Travel Daily e info@traveldaily.com.au t 1300 799 220 w www.traveldaily.com.au page 1

Today’s issue of TDTravel Daily today has seven

pages of news including our PUZZLE page, plus full pages from:•Macao Government Tourism Officeproductprofile

• OkinawaConvention&Visitors Bureau

www.traveldaily.com.auThursday 17th September 2020

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ACCC is on the lookoutTHE AustralianCompetitionand

Consumer Commission (ACCC) has warned it will be carefully monitoringanyanticompetitiveactivitiescarriedoutbydomesticairlines, such as capacity dumping and predatory pricing.

In a new report released today at the behest of Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg back in Apr (TD 24 Apr), the consumer watchdog outlined the approach it will take to protect the rights of passengers during the challenging COVID-19 period using enhanced data gathering powers.Analysisofmonthlyflight

capacity, passenger numbers, and revenue data from major players Qantas, Virgin Australia and Rex will play a key role in itsfact-findingactivities,withthe hoarding of airport slots, sellingticketsbelowcostforthepurposesofstiflingcompetitors,and deliberately increasing

capacity beyond expected demand, all high on the hit-list of anticompetitivebehaviour.

ACCC Chair Rod Sims said the watchdog’s role in preserving faircompetitioninthedomesticaviationsectorwouldbeespecially important as airlines started to rebound from the travel shutdown moving forward.

“COVID-19 has created some ofthemostdifficultmarketconditionsinAustralianaviationhistoryandit’scriticalthatwhenthe industry starts scaling up domesticflying,anypotentialdamagetocompetitionisidentifiedquickly,”hesaid.“Australia’sdomesticairline

industry over the next few years maylookquitedifferenttotheonethatwentinto2020.”

TRAVLR wants votesSIMON Te Hennepe from

TRAVLR is a nominee for a seat ontheAFTABoard,statinghebelievestheFederationneedsareal specialist in digital online, startups and technology.

He told Travel Daily the new world of travel will see all industry businesses rebuild their interactionswithconsumersasthey dream, plan, book and share their travel arrangements.

Full members of AFTA have been advisedofvotingarrangementsinthe lead up to next week’s AGM.

New modules a-Ok BE.OKINAWA is today releasing

its next two Travel Daily Training Academy modules, Okinawan Gastronomy&CultureandActivitiesinOkinawa.

The modules will provide an overview of the array of experiencesonofferfortravellersin Okinawa, as well as showcasing the prefecture’s many special cultural aspects and delicacies - head to the back page for more.

Experience MacaoMACAO caters to all styles

oftravelandthedestinationfeatures experiences such as stunning resorts and old-style charm,allprofiledonpage eight.

Vale travel veteranONE of Sydney’s travel industry

stalwarts, Dennis J. Weatherall, has passed away aged 74.Afteramonths-longbattlewith

myelodysplasia, Dennis passed on last month, having enjoyed a long career working with Qantas and Singapore Airlines, as well asTourWorldInternationalandConcorde Travel.

He was the founder of travel companies, Allways Travel, based on Elizabeth St, and tour operator BattlefieldsoftheWorld.

He is survived by his wife, two sons and three grandsons.

Fly by the bordersQANTAS has announced a

new“border-free”scenicflightover the Northern Territory, Queensland and NSW.Theflightwillbeoperatedon

a Boeing Dreamliner with the indigenous“Emily”livery,andcomes in response to the demand fromfrequentflyerstoreturntothe skies as soon as possible.

Tickets went on sale at noon today and have already sold out.

Travel Daily e info@traveldaily.com.au t 1300 799 220 w www.traveldaily.com.au page 2

Thursday 17th September 2020

Book your client a NSW escape they’ll never forget.

Air NZ mulls savingAIR NewZealandhasconfirmed

that it is currently examining the prospect of sub-leasing its Aucklandofficetocutcosts.

“We are reviewing all of our costs as we navigate our way through COVID-19 and as part of thisweareconsideringsublettingsomeoftheAucklandhuboffice,”a spokesperson told TD.

