Daily News & Opinion

Virgin Australia has announced major recovery actions, including returning 220 of its cabin crew to work and employing a further 150, as it looks to be at 80 percent of its pre-pandemic domestic capacity by mid-June. The airline will reintroduce 10 aircraft and add 220 extra return services weekly in the coming two months. Changes to routes and frequency include the addition of Melbourne-Hamilton Island and Melbourne-Darwin flights and extended seasonal flights between Melbourne and Balina Byron.

The 2021 edition of the Deloitte Access Economics Tourism and Hotel Market Outlook has forecast that pent up demand from 2020 is expected to support the kick-start of holiday travel, but business travel is expected to have a longer recovery. Deloitte Access Economics partner and Deloitte national tourism leader, Adele Labine-Romain says this will have critical implications for many corporate travel focused and convention-based hotels. Read more

Amanda Cottome (above) has joined TFE Hotels as Hotel General Manager & Brand Experience Manager of the new A by Adina Sydney, opening April 26. Cottome joins from Ovolo Hotel Group where she was Director of Brand Experience & Operations, Australia-wide. Meanwhile Saraid Carey joins the recently opened Hyatt Regency Brisbane as General Manager. Carey has been with Hyatt Hotels in various roles for over a decade, most recently as General Manager of Hyatt Regency Koh Samui in Thailand.

Damian Perry, Managing Director Asia Pacific/China for Hurtigruten Cruises said his company was among the only cruise lines to continue sailing through the pandemic period of 2020 with two to five ships plying the Norwegian fjords at any time. He said strict COVID-safe protocols had been implemented through the fleet and he believed cruising would return “by 2022, if not late 2021” while some cruises such as the Northwest Passage through the Arctic Ocean were already fully booked for 2022 with the company now taking […]

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The pain and the glory and the complexity of the events industry was on display at the first day of Victoria’s inquiry into the impact of the pandemic on the tourism and events industry. At times it was difficult to watch. Evidence given laid bare the stark losses faced by the industry and the lack of understanding that an industry that contributes $12 billion in direct spend to Victoria in a normal year even exists. Read more

Tourism Australia’s international business events subvention fund will be extended by a year and receive another $3 million in funding, while its domestic business events partnership program, launched in the wake of the pandemic, will also extend by a year and be supported by an additional $1 million in funding, according to an announcement made by the federal tourism marketing agency this morning. Read more

Kieron Haycock has spent the last 13 years embedded in the exhibition industry since arriving from the UK in search of a new career and a life adventure. He’s always been very forthcoming about the need for the industry to transform and has chipped away at changing the way marketing is done in the sector. As the Managing Director of Exhibitions and Trade Fairs (ETF) he’s pretty happy with the results following the company’s return to live events. Read more

Business Events Perth is offering up to $25,000 per event for business events anywhere in Australia in 2021 to help organisers secure a delegate-boosting keynote speaker – as long as organisers commit to bringing an event to Western Australia before 2025. The offer is for events of 200 or more delegates which run over at least three days. Events must have already run for at least five years face to face and must take place before the end of 2021. Read more