Welcome to another Road & Rail wrap! We’d usually put a joke in here but we’re still a little dusty from the weekend. We’ll hit the ground running tomorrow, promise.

RAIL PLUS offers famil with launch of new booking season for Great Australian Train Journeys

Rail Plus has launched the new booking season for Great Southern Rail with an incentive program where agents can win prizes including famil spots on The Ghan Expedition.

With bookings for the highly anticipated 2019/20 season now available, agents can also look forward to winning some prizes including a spot on the 4D3N Ghan Expedition famil taking place in March 2019.

To win, agents will need to answer a few simple quiz questions and perform well in sales. There will also be a dedicated spot on the famil for the first agent who sells the Reef to Reef package. Winners will be announced at the end of August.

To help agents better understand and sell GSR products, a 30min webinar will be held on Wednesday 18 July at 10am.

Drive & Play in Canada & the USA!

Throughout July and August, DriveAway are focussing on travel to the USA & Canada, releasing huge exclusive deals for car & motorhome hire.

Each year we see travellers looking to travel to North America more and more. 2017 was no exception, with an increase of up to 50 per cent in enquiries for destinations like Montreal and Calgary. We also see another interesting booking trend in Anaheim increasing by 86 per cent – perhaps the theme parks are calling all travellers?

Honolulu in Hawaii was another standout destination, with an increase of 73 per cent. Driving around Honolulu is an amazingly fun experience. The streets on the main island of Oahu are easy to navigate, especially after driving through the hectic roads of Los Angeles.

The time to book your clients North America trip is NOW. Offering savings up to 15 per cent off car hire, up to 20 per cent off motorhomes, FREE one ways, FREE mileage plus more throughout July and August 2018. Give your clients the ultimate experience driving through famous road trip destinations including Route 66, Yosemite to Yellowstone and the Canadian Rockies. Car hire prices start from AU$48 per day in Los Angeles & Anaheim, AU$70 per day in Honolulu and AU$55 a day in Vancouver for seven days.

Rocky Mountaineer Wins Rail Plus’ Great Train Journeys World Cup!

Rail Plus’ World Cup of Great Train Journeys has concluded after 32 days and the winning journey is none other than the Rocky Mountaineer, a firm favourite among many rail enthusiasts and travellers! From the whopping 3,000 votes received throughout the GTJ World Cup, the end results reflected the ongoing popularity of many train journeys among Australian and New Zealand travellers including the Rocky Mountaineer, Great Southern Rail and the Trans-Siberian.

The eight most popular journeys were The Ghan, Rovos Rail, Rocky Mountaineer, The Silk Road, Venice-Simplon-Orient Express (VSOE), Persian Odyssey, Maharajas’ Express and the Tran-Siberian onboard The Golden Eagle (TSTGE). Of these, the final four that went head to head were The Ghan vs Rocky Mountaineer and VSOE vs TSTGE, where the finals saw the Rocky Mountaineer emerge victorious.

10 lucky agents who voted also took home $15 wine vouchers:

1. Tammy Aitchison, Redcliffe Cruise and Travel
2. Hina Sharma, Flight Centre Toombul Cruise
3. Simone Borstelj, Meridian Travel
4. Bronwyn Milne, Ashburton House of Travel NZ
5. Rebecca Drijfhout, Flight Centre Croydon
6. Bailey Gorst, Adventure World NZ
7. Kylie Andrews, Travel Managers
8. Mansi Mehta, CVFR Consolidation Services
9. Neil Kirby, Travel Masters
10. Kris Higgins, Travel Counsellors

Qantas Holidays – Unique Rail Journeys Brochure 2018-19 released!

Qantas Holidays has released their inaugural Unique Rail Journeys brochure, the latest addition to the Qantas Holidays luxury collection range.

Relive the golden age of train travel with this selection of iconic and unique rail journeys from around the world. Visit pristine lakes in Canada, grand castles in Scotland or charming villages in Spain. Be enthralled by Africa’s wildlife or travel through the Incan empire in South America.

Trains featured include Belmond Trains, Golden Eagle Luxury Trains, Rocky Mountaineer and luxury trains in India and Southern Africa to name a few.

When you travel by rail, it’s all about the journey with the destination being the ‘icing on the cake’! Relax in lounge cars that exude old world charm. Savour dining experiences to rival those of world class restaurants. Be pampered by attentive hosts keen to share their local knowledge. Add awe-inspiring scenery and exotic destination to the mix and you have all the ingredients for the journey of a lifetime.

Busabout launches 2019 European Preview!

Busabout are the flexible travel experts, offering a unique freestyle travel option to a new generation of travellers. Continuing to provide a range of choices to help clients make Their Way around some of the best locations across the globe, Busabout has launched its 2019 preview program allowing clients the chance to lock in the best prices for their ultimate European adventures in 2019.

This sneak peek at Busabout’s 2019 European trips offers any traveller who books a trip a 10 per cent saving off 2019 prices on a selection of Busabout’s top selling trips AND better yet all departure dates are guaranteed!

Busabout’s Unlimited Hop-on Hop-off pass, and best-selling flexi and fixed Greek Islands Hopping adventures, Croatia Sailing, Balkan Adventures, Italian Adventure as well as all Haggis and Shamrocker trips are included in the 2019 European Preview collection.

To lock in your clients’ 2019 European Adventure with Busabout at the best price guaranteed, agents will need to use the promocode: PREVIEW2019 before September 4 2018 to guarantee their spot.