MEANWHILE the airline is reportedly considering chopping upto400cabincrewstaff,takingjob losses since the pandemic started to a third of its workforce.

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AA Asia hub changeAMERICAN Airlinesisshifting

itsAsiahubfromLAInternationaltoDallas/FortWorthInternationalinacost-cuttingmove.

AA believes the decision will improveefficiencyandmakejourneys more seamless for passengers,with25%ofalltraffictransitingthroughDallas.

QF Amadeus passport hackAN AUSTRALIAN computer

expert has exposed a vulnerability in the Qantas website which allowed him to discover the mobile number, passport details andSpecialServiceRequest(SSR)messages in a booking for former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott,basedondetailsfromanInstagram post in Mar this year.

Alex Hope described the simple exploit, which saw him use the PNR details from the post of Abbott’sboardingpassduringa trip to Tokyo to log into the “ManagemyBooking”facilityonthe Qantas site.

Examining the HTML code of the resultingpagerevealedahostofidentityinformation,includingthe former PM’s date of birth, passport number, expiry date, full name, mobile phone and frequentflyernumber.

There were also SSR messages requestingfast-trackprocessingand a window seat in the last row

of Business class.Hope noted that the

informationfoundwouldbeidealforidentitytheft,andinawidelycirculated blog post yesterday describedhiseffortstoalertQantas, the Government and Abbotthimselfabouttheissue.

On 30 Mar he emailed the QF security team, who responded a few days later saying they were “activelyworkingonthis”.AfternofurtherresponseHope

followed up with Qantas in Jul, eventuallyresortingtogettingin touch with the airline’s media teamwhoconfirmedtheissuewasbeingfixedbyAmadeus.

Last month he was further advised that the bug had been rectified,withtheairlinethankingthe hacker for refraining from makingtheissuepublicuntilthefixwasinplace.

QF said its standard advice to customers is not to post pictures of boarding passes.

AF/KL up GDS feeAIR France and KLM have

followedtheLufthansaGroupofairlines (TD 15 Sep)inboostingtheir fees for travel agent bookings made via GDS systems.Effective10Sep,theAFand

KLDistributionSurchargehasincreased from €12 to €13 per onewaysector“toreflectthecorrespondingcostdifferencebetweentheGDSdistributionforbothairlines”.

Big Alliance plansALLIANCE Airlines has revealed

thatitsfocusforthenextfinancialyear will be to add more capacity at a number of ports, commence flyingtoseveralnewhubs,introduceanewfleettype,andpurchase14Embraerjetaircraft,according to the company’s CEO LeeSchofield.

The carrier’s chief added that 2021 should see solid revenue growth, earned from its charter andflyin,flyoutservices.

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Thursday 17th September 2020

TESTAMENT to the country’s loveaffairwithrugbyunion,NewZealandconfirmedthisweekthatquarantineruleswillbe adjusted to make way for the Bledisloe Cup, which is slated to go ahead in New Zealand in Oct.NewZealand’squarantine

protocols currently restrict sportingteamstoindividualisolationforthefirstthreedays, before being allowed to form bubbles of 15 for training from days four to seven, and requiringasecondnegativetest to expand the bubble to 25 from days eight to 14.

However, the Kiwi PM Jacinda ArdernconfirmedonNZradiothe rules would be tweaked for the Wallabies, enabling them to trainasafullsquadafteronlysixdaysinquarantine.

Seeing as the Aussie side has failed to beat the All Blacks in 20 years, we suspect some of our players are keen to stay in isolationforaslongaspossible.

WindowSeat

Need a distraction amid the doom and gloom?Check out our daily puzzle page.

Kakadu glamping onKAKADU tourist centre

Cooinda is gearing up to reopen its Outback Retreat glamping tentsforthefirsttimesinceMar,following the Northern Territory Government’s decision to re-open borders to visitors from Greater Sydney without the need for quarantinefrom09Oct.

Thai cash approvalTHAI Airways has been granted

approval by a bankruptcy court in Bangkok to proceed with a restructuringofitsfinancesasthestrugglingcarriercontinuestobattlebillionsofdollarsofdebt.

