Malcolm MacLeod, CEO of First Travel group says the vibe at FTG’s conference was the best he has experienced for years.

An incentive that will see eight New Zealand travel agents win a spot on an Abu Dhabi famil was a major focus of an Abu Dhabi – Etihad Airways roadshow in New Zealand last week.

Membership of both Skal Auckland and its Young Skal division continue to grow steadily, according to club president Michael Shah.

Alisha Russell has joined Eclipse Travel’s growing team in Christchurch as key account manager and travel designer.

The House of Travel Featherston Street team, plus clients, friends and suppliers gathered to celebrate the opening of their brand new store last week.

Recruitment, ‘pop up’ agents, and focusing on the positives were all discussion points when the Travel Agents Association of New Zealand (TAANZ) visited Tauranga trade recently.

New Zealanders are proving true to their reputation as travellers who look to get off the beaten track when it comes to rail travel, according to Richard Leonard, Rail Europe’s commercial director, Australasia.

• Kalena Finlayson, Momento Group; James... Kalena Finlayson, Momento Group; James...
• Komang Pri, Pacific World; winner... Komang Pri, Pacific World; winner...
• Andrea Russell (Centre) of Orbit... Andrea Russell (Centre) of Orbit...
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A mix of information, prize draws and presentations made up the annual DMS Connect workshop in Auckland yesterday.

Kiwi travellers to the United States are more independent, spend more locally, visit more states and like to get off the beaten track away from the main gateways.

Full members of the Travel Agents’ Association of New Zealand (TAANZ) have been asked to vote on changes to its membership and bonding criteria.

Archana Kawatra is director of sales and marketing at Pullman Auckland. Kawatra’s hotel career spans 20 years, and she has held several roles in the sales and marketing sector in brands such as The Leela, Taj Resorts & Palaces and Grand Hyatt in India.

Exotic Holidays is looking forward to a strong 2019 after what managing director Rahul Sharma describes as a ‘frantic’ end to last year.

Walking the walk and not just talking when it comes to sustainability and limiting any negative impact on environments and communities is one of the big focus points for NZ Travel Brokers after the group’s conference this year.

An event designed to battle the misconception that there is not much money to be made by selling domestic travel generated keen interest from agents in Auckland this week.
Some 100 rsvps were received for the event, hosted by Real Journeys and its partners, and the main (but not entire) emphasis was on selling Queenstown’s many activities and opportunities.
‘There is so much more to sell clients heading to Queenstown than a ticket,’ says Luke Ingram, sales executive of Real Journeys.

by Kathy Ombler

Park and ride, the shuttle transport system used to manage popular areas in national parks worldwide, is being investigated for Franz Josef Glacier.
Speaking at the Tourism Aotearoa Summit last week, Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage said with increasing numbers of visitors seeking out iconic areas DOC rangers have, in many places, become full time car park attendants. ‘DOC has to explore new ways of dealing with traffic congestion. Simply building more and more car parks isn’t sustainable.’

Building connections with local iwi is the right thing to do, says Michael Shah, director of sales and marketing, Cordis, Auckland.
A visit to Wellington last week confirmed for him that Cordis is ‘on the right track’ in its efforts to pursue stronger connections with tangata whenua, Ngāti Whātua.
Shah attended the Tourism Summit Aotearoa, then a Cordis-hosted function for the hotel’s Wellington-based clientele. Shah says he was impressed that so many speakers at the Tourism Summit were fluent in te reo, and expressed a hope that in the future his own team could be similarly

YOU Travel kicked off its partnership with Taste of Auckland on the waterfront over the weekend at the event’s 10th anniversary.

Travel agents and brokers in the greater Wellington region have the opportunity to ‘love Taupo’ early next month.

Real Journeys has established a new corporate identity called Wayfare to represent its tourism companies in the international market.

A plea to reduce the number of regional tourism offices (RTOs) protecting borders that nobody else cares about was made at the CAPA – Centre for Aviation Summit in Hilton Auckland this week.

A rare opportunity for travel brokers and independent travel agents to catch up with 80 plus suppliers under one roof in Auckland will be provided by an annual exhibition late next month.

