News in Brief: Wednesday October 2

News in Brief: Wednesday October 2
By admin


The upcoming Jetset Travelworld Group Owners and Managers Conference will see presentations from Qantas boss Alan Joyce, Accor chief operating officer Simon McGrath and advertising figure David Nobay of Droga5.

The event will take place from November 15 to 17 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre with the Corporate Conference to take place at the same venue from November 14 to 15.

 

Mobile Travel Agents has confirmed the line-up of speakers for its national conference, to take place in Canberra from October 11 to 13 with more than 180 attendees.

Among those on the program are: Australian Federation of Travel Agents chief executive, Jayson Westbury; MTA brand ambassador Jessica Watson; creative engagement expert and regular on ABC TV’s The Gruen Transfer, Dan Gregory.

The conference, the first to be held outside of Queensland, also marks the formal introduction of new MTA chief executive, Don Beattie who joined the company in early September.

 

Katherine Droga has been appointed to the role of Tourism Australia's general manager destination development vacated by Craig Davidson at the end of August.

Formerly its general manager partnership development, Droga will now become part of its executive leadership team with responsibility for industry development, investment attraction and aviation capacity along with a variety of other programs.

 

Toga Hotels has appointed Emma Fraser to the position of group director of marketing.

Fraser has prebiously worked for major hotel groups Carlson Rezidor Hotels, Raffles Hotels & Resorts, Jumeirah and Starwood Hotels.

 

APT has launched its new USA Journeys by Land, River and Air 2014 brochure with a new travel agent incentive with one of three Mississippi river cruises up for grabs.

Every APT booking made between September 27 and November 30 will qualify for an entry into the draw and stands to win one of the three cabins on offer on each of APT’s 2014 charters departing on April 19, May 10 and June 7.  

 

Etihad Airways has commenced daily services from Abu Dhabi to Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City with the airline launching a new Facebook competition to mark the launch.

Its Facebook fans are invited to upload photos of their favourite Vietnamese food for a chance to win a pair of Coral Economy Class tickets to Ho Chi Minh from any point on its network. For more information, click here.

 

Oneworld has confirmed that LAN Colombia has now joined the alliance as an affiliate member, with TAM set to follow in March.

This will bring all of the passenger airline affiliates of the LATAM Group under the same alliance, with LAN Airlines a Oneworld member since 2000.

 

Silver, Gold and Platinum members of Accor's loyalty program LeClub Accorhotels, will now be offered free internet as the hotel firm strives to meet customer expectations.

The move comes as the hotel firm decided against rolling free internet services out across the board, claiming customers preferred "faster, better" internet access over a slower free system.

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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