The court granted Thai Airways a temporary shield from its creditors because it deemed itscurrentfinancialplightwasprimarily caused by travel restrictionsduetoCOVID-19andnot its own mismanagement.

In a statement released this week, Thai Airways said it expected to have a full business reorganisationplanreadytopresent to the court by the fourth quarterofthisyear.Theairlinealsoconfirmedthat

its creditors would be informed of the court’s decision and that planners will hold a creditors’ meetinginearly2021.

Thai Airways added that for creditors to keep their rights to a debtrepayment,theymustfileanapplicationfordebtrepaymenttotheofficialreceiver,theLegalExecutionDepartment,withinone month from the date that the appointment of the planners is published in the Government Gazette.

Emirates slashesAN INTERNAL memo circulated

tostaffatEmirates’UKofficehas revealed the airline is consideringcuttingupto600jobsat its European hub, according to Britishmediareports.

“We have to reduce the scale of theoperationinordertoprotectourcashflowandsafeguardourbusiness, to ensure that we have aviablefuture,”theinternalemail stated.

The airline’s President Tim Clarkhadpreviouslyflaggedthebusiness would have to slash around15%ofitsstaffinordertosurvive the travel shutdown.

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30k Aussies stuck in UKTHERE are likely around 30,000

Australians stranded in the UnitedKingdom,anumberofint’l airlines have told the Board ofAirlineRepresentativesofAustralia (BARA).

The industry body said under the current int’l arrival caps, whichwerethisweekliftedtoupto6,000perweek(TD yesterday), it would likely take well into 2021 to repatriate all Australians, with BARA calling for an increase in quarantinecapacityanda“risk-based”approachtoCOVID-19.“Manyinternationalairlines

have been forced to stop selling ticketstoAustralianstoreturnhomeuntileitherlateOctoruntilDec,includingforflightsoutof

theUK,becauseoftheint’lpaxarrivalcaps,”BARAsaid.“Itisdifficulttoseehowthese

Australians will be returned home before the end of 2020 under the currentcaps,whichoftenlimitpax numbers to 30 or less.

“The caps on passengers arecurrentlysetverytightuntil24Oct,afterwhichdateinternationalairlineshavenocertainty about the arrangements thatwillapply.”

Key reasons listed for Aussies returning home include the need for medical treatment and kids reunitingwiththeirparents.

BARA also pointed to high fixedcostsandfewerpaxdrivingup airfare prices, which is also preventingAustraliansfromreturning home.

Walk New ZealandWORLD Expeditionshas

launched a new brand called Great Walks of New Zealand, comprised of 21 guided and self-guided and walks with varying degreesofdifficultyanddurationthroughout New Zealand’s picturesqueSouthIsland.

Great Walks of NZ joins World Expeditions’twootherbrandsin the country, cycling tours Adventure South and Trail Journeys.

Vibe Hotel HobartVIBE Hotel Hobart will open its

doors to the public in Nov and will mark the debut of the TFE Hotels brand in the state.

Situated on Argyle Street, 500 metres from Hobart’s waterfront, the 15-storey, 142-room property willbepartofthecity’sfirstmixed-use development.

The hotel is inspired by Tasmania’s history and natural beauty, as well as by London’s Bosideng building.

“Vibe Hobart, by its very design, givesaphysicalandemotivenodto everything people love about Tasmania’smostexcitingcity,”said TFE Hotels Area General Manager Stephen Moore.

CLICK HERE for more details.

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Thursday 17th September 2020

“Powerhouse” AFTA meetings

EARLIER this week a group of Vic travel agents coordinated a meetingwithFederal,stateandlocalpoliticiansaspartoftheNationalMobilisationProgram,one of many being convened by AFTA members across Australia.

