A $20,000 prize competition to win a trip to The BRIT Awards 2024 has just been launched.
The glittering event will feature spectacular live performances from some of the music industry’s superstars. It will take place on Saturday March 2 at The O2 arena in London.
Mastercard and Travel Money Oz are offering you and a friend the chance to be there on the night, with free flights and four nights’ hotel accommodation.
The lucky prize winner will receive:
- Two return flights from Australia to London.
- Four nights’ accommodation twin share in London including breakfast and transfers if required.
- Two level 1 tickets to The BRIT Awards 2024
- Two tickets to The Official BRITs After Show Party
- £100 allowance for a meal at the hotel before the show
- £1,000 spending money loaded onto a Travel Money Oz Currency Pass
To enter, you have to buy or reload $500 worth of foreign currency on your Travel Money Oz Currency Pass in store or online before December 20.
The winners shall abide by the applicable terms and conditions for the use of the prize as notified by the Promoter. Prizes are courtesy of Mastercard.
VIRGIN ARRIVES DOWN UNDER
VIRGIN VOYAGES has sailed into Sydney Harbour for the first time ahead of the highly anticipated inaugural summer sailing season.
The cruise line’s newest ship, Resilient Lady, received a special welcome from Sir Richard Branson.
The Virgin Group founder met the superyacht-inspired cruise ship in a classic wooden speedboat as it sailed through the Heads.
Branson guided the ship through the harbour towards Circular Quay where she anchored before making her way to her new Aussie homeport of Melbourne.
Virgin Voyages is the first travel brand in the Virgin Group to enter the Australian market since Virgin Australia (then Virgin Blue) launched Down Under in 2000.
Book Early For Five-Star Ship
WE’RE STILL 17 months away from her launch but pre-registrations have just opened for Australia’s first five-star river ship.
Australian Star will offer cruises of up to a week on the Murray River from April 2025.
Cruise fares will be released in February next year but pre-registration gives would-be travellers priority status to be among the first passengers to sail aboard the 38-guest ship.
The ship is currently being built in a specially designed shed beside the Murray River in Mildura in Victoria. Once launched, she will be the largest paddlesteamer in the Southern Hemisphere and the only wood-fired, five-star, accommodated paddlesteamer in the world.
“We’re confident that when bookings open in February 2024, many of the first cruises will book out quickly so we strongly recommend anyone keen to be part of history pre-registers for cabins now,” said Craig Burgess, Director, Murray River Paddlesteamers.
Australian Star will succeed the smaller and older, 16-guest PS Emmylou which currently offers overnight cruises on the Murray. The 35m-long vessel will boast a deluxe and contemporary lounge offering sweeping river vistas, a fine-dining restaurant and multiple outdoor relaxation areas.
She will house 19 plush and modern staterooms, all opening to a deck and offering an ensuite, air-conditioning, complimentary Wi-Fi, luxury linen and TV entertainment system.
“It’s clear that Australian Star is already stirring the imagination for many Australians and let me say, we at Murray River Paddlesteamers are as excited as them!” added Mr Burgess.
Murray River Paddlesteamers will offer a 10 per cent commission for travel agents booking Australian Star sailings plus bonuses for multiple bookings.
www.murrayriverpaddlesteamers.com.au
WIN A TRIP FOR YOU AND A MATE
TRAVEL AGENTS are being offered the chance to win a spot on the famil of a lifetime for themselves and a plus one.
TTC Tour Brands has just launched its Inner Circle Top Achievers Famil 2024 incentive.
Agents selling any TTC Tour Brands, (Luxury Gold, Insight Vacations, Trafalgar, Costsaver and Contiki) from last month through to April 2024 will go into the running to win one of 12 spots on this coveted trip next August.
“After the successful launch of our Inner Circle rewards programme with the Book, Bank, Bon Voyage incentive in September, we are extremely pleased to bring our agents our second Inner Circle incentive launch with the exciting Top Achievers Famil 2024,” said Toni Ambler, TTC Tour Brands Managing Director.
