Destination Wrap: Venice’s new tourist tax, Tokyo hit by typhoon, California bans mini-hotel shampoo bottles + MORE!
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Our favourite part of Monday morning is putting together this delightful wrap up of destination news for our faithful readers. Just kidding! We don’t like anything about Mondays.
Venice confirms new day-tripper tax
Venice will introduce a new day-tripper tax in 2020, which may be as high as €10 ($16AUD) at peak season.
The tax, which was set to be introduced last May but was delayed, has been labelled a “contribution for access” by the Venice council and is expected to be rolled out on 1 July 2020, according to Lonely Planet.
Typhoon Hagibis hits Japan
35 people have died an 17 are missing after a typhoon unleashed widespread flooding in Japan over the weekend.
Typhoon Hagibis hit Tokyo and much of Japan’s main island of Honshu on Saturday, resulting in record-breaking rains with more than 20 rivers in central and eastern Japan having burst their banks and flooding more than 1000 homes, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
The typhoon led to at least 800 flights out of Tokyo’s two main airports being cancelled but flights were reported to have returned to normal by Sunday evening.
The Rugby World Cup was also disrupted, with two matches in Yokohama cancelled on Saturday and a third cancelled on Sunday in Kamaishi.
California places ban on miniature toiletry bottles in hotels
California has introduced a new law that will stop hotels from giving guests small plastic bottles of shampoo from 2023.
Violators could be fined US$500 ($735) for a first offence and US$2,000 ($3,000) for each following occurrence, according to NBC News.
Hong Kong set to suffer dramatic drop in visitors
Research has shown that the recent wave of pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong has begun to stop visitors in their tracks.
A report from ForwardKeys has shown that flight bookings to Hong Kong from Asian markets between 16 June and 9 August have fallen by 20.2 per cent on the equivalent period last year.
Sunshine Coast leads Queensland in international visitor growth, as region delivers record overseas and domestic visitor numbers
The Sunshine Coast delivered its highest-ever international and domestic visitor numbers in the year to June 30, 2019 – and led the State in overseas visitor growth.
The figures were announced as part of the release of Tourism Research Australia’s International Visitor Survey (IVS) and National Visitor Survey (NVS).
The region grew international visitor expenditure by 27.5 per cent in the year to 30 June 2019, compared to the previous year, on the back of a record 322,000 international visitors, up 5.3 per cent for the year, and a 21.1 per cent increase in spending to an average of $901 per visitor.
The 27.5 per cent international visitor expenditure growth compared with State-wide growth of 5.5 per cent to $6billion, which was also a record for Queensland tourism.
The Sunshine Coast region’s popularity with international visitors was built on growth from both the region’s traditional overseas markets – New Zealand ( up 19.5 per cent), UK ( up 2.5 per cent, compared to a statewide decrease of 5.2 per cent), and USA (up 29.1 per cent) – and emerging markets, with Asian source markets delivering a record 24 per cent increase.
WA tourism’s record-breaking streak continues
According to the latest NVS and IVS results, WA had a record-breaking 2.76 million out-of-state (international and interstate) visitors last financial year.
The number of total overnight visitors in 2018-19 was 11.6 million people who, together with day-trippers, spent $10.5 billion in the State – an increase of 16.4 per cent on the previous year. Of this, $4.9 billion (47 per cent) was spent in regional WA.
The number of overnight holiday visitors to Western Australia reached 4.7 million, an increase of 16.5 per cent on the previous year.
International holiday visitors were the highest on record for WA, with the number of holiday visitors increasing by 12.8 per cent to 506,300 – the strongest growth rate of all of Australia’s states and territories.
NSW remains the number one place to visit
The NVS and IVS also revealed New South Wales as the most popular tourist destination in Australia.
The research showed more than $11 billion was put into the NSW economy by international visitors, with gains in visitation from the United States and Japan significantly contributing to that figure.
NSW also achieved its highest growth in domestic visitor nights on record, with 37.2 million visitors staying 116.1 million nights – 11 per cent more than the previous year. The growth in domestic visitor nights has seen NSW achieve the largest-ever lead over both Victoria and Queensland when it comes to the domestic market.
Empire State Building observatory presents