The online gathering (pictured) was coordinated by Keiran Cromie of Brighton Travelworld and Steven Green of Olive Tree Travel, withparticipantsincludingFederalMember for Goldstein, Tim Wilson, as well as State Member forCaulfieldDavidSouthwick,State Member for Brighton James Newbury, State Member for Sandringham Brad Roswell and Bayside Council Mayor Clarke Martin.PuttingthecasealongsideGreen

and Cromie were Julie Avery of Brighton Travelworld; Kelly Millard and Leanne Sugden, Helloworld Middle Brighton; Michael Nolan and Chris McGetrick of Bayview Travel; Anne Fitzgerald from Helloworld Brighton; Gary Seignior,HamptonTravel&Cruise;Jenny Watson of Helloworld Bentleigh; Harry Kopelis of Jetway Travel; Tony Freedman and Mark Langhorne,Langhorne&James

Travel Associates; Michelle Bandura, Travellers Lounge; Ceri Pritchard and Hugh Tilley of Black Rock Travel; Stuart Ingram from DestinationHQ;CarolEvansofBayTravel&Cruise;WayneAckerfeldfromAckerfeld&Goldberg TA; APT Travel Group Chair Simon Jones and APT Travel Group Director Rob McGeary.

AFTA CEO Darren Rudd, theFederation’sChairTomManwaring of Express Travel Group; and Magellan Travel CEO and AFTA Director Andrew Macfarlane were also on the callforthe“minisummit”whichshared the reality of a day in the life of an agent at the moment.

“Each and every speaker reinforced the compelling and pressing need for immediate actionataFederalandStatelevel,”OliveTreeTravel’sStevenGreen said.

“We have a commitment from allattendingparliamentariansof their ongoing support and we intend to work closely with them to make sure they have what they need to champion our cause and help us secure the support we so desperatelyneed,”hesaid.

WA offers $1m in vouchersTHE Western Australian

Government today announced a voucher scheme to help support the state’s tour and experience companies through the pandemic, with 10,000 tourism vouchers worth $100 each up for grabs from next Mon.Theinitiativeispartofthe

state’s“WanderoutYonder”campaign, and will give WA citizensa$100discountonanytourism product, as long as they spend a total of $200 or more.

The vouchers will be available onlineonafirst-inbestdressedbasis,andparticipantswillbeable to bundle several tours and experiencesthroughparticipatingvisitor centres.

Tours or experiences must be booked by 31 Oct 2020 and undertaken by the end of the year to be eligible for the discount, with Tourism Minister Paul Papalia saying that while

West Australians had been travelling around the state in huge numbers, “we know that some tour and experience operatorsarestilldoingittough.”“Inordinarytimesout-of-state

travellers enjoy these experiences in huge numbers while making lifelong memories...whether it is swimming with dolphins, going on a bush tucker tour, or enjoying a river cruise along one of our pristinewaterways-therearescoresofactivitiesonofferalloverthestate,”Papaliasaid.

The vouchers will go live at 10am on Mon 21 Sep at wandervoucher.com.au.

ALSOthisweekameetingtookplaceinthelocalofficeofPrimeMinisterScottMorrisoninCronulla, Sydney.Thein-personparticipants

(pictured) included AFTA CEO Darren Rudd, Flight Centre GM Luxury Brands Danielle Galloway, VivienDaviesandSoniaAntillafromSylvaniaTravel&Cruise,and Tom McGann of McGann

Travel,withtheteamconnectingvia phone link with three senior advisors in Canberra.

As well as pressing the urgency of the AFTA Budget submission, the agents also highlighted the need for a ‘COVID amnesty for travelagents’inrelationtocreditcard chargebacks.Moregrassrootsinitiativesand

suggestionsonpage five.

Amex lounge moveAMERICAN Express has

announced plans to expand two of its signature Centurion Lounges, as well as introducing a new set of health and safety protocols which will be implemented in all lounges as they reopen from next month.

The Centurion Lounge at New York’s LaGuardia Airport will relocatetoalargerlocationinthenewTerminalB,whiletheexistingfacility at Las Vegas’ McCarran InternationalAirportwillbeexpanded and redesigned.

New measures will include distancedseating,reducedcapacity, higher cleaning frequenciesandservedfoodinsteadofbuffets.

An Amex spokesperson said “we believe travel is core to our Card Members’ lifestyles, and like them we look forward to the day when we can travel the world again - we’re excited to welcome them back into our Centurion loungessoon”.

