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Opinion
Blog: Volunteering with BlazeAid
Jessica Riley, an Irish backpacker and journalist, shares her experience volunteering with Blazeaid on the clean-up after the 2013 Gippsland Bushfires in
Victoria. Read more »Defying off-peak dry spells with group buying
Rachel Beaumont founded Darwin Harbour Cruises with her parents and husband in 1996. She discusses the benefits of group buying sites after her experiences with online marketing company LivingSocial. Read more »Use it or lose it: the small scale accommodation survey
Last year the Federal Government committed to re-establishing a program for our sector to track the performance of our sector after funding was removed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Read more »
Fisheries set to bait sharks after constant stream of sightings, but is it the right thing to do?
The Department of Fisheries is set to begin deploying bait after a kill order was issued yesterday on a number of great white sharks that have been repeatedly spotted over the holiday period swimming near popular beaches in Western Australia. Read more »
Gen Y choose experiences over stuff
Chris Ball, founder and CEO at AdventureHoney suggests this generation are more likely to appreciate the things that money can’t buy. Read more »Industry feedback requested for Sydney Expo
Andrew Paltridge, managing director of the Sydney Adventure Travel & Backpackers Expo poses the question to industry folk: should the expo be split into an inbound/outbound event? Read more »
Treating customers like this is unAustralian
Travel agent Sarah Gohlke is unimpressed with how some people in the trade are operating…
I write this out of complete frustration and an intolerance for injustice. Read more »
Insurance rip-off…
Queensland hostel operator Brent Gemmell is unimpressed with the constant rise of insurance premiums…
What is happening with our insurance? As an industry we have been stung well over the top for a long time now. But this year we have reached new heights. Read more »
‘Australia must cut prices and re-enchant backpackers’
Australian tourism operators need to get real and drop their prices, while the country as a whole needs to ease backpackers’ visa restrictions and improve its promotional efforts, according to travel writer David Whitley. Read more »
From commissions to Koreans: ABiC debates continue
After Sydney’s successful Adventure and Backpacker Industry Conference drew to a close last Thursday, operators took the rare chance of all being in town together to arrange an extra informal meeting to further discuss some of the burning issues to have arisen from the conference. Read more »
Just a brainstorm in a schooner…
Scotty’s Beach House owner Boyd Scott suggests that while most of the industry is in Sydney for expo week, it makes perfect sense to hold an informal brainstorming session on how best to put Australia back in the tourist`s eye. Read more »
ATA’s tribute to the newly retired Ken Hart
Greg Zammit from Adventure Tours Australia bids farewell to his business partner of 22 years, Ken Hart, who retired two weeks ago. Read more »
Greyhound launch ‘barking mad’ $1m giveaway
Greyhound is giving away $1m worth of travel to help struggling regional tourism operators get back on track.
The Australian coach company will give away up to 1,000 kilometres of coach travel to anyone booking an adventure activity within Australia between 20 August and 2 September 2012.
Greyhound Australia General Manager Experiences and Marketing Gagandeep Singh said the million dollar campaign sets out to rescue regional tourism by rewarding those who chose to travel within Australia.
“Australia’s big tourism players are doing okay but the smaller regional operators have been hit hard by a drop in visitors and spending, so Greyhound is offering to deliver people direct to their doors at no cost,” Mr Singh said.
“Basically, anyone who books one of our fantastic adventures in the last two weeks of August will be driven there for nix – we must be barking mad!
“But seriously, it’s the least we can do for the tourism operators who have stuck with us, so we’ll stick with them.”
The high Australian dollar, the effects of the GFC and natural disasters have taken a big toll on the adventure tourism market over the past few years.
Though overseas visitor numbers remain steady, Australians are more inclined to travel aboard.
Mr Singh said the free travel offer was a great incentive for both domestic and overseas markets.
“There’s no excuse not go snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef, visit the iconic Opera House and Harbour bridge in Sydney or travel the spectacular Great Ocean Road Greyhound will get and your family there free,” he said.
“You’ll be able to chew up to 1,000 kilometres travel in one or two stages – as a return trip or continuing on to another destination.”
Mr Singh urged potential adventurers to book soon because the offer is limited.
“Let’s get tails wagging in Australia’s regional tourism businesses.”
For more information, click here.
By Alex Harmon · August 20th, 2012 at 12:01 pm
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Comments
20 Aug 12
12:49 pm
If this was Facebook I would click the Like button.
20 Aug 12
4:13 pm
Or you could ‘like’ us on Facebook, Stumpy…. http://www.facebook.com/pages/.....Trade-News
21 Aug 12
6:26 am
So I had a look at the regions thinking I could go to Gilgandra or Dubbo or Orange or somewhere I couldn’t otherwise more conveniently fly to – with a family. Alas, the regions as I know them are not serviced by Greyhound. Who are they rescuing, and where?
22 Aug 12
8:35 am
Greyhound fought for many years to service the Sydney / Melbourne coastal route which they did for many years only to be blocked by out of date laws. This is now the only section in Australia where there are tourist operators they cannot services as continuous around Australia tour.
It’s a bit in the old days when the railways forced out the stage coach with much talk of a fast train coming down the centre from Brisbane to Melbourne
22 Aug 12
3:54 pm
Great Initiative Greyhound – Like it too (thanks Stumpy)
24 Aug 12
8:08 am
Hi Alex, I clicked the link and Mr Facebook tells me computer says no, page not found. While we are doing some self promotion perhaps you could mention my Christchurch based charity I have started to help families with sick kids. What a great headline, Christchurch tourism worker putting smiles on sick kids dials. Pop over and click the like button. Cheers,
http://www.facebook.com/smiledial
24 Aug 12
9:27 am
Hmmm… self-promotion fail. Try this. http://www.facebook.com/pages/.....4962866416
Keep up the good work Stumpy!
-Backpacker Trade News
24 Aug 12
10:21 am
Done, I am the 150th so I get a prize right?
29 Aug 12
11:07 am
Impressed
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