“With the inclusion of taking a travel companion as part of the prize, we will be able to give our top sellers the chance to experience how a customer would feel by having their travel experiences with a loved one, while enjoying all the inclusions of an educational famil.”
The destination for the famil will be announced next year with the winners named in May.
WHAT WE DID ON OUR HOLS IN 2023
A HOTEL stay that lasted more than a year, a cruise holiday that cost more than $300,000 and thousands of babies making their first flight.
These are just some of the highlights of a survey of Aussie travel trends for 2023 compiled by Flight Centre.
“While trawling through our year’s data in search of fun facts and intriguing trends, we’ve uncovered some interesting travel patterns that have emerged in 2023,” said Andrew Stark, Flight Centre Global Managing Director.
“Now that global travel demand is returning to seasonal patterns, we’re seeing things like a sharp rise in solo-female travellers, Japan returning strongly as a favourite Aussie holiday destination and four-star accommodation reigning supreme.”
The research also uncovered these gems:
- Flight Centre customers bought 1,401,060 flights in 2023
- They sent 3,168 babies on their first flight (with their parents/guardians of course!)
- The biggest cruise holiday was a cool $312,647.
- The longest hotel booking was for 367 days.
- The total number of rental cars booked was 7,533.
- The three top family holiday spots were Fiji, Hawaii and Cairns.
- Memorable face-palm moments in 2023? One customer was filming a time-lapse from their hotel balcony, the wind got up and their phone dropped four floors. Another asked if they could fly from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane … direct.
“2024 promises to be the year when people continue to seek out more first-time travel experiences, whether that’s travelling solo in Asia or Europe, touring destinations such as Peru or Vietnam or taking your significant other on an ocean cruise,” added Mr Stark.
AUSSIE TOURISM MAKES STRONG RECOVERY
INTERNATIONAL VISITORS are expected to return to Australia more quickly than previously predicted, according to latest forecasts.
The Tourism forecasts for Australia: 2023 to 2028 report outlines a stronger growth for international arrivals than last year’s forecasts.
This reflects the return of Chinese visitors to Australia since that country’s borders reopened in January and following the restart of group tour travel from China to Australia in September.
Sustained high growth in international arrivals to Australia so far this year, the continued return of flight routes and commencement of new routes to Australia also underpin the encouraging projections.
“Australia is the best place to live, work and visit, and thanks to our resilient, world-class tourism operators, international and domestic travel has bounced back,” said Senator Don Farrell, Minister for Trade and Tourism.
“A thriving tourism industry is crucial to our economic prosperity, with every dollar spent in the visitor economy generating a further 81 cents for other parts of the economy.”
Australia is predicted to welcome:
- 7.3 million international visitors in 2023, almost twice as many as last year (3.7 million)
- 9.3 million in 2024, reaching 98 per cent of pre-pandemic levels
- 10.2 million in 2025, surpassing pre-pandemic levels to set a new record
- And 12.1 million in 2028, an increase of 4.8 million or 65 per cent on this year.
The report also forecasts record spending across Australia’s tourism and travel industry, which delivers benefits for accommodation, hospitality, transport, experience and event providers, and retail.
“Tourism is a major export earner and employer. One in eight Australian businesses is tourism-related and it is the lifeblood of so many Australian communities,” added Mr Farrell.
Meanwhile the government has also launched a new National Sustainability Framework for our tourism industry – the first of its kind for the Australian tourism sector.
Along with the Framework, a new and free Sustainability Toolkit will give tourism businesses clear and practical information on how to become more sustainable.
FARES ARE FAIR TO VANUATU
AIR VANUATU has announced a series of limited-time 2024 early bird offers.
Sale fares are available ex. Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. With a range of dates available, travellers can save on flights to Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila, adventure haven Tanna Island and the laid-back island of Espiritu Santo.
On sale now until midnight December 15, these return fares include taxes, an onboard meal and 30kg luggage allowance. Adult fares start at:
- $510 per person Brisbane to Port Vila return
- $546pp Sydney to Port Vila return
- $615pp Melbourne to Port Vila return