Brand USA ditches major shows

BRAND USA,America’smajortravelmarketingorganisation,will not take part in World Travel Market this year or ITB Berlin in 2021, according to a number of UStrademediareports.

The public-private partnership staged its own standalone B2B event in London last year (TD 04 Jun 2019) and had previously announced plans to take it onto Europe in 2021.

World Travel Market this week announced it would conduct the event as a virtual gathering from 09-11 Nov (TD yesterday).

Club Med summitCLUB Med is convening a

high level industry session next week to debate the big issues currently facing us all, featuring a panel including Club Med GM PacificRachaelHarding,TourismAustraliaChiefMarketingOfficerSusanCoghill,CathayPacificRegionalHeadofMarketing&SalesRichardJonesandauthor&entrepreneur Lisa Messenger.

Titled “Are Australians Losing TheirLoveForTravel”,theZoompanel will be moderated by TV presenter Teigan Nash from 12 noon (AEST) on Thu 24 Sep - to register CLICK HERE.

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Thursday 17th September 2020

Industry on the home stretch for supportJo Francis from Global Travel

Solutions and Christine Ross-Davies from Attadale Travel have been leading lights in the push for Government support for the industry. They have issued this final rallying cry to urge more engagement with MPs.

Got an opinion to share? Let us know in up to 400 words via email to feedback@traveldaily.com.au.

WE BELIEVE this is really the last leg of the world’s longest marathon and if we are going toreceiveanyFederalfinancialsupport, this is going to happen in the next two weeks.

We have received advice that we are not lobbying our local Federal members to the degree that needs to be done to see our industry receiverecognition.

Remain calm. We totally understand that many of you have already contacted your MP (on multipleoccasions);manyhavetried to do this and not received any joy and some just haven’t been up for the task due to the overwhelmingsituation.

We are asking once again for you to seek out your Federal member by emailing and formally requestingameetinginpersonorasaZoommeeting.Themeetingrequestshouldalso

be the subject heading. You can requestthisasyourownagencyordo this as a group of agents.

If they don’t reply, please follow up with a phone call and possibly tenphonecallsafterthat!Ifyouwish to have AFTA represented with you, they are happy to do so.

We can only suggest from our experience, and that of others, that the following are key points to discuss along with your very

valuable personal story since Mar.1. TRAVEL AGENTS WERE NOT DEAD BEFORE COVID-19

Most Ministers we have met believe that the internet had already killed us. They are really adamant about this and agents may want to share their own personalgrowthfiguresorrefertothe AFTA data from 2018/19 which showed the Australian travel sector experienced annual growth of 11%, and has maintained growthof7.2%overthepastfiveyears.2. WE NEED TO BE VALUED

AND SUPPORTED FINANCIALLY FOR THE SERVICE WE ARE PROVIDING

Travel agents are working through the complicated process of refunds and credits under COVID conditions(resourcesand systems stretched beyond capacity)repatriatingoutstanding funds of approximately $10 billion, which will be reinvested in Australian businesses, including tourism in Australia. PriortoCOVID-19,acancellation

would normally take four to eight weeks to unravel and is now taking four to twelve months to achieve a refund result. These funds representanenormousstimulusfor the Australian economy, whichrequiretheexpertiseof travel agents to ensure the maximum value is returned to our customers...four million

Australians (also their customers so to speak).

We are the only industry of all the“severelyimpacted”industrieswhichhasworkedfulltimeforour JobKeeper (where eligible). I mentionthisaswearealsooftentold that so many industries are suffering.

Across all industries, support forfinancialhardshiphasbeen provided by the Federal Government with the criteria of a 30%reductioninturnover.

However, small businesses such astravelagents,operatingat90%

+ downturn with minimalcashflow,due to Government restrictionsresultinginaninability to trade, areinasignificantlydifferentdegreeof hardship versus those incurring a 30% downturn.3. OUR VALUE TO AUSTRALIAN TOURISM

Our industry is wellequipped,andin fact is already pivotingintotheAustralian tourism

market to assist with local tourism growth.

