final Share Of Abacus

GDS.” Klein says the ‘powerful com-bination’ will give its customers even more innovation and service options, while allowing Sabre to accelerate growth globally in a very capital efficient way – and to gain regional synergies in all three of our businesses serving travel agents, airlines and hospitality companies.” Abacus will operate as a region of Sabre Travel Network moving for-ward. The deal is subject to regula-tory approvals and the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2015, says Sabre.

Fri 15 May 15 P4

News & Product

IndustryDiary

For more see Monday’s TRAVEL TODAY

MAYSouth Australian RoadshowAuckland North: Fri 15, Spencer on Byron HoteL, Takapuna, 1700-1930.Auckland: Sat 16, Orakei Bay Function Centre, Orakei, 0930-1100. Auckland East: Sat 16, Howick Golf Club, Bucklands Beach, 1400-1600. Hamilton: Sun 17, Novotel Tainui, 1400-1600. Tauranga: Mon 18, 59 The Strand Function Venue, 1200-1330. Rotorua: Mon 18, Novotel Rotorua Lakeside 1700-1900. Palmerston North: Tue 19, Copthorne Hotel, 1630-1900. Masterton: Wed 20, Masterton Club, 1200-1330. Wellington: Wed 20, Shandon Golf Club, Petone, 1730-2000.

Chimu Adventures Launch Party – Fiesta Latina!Auckland Central: Thu 21 May, Besos Latinos, 1800-2000.

Amazing Thailand RoadshowAuckland: Thu 21, Sky City Grand, 1700.

Whitsundays Travel Agent WorkshopAuckland: Fri 22, The Mercure, 1730-2030.

Sabre Tech SummitAuckland: Thu 28, Langham, 1500-1800.

JULYNepal Fundraiser In conjunction with South African Airways and Adventure WorldAuckland: Wed 01, Sky City Convention Centre, 1730-1800 Drinks/Nibbles,1800-1930 Travel Quiz.

Hawaii Tourism MCI RoadshowMon 27, Dates and venue tba.

AUGUSTBula Marau Fiji Roadshow – Around Viti LevuChristchurch: Mon 3, Novotel Christchurch, 1730-2030. Wellington: Tue 4, InterContinental, 1730-2030. Auckland: Wed 5, Stamford Hotel, 1730-2045. Hamilton: Thu 6, Novotel Tainui, 1730-2030.

Anaheim RoadshowAuckland: Mon 24, The Hilton, 1730.

Intermediate/Senior ConsultantUnited Travel New Lynn

Please send your CV with a covering letter to kjameson@unitedtravel.co.nzAll applications will be treated in confidence.

United Travel New Lynn is searching for a new team member with a passion for travel and exceptional customer service skills.

If you can tick all these boxes then I’d like to hear from you:• A minimum 3-4 years proven retail consulting experience• Accuracy and attention to detail• Great time management skills and self motivation• A working knowledge of Sabre & Travelog (preferable)• Excellent communication skills, written and verbal• A sense of humour (compulsory!)

Agents on t he New Zea land Ultimate Emirates Dubai Famil have been enjoying an action-packed week, sampling the best the city has to offer. On Tues the agents embarked on an Old Dubai City Tour, visiting the Gold, Spice and Textile souks, and also tried out one of the local modes of transport by taking an Abra across the Dubai Creek. They then went on to explore the historic Al Fahidi’s laneways and wind towers, followed by a tradition-al Emirati lunch hosted by Sheikh Mohamed Culture Centre for Un-derstanding general manager and Emirati host Nasif Kayed, who in-

formed the group about UAE culture, customs and religion. To finish off, the agents went on an afternoon and evening Arabian Ad-ventures Sundowner Desert Safari, which included a falconry experi-ence, dune bashing, sunset stop, the Al Waha private desert camp, belly dancing and camel riding. On Wed the agents enjoyed another full day of activities, starting with a visit to At The Top – Burj Khalifa, the highest observation deck and restau-rant in the world. They then cooled off at Atlantis The Plam’s waterpark, Aquaventure, with its array of slides and rides, water rapids and pools. Because no trip to Dubai would

Agents Experience Dubai

1 New Zealand agents learn about Emirati Culture from Nasif Kayed, general manager of the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cul-tural Understanding.2 Karen Casey from House of Travel; Robby Mehlhopt, Julie Lynskey, Chloe De Perci, Ashleigh Evans, Julia Maclean and Katrina Vowles from Flight Centre enjoying some downtime after indulging in a traditional Emirati dinner in the desert with Arabian Adventures.3 Katrina Vowles from Flight Centre, Carly Gerrard from House of Travel, Sarah Bartlett from Flight Centre and Aimee Ross from Holland Clarke and Beatson enjoy their Ara-bian Adventures desert safari experience.4 New Zealand agents enjoy the old restored and preserved architecture of Al Fahidi district.5 Enjoying Arabian Adventures desert safari experience and traditional henna tattooing is Megan Keatley from Travelcom.6 Karen Casey from House of Travel learns about the traditional sport of falconry, used by Bedouins for hunting food in the Arabian desert.

be complete without a visit to The Dubai Mall, agents were then let loose to shop up a storm, before the day culminated with a gala din-ner on-board the luxury Bateaux Dubai. The agents were treated to a four-course meal and entertain-ment whilst they cruised along the creek.On Thu the agents attended a work-shop at the Dusit Thani hotel, which included speeches from Dubai Tour-ism’s Julie King and Shahab Abdulla Shayan as well as presentations from over 32 suppliers and partners, in-cluding hotels, attractions and des-tination management companies, followed by lunch.