A new SKAL International Club has been created in New Zealand, the first new club in at least 10 years.

Auckland Airport is likely to have a new domestic terminal, integrated with the international terminal, by 2023.

The burgeoning popularity of motorhome holidays with clients makes them the ‘new cruise’ when it comes to potential earnings for travel agents, according to rental specialist DriveAway Holidays.

Eclipse Travel reports a strong response to its annual spring sale, with a surge in enquiries particularly for Iceland and Scandinavia, Patagonia and the Arctic.

Regional New Zealand is set to benefit from an Air New Zealand and Tourism New Zealand joint venture campaign offering North American visitors a free domestic flight from Auckland to anywhere on the airline’s network.

Crater Rim Walks, which concentrates on half and full day walks around the Port Hills of Christchurch, is heading into its first full summer.

First Travel Group presented its six supreme awards and nearly 30 supplier awards at its gala black tie dinner in Auckland on Saturday night.

A new pod hotel capable of accommodating more than 466 visitors per night is set to open in Auckland’s CBD.

Double and triple digit growth from New Zealand into summer and winter resorts respectively underlined an early visit to this market by new Club Med general manager Australia and New Zealand Rachael Harding this week.

Cleaning rubbish from a Wellington beach; it’s what you do on a Saturday morning if you’re in town on ‘World Cleanup Day’ and you’re Trafalgar Tours CEO, Gavin Tollman.

House of Travel and Flight Centre have entered teams into the AccorHotels Race to Survive to Cure Kids for the first time this year.

Active Asia is launching its Bubble & Speak 2018 Inspiration Series, with the first breakfast event on 5 October at the company’s Auckland office on Level One, 206 Jervois Road.

Active Asia is launching its Bubble & Speak 2018 Inspiration Series, with the first breakfast event on 5 October at the company’s Auckland office on Level One, 206 Jervois Road.

Winners from the National Travel Industry Awards (NTIA) have been quick to thank others involved in their success – including teams, award sponsors and the Travel Agents Association of New Zealand (TAANZ) which organises the massive event.

Princess Cruises is broadening its Kiwi itineraries out of Australia as New Zealand continues to be the company’s most popular destination for this market.

Princess Cruises has launched its Local Connections in New Zealand for the first time this season.

There was a buzz among Wellington travel agents attending the Tourism Fiji roadshow this week, as they were briefed on Fiji Airways’ new Boeing 737 MAX that will soon be landing in the Capital.

With next year being the 20th anniversary of the 100% Pure NZ strategy, Tourism NZ is evolving it to make sure the country is ready for sustainable growth.

The call to better enlighten New Zealanders about why cruise growth is a good thing was a recurring plea from speakers at the NZ Cruise Association conference in Blenheim last week.

travel&co is inviting travel agents around the country to its 2018 agent roadshows in September.

Dates and venues for the Philippine Tourism Sales Mission 2018 in New Zealand have been released.

LOVETAUPO, Taupo Showcase will be held for the trade in Auckland on 12 September starting 4.30pm.

Queenstown property, The Rees Hotel, Luxury Apartments & Lakeside Residences has appointed Katharina Graf as human resources manager.

TAANZ and Air New Zealand have announced the launch of the TAANZ Summit which will be held on 10 October 2018 at Air New Zealand’s Customer Collaboration and Innovation Centre in Auckland.

The annual Helloworld branded network gala awards dinner was held at Wellington’s Te Papa on Saturday night.

AccorHotels New Zealand has been named as a finalist in the New Zealand Tourism Awards for its training and education programme Fast Track Partnership Programme.

Travel agents can win tickets for the Edmund Hillary Collection launch at New Zealand Fashion Week.

Australian travel-tech startup TRAVLR has launched its platform in New Zealand after successful Beta testing throughout early 2018, with launches in Indonesia, Fiji, other Pacic Islands, Sri Lanka and Dubai to follow later this year.

Young SKAL ocially launched in Auckland this week with a meeting at the International Travel College, that included launch members Anmole Gulati of Cordis Auckland and Zac Watson of Haka Tours.