There is a genuine opportunity to re-establish a strong partnership between travel and tourism. Travel agencies provide tourism access to a highly skilled, passionate and creativesalesforcewithexistingand valuable client databases, comprising more than 70% of all Australian travellers. Agents are experts at packaging holidays and

areabletoprovidean“untapped”distributionchannel.

In the long-term for tourism to recover, we believe that inbound and outbound travel must coexist. Without a thriving andprofitableoutboundmarket,there cannot be a thriving inbound tourism economy. Healthy and economicallyviableinternationalanddomestictravelisatwo-waypropositionandtravelagentswillbe poised to assist with this task once it is safe to do so.

You may want to use the AFTA submission to support your requestandshouldyouchoosetodoso,youcanconfidentlytellyourMember that Treasury and Simon Birmingham have this submission butnoinformationhasbeenforthcomingfromtheseofficestodate.Showinggratitudeforthe

support you may have received is helpfulandwearetoldour“tone”isimportantforeffectivedelivery...this seems a tough ask for all of us right now, given this daily sh*tstorm, but no one responds well to anger and if you remember that while it seems inconceivable that they don’t understand your situation,manyofthemdonot.4. LASTLY, PLEASE ASK YOUR MEMBER FOR AN “OUTCOME” FROM THE MEETING

As you know we are really in the finalstagesofhavinganoutcome,as most of the Federal Budget has beenfinalised.

We are happy to help agents in any way, as is AFTA, and just want to try and ignite some energy for this movement and thought somethingfromadifferentsourcemay be useful.

O P I N I O N

“We have received advice that we

are not lobbying our local Federal

members to the degree that

needs to be done to see our industry receive

recognition

”

WE CAN HELP YOU EDUCATE THE TRADEClick here.

Keep your clients engaged with keep dreaming...

©De

stin

atio

n NS

W

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Thursday 17th September 2020

Pub quiz1. WhichmajorUSagencywascreatedasaresultofthe

September11attacks?

2. Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate shares its name with whichColdWar-eratechnologicaldevelopment?

3. Intermsofpopulation,whatisthesmallestAfricancountry?

4. Whichhotelopenedin1865asEurope’sfirst“GrandHotel”?

5. WhichcruiselinefeaturestheUnionJackinitslivery?

6. The Murray River reaches the ocean at which South Australianlake?

7. Lebanon’scapitalBeiruthasbeeninhabitedforhowlong?a) More than 4,000 yearsb) More than 5,000 yearsc) Morethan6,000years

8. Queensland’s Skyrail Rainforest Cableway runs above which nationalpark?

9. The longest train service by distance operates between whichtwocities?

10. Whatisthesecond-largestcityintheUnitedKingdom?

Whose flag is this?

DESPITE thecentreofthisflagbeing a basic circle, it actually represents a parasol or royal umbrella, which was part of the king’s ceremonial regalia.Thefirstflagusedbythis

country was a white three-headed elephant and white parasolonaredfield,butthecurrentflagbecametheofficialone in 1975, and was the banner

oftherevolutionaryforceswhosought independence from the colonial country ruling the nation.

As well as symbolising the parasol, the centre disk pays homagetoanothercountry’sflagwho supported the independence movement.Doyouknowwhoseflagthisis?Check tomorrow for the answer.

SudokuTHE aimofSudokuistocompletetheentiregridusingthenumbers

1-9. Numbers can only be used once in each row, column, and 3×3 box.

BEGINNER

www.sud

okuo

fthed

ay.com

–visitthe

mand

getanew

Sud

okueveryda

y!

ANSWERS 17 SEP

Where in the world: Kerosene Creek, Rotorua, New ZealandKnowyourbrands:1Amazon,2AirNewZealand,3Spotify, 4Twitter

Funnies FlashbackWE’VE trawled through the TD Window Seat

archives to give you a blast from the past. Here’s some gems from 02 Sep 2013:

INTERACTIVE in-flightentertainmentwenttoanewlevelrecentlyonanAirIndiaflight,whenapassengercomplainedherseatback video unit insulted her.