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*Sales to 31 May. For full details see your GDS.

AKL SEA or SFO From $1585*

pp

LikeHawaii Tourism NZ

Aloha FridayIncorporating Tabs On TravelFri 15 May 15 p5

Summer Concert SeriesThe Ke Kani O Ke Kai summer concert series hosted by the Waikiki Aquarium offers visitors and locals an evening of live entertainment and food under the stars, advises sponsor Outrigger Resorts. Visitors are encouraged to explore the aquarium galleries that remain open throughout the concert eve-nings which take place from Jun through Aug.

North Shore Ocean FestTurtle Bay Resort will host the fourth annual North Shore Ocean Fest on 06 Jun. The free family fun day will feature food and crafts, games, kids activi-ties, prizes, entertainment, and visi-tors can learn about Hawaii’s unique ecosystem. See turtlebayresort.com/content/ north-shore-ocean-fest

Don’t Miss OutDiscover Hawaii Tours has seen an increase in business from New Zea-land, but the day tour operator is also reporting strong growth in its direct business from New Zealand. “We are really keen to work with travel agents in New Zealand, so I urge them to of-fer their clients our product, and earn commission, rather than their clients booking direct. We know an increas-ing number of New Zealanders are (booking direct) and agents may be missing out,” says the company’s Dean Calibraro.Discover’s Pearl Harbour tour is the most popular option for Kiwis, he says, adding that selling points for agents are the fact clients don’t need to worry about getting tickets (which are becoming harder to obtain) as well the benefits of a narrated tour which of-fers another dimension to the moving Pearl Harbor story.

Lanai ClosureThe Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay will close on 01 Jun for refurbishment and although no of-ficial reopening date has been prof-fered the property is taking bookings for the 2015 holiday season and first quarter of 2016. Update projects include removing the resort’s lone pool and replacing it with three new ones comprising a family pool and an adults-only option. The guest rooms are also getting a makeover. However, Lanai’s 18-hole Manele Golf Course and views restaurant remains open. The second of the two Four Season properties on Lanai is already closed, shutting its doors to the public on 05 Jan and turning it over to the con-struction workers on the Manele Bay project as their accommodation for the duration.

Oceanfront IndulgenceThe Outrigger Waikiki’s Oceanfront Indulgence is catered to those who want to treat both their mind and body. The package includes a one-bedroom oceanfront suite or an oceanfront guest room, a welcome basket on arrival, the choice of a 50-minute private beach yoga session for two or a 50-min in-room massage for two, plus nightly turndown service, and a chilled bottle of Champagne with flutes. The package starts at AUD429 per room, per night for an oceanfront guestroom, or choose an oceanfront suite starting at AUD565 per room, per night. Three-night minimum stay for travel through to 21 Dec. Visit outrigger.com/suiteromance

New Prince Waikiki GMHawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki and Golf Club has promoted Wade Gesteuyala to general manager. He has served as hotel manager since 2008.

Take A Look At Diverse Hawai‘i

Hawai‘i Tourism is still riding high on a wave of increased Kiwi demand for the island state—but the STO is urging agents to check out the adventures of four travel agents who explored the island group earlier this year, in a Hawai‘i Tourism incentive, of-fered in conjunction with Hawai-ian Airlines.Kiwi consultants Luke Keightley from House of Travel Morrins-ville, and Therese Brooking from A Walkers World, joined two Aussie counterparts on an epic Hawaiian adventure spanning the islands of Hawai‘i.The result is a series of video clips which showcase the highlights of the agents’ adventure ‘and really give agents a feel for the distinct

experiences offered on the different islands, says Tourism Hawai‘i New Zealand manager Darragh Walshe.“We really urge New Zealand agents to take the time to check out the vid-eos and the holiday options on offer to both agents and their clients,” adds Walshe. To see the trip You Tube clips, which are broken down by is-land, CLICK HERE

Travel Today, Friday 15 May 2015 Page 6

‘BEST TOUR OPERATOR’ ‘BEST CRUISE OPERATOR’

Vote for APT at www.taanz.org.nz/ntia-voting-forms/

Thank you for your continued support!

APT are thrilled to have been nominated for

in the 2015 TAANZ National Travel Industry Awards.