News in Brief: Thursday June 5
Independent Travel Group's ranks have swelled to 228 with the signing of three additional agencies.
The group's newest members are: Mornington Travel, formerly Travelscene Mornington, on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula; Holiday World, formerly HWT Salamander Bay at NSW’s Salamander Bay; and Travel on King, formerly Travelworld on King at Newcastle.
ITG, powered by the Express Ticketing platform, expects to have 350 members by the end of 2015.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has announced the appointment of Yen Kho to the position of sales manager West Australia as of June 3.
Kho will oversee the deployment of the SIA-Virgin Australia Alliance to the trade and corporate market, as well as managing SIA’s position as Perth’s leading full-service airline.
The new purpose-built home of Star Alliance at Heathrow, Terminal 2, officially opened its doors yesterday afternoon.
Star Alliance member airline United is the first to move in to the new facility, with all 23 Star Alliance airlines operating Heathrow will move over the next six months.
The company reports that in its first eight hours of operation, more than 4000 passengers experienced the new terminal, marking a smooth start to operations in the facility.
Travelport has confirmed a proposed initial public offering of its common shares, although the number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined.
The company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to reduce its “outstanding indebtedness”.
Due to strong demand for guided travel throughout Europe, Insight Vacations has confirmed that all remaining 2014 Europe departures are now definite.
“Guaranteeing out departures proves that guests are responding to our European itineraries,” managing director Australia Joost Timmer said.
Insight’s guaranteed departures include Britain, Ireland, Europe Discovery Journeys, France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Italy, Sicily, the Alps and Central Europe.
Outrigger Enterprises Group has appointed John Gerrard to the dual positions of area general manager Australia and general manager of Outrigger Surfers Paradise.
Gerrard will manage the operational and strategic direction of four Outrigger resorts in addition to the Surfers Paradise resort, including locations such as Noosa and Airlie Beach.
Health and Fitness Travel is raising awareness of physical and mental health problems impacting men in aid of Men’s Health Week, which runs from June 9 to 15.
The company is highlighting its health holiday packages, which focus on embracing a healthier lifestyle through choices designed to improve general wellbeing, including sport, nutrition and lifestyle management.
Scenic Tours has updated its booking policy in order to help relieve the financial outlay for guests making multiple bookings each year.
Effective immediately, any new bookings with Scenic Tours that previously required an initial non-refundable deposit of $3000 per person will now only require $1000 per person.
“With more and more guests now making multiple bookings per year with Scenic, we wanted to make it easier for them to keep on top of their deposit payments and spread the cost of their trips throughout the year,” general manager of sales and marketing Michelle Black said.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
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