According to the Times of India, the woman was preparing to watchamoviebuttheunitwasmalfunctioning.Afterfiddlingwithvariousbuttonsandswitches,amessage

allegedly appeared on the screen reading “Lie low...Sit down youidiot!”ArepresentativefromAirIndiatoldthepaperthatfollowing

aninvestigation,themessagetheladysawwasanEnglishsubtitleofaHindimovie,whichfrozeonthescreenatthesametimetheonboardserverwentoffline.Thepassengerhasrespondedtotheinvestigation,sayingshe

wasnotyetwatchingafilmandthatthemessagewasthesameatboththetopandthebottomofthescreenwhenitfroze.AirIndiasaid“Thematterhasbeentakenupwiththe

concernedauthoritiesforrectification”.

Catch up on the news of the week

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

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Thursday 17th September 2020

For confidential tip offs, connect with Travel Daily via our secure WhatsApp service on +61 2 8007 6760 or click HERE

business events news

EDITORIALEditor in Chief and Publisher –BrucePiper Contributors –AdamBishop,Nicholas O’Donoghue, Myles Stedman,Jenny Piper.info@traveldaily.com.au

ADVERTISING AND MARKETINGSean Harrigan and Hoda Alzubaidi advertising@traveldaily.com.au

BUSINESS MANAGERJenny Piper accounts@traveldaily.com.au

www.traveldaily.com.au

Travel Daily is part of the Business Publishing Group family of publications.

Produced each weekday since 1994, Travel Daily is Australia’s leadingtravelindustrypublication. Travel DailyisapublicationofTDailyPtyLtdABN34108508765.Allcontentfullyprotectedbycopyright.Pleaseobtainwrittenpermissiontoreproduceanymaterial.WhileeverycarehasbeentakeninthepreparationofTravel

Dailynoliabilitycanbeacceptedforerrorsoromissions.Informationispublishedingoodfaithtostimulateindependentinvestigationofthematterscanvassed.ResponsibilityforeditorialcommentistakenbyBrucePiper.

Suite1,Level2,64TalaveraRd MacquarieParkNSW2113AustraliaPO Box 1010 Epping NSW 1710 AustraliaTel:1300799220(+61282136350)

Travel Daily operatesbypaidsubscriptionto people within the travel industry - sign up at www.traveldaily.com.au.

APPOINTMENTSWELCOME to Industry Appointments, Travel Daily’s Thursday feature which has the latest job appointments from across the industry. If you have just appointed someone to a new position and would like to update the industry email appointments@traveldaily.com.au.

Jacinda Alderson has been appointed the new Communications Manager for QT Hotels and Resorts, joining the company from Busabout Operations where she held the position of Marketing Manager. Alderson will be based in QT’s Gold Coast office.

Former Chief Operating Officer of Byron Bay’s Bluesfest Steve Romer has decided to take on the role of GM at The Events Centre Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast. He previously held the position of Director of Operations at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre.

A new Cluster Director of Sales and Marketing has been named for the first two Meliá Hotels International properties to open in Thailand, with Christian Lueke charged with taking on the responsibility. He arrives with 14 years’ experience in the Thai hospitality sector.

John De Fries recently accepted the offer to become the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s new President and CEO, following the retirement of Chris Tatum in the role last month. De Fries started his new position yesterday, and is the first native Hawaiian ever appointed as CEO of high-profile tourism body.

GET YOUR MESSAGE TO LISTENING EARS

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We will grow stronger!

THE stoicteamsatEtihadAirways and the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi have been making sure the message of strength takes root in Sydney and Brisbane, recently hand-delivering plants ofoptimismtoahostoftravelagentsinbothcities.

More than 200 plants have been giftedsofar,allaccompaniedbytheupliftingmessage,“eveninthetoughesttimes,we’llgrowstrongertogether”.Etihadandthetourismbody

for Abu Dhabi added that their Melbourne friends would be receivingthesamegiftaswell,whentravelrestrictionseasedand it was safe to do so.“Inthesetimes,wheneveryone

is feeling uncertain, we sought to reach out to our travel agents, to show we care and to say we standwiththem,”saidAbuDhabi

Tourism&CultureAuthorityCountry Manager Jennifer Gaskin.

Pictured: Georgie O’Rourke and Bec Roberts from Flight Centre Business Travel in York Street, Sydney, both preparing to nurture the future of the industry.

AIA traffic downTOTAL passenger volumes at

Auckland Airport dropped by 70.8% in Jul when compared to the same period last year.NewZealand’sbiggestaviation

hub only processed 515,227 travellers for the month, the bulk beingdomestic(483,227),duetointernationaltravelrestrictions.Onapositivenote,domestic

travel showed solid signs of recovery,increasingby276,906passengers in Jun to 483,227 forJul,aidedsignificantlybyAirNew Zealand increasing capacity to55%ofwhatitwasofferingbefore the pandemic struck.

MEANWHILE Queenstown Airportprocessed124,662paxinJul, a 44.9% drop on the previous corresponding period.

HK Airport dropHONG KongInternational

Airport processed just 84,000 passengers last month, a decreaseof98.6%ontheprevious corresponding period.

A spokesperson for the airport said demand remains at record lows due to Hong Kong’s restrictionsfornon-residentsandstrictquarantinemeasures.

Zero emissions goalALL 13 member airlines of the

oneworld global airline alliance have declared they will be carbon neutral by the year 2050.

The means of achieving the goal include the use of sustainable fuel,carbonoffsetsandreducingwastesuchassingle-useplastics.

Coral is back soon!CORAL Expeditions’restarton

the Great Barrier Reef has been confirmedfor14Oct.

Carrying under 72 passengers and only Australians, including all guests and crew members, Coral Discoverer will depart from Cairns for seven nights, with a range of enhanced health protocols now being observed.

Departures are planned through to mid-Dec, with the highlyexperientialnature-basedexpeditionstoexploretheouterreefs - CLICK HERE for more.

PRODUCT PROFILE

DESTINATION

Macao is one of those well-kept secrets – Macao is one of the world’s most exciting destinations as it caters to all styles of travel, bursting with world-firsts in family attractions that cannot be found anywhere else. The city is safe, clean and compact.Mostoftheresortshaveunique

familyofferingsandevenifyouare not an in-house guest, you canstillbeapartofthemanyfun experiences these resorts havetooffer.Butit’snotthe

luxury resorts and hotel glamour thatmakesMacaoauniquedestination.OldMacaoremainstraditional,rusticandsurprisinglyaccessible.

A closer look reveals Macao’s meltingpotofhistoriccultures.Ancient Buddhist temples neighbour Catholic churches, while luxury contemporary resorts sit side-by-side to 17th century ruins. Macao has not forgottenitsrichhistoricpast,the city is a colourful blend of its Chinese heritage and the leftoverarchitecturalandculinaryinfluencesofthePortuguese.Standing on the steps at the façade of the Ruins of St. Paul’s youcouldbeinEurope,untilyouget a scent of incense from one of

Email: macao@worldtradetravel.com Website: www.visitmacao.com.au Trade: www.macaotravelexpert.com

Macao turns on the charm – the flavours, sights and scents are unique

theTaoistofferingsthatlinetheadjacent paths.

AsoneofthefirstplacesthatEuropeanssettledinAsia,Macaoisacityoffestivalsandthereisno doubt that Macao knows how to throw a party. It’s rich heritage inherited from the Portuguese and Chinese gives it the edge in festivaleventsandareafeastforthe eyes.

What’s more beyond Macao…. have come to shape its future.

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Discover Okinawa

REGISTER HERE

The Discover Okinawa training platform has been created to expand your knowledge on the stunning islands of Southern Japan.

Additional two modules now released!

1. Okinawa 101 - An Introduction2. Exploring the Islands of Okinawa3. Okinawan Gastronomy and Culture4. Activities in Okinawa

Find out about Okinawan food, culture and what youcan do on a visit to Okinawa!

Kura Waterfall, Iriomote Island

Complete all the modules to be in the draw to win the majorprize of a 5 night Okinawa getaway in 2021 as well as an Awamori prize pack to be awarded at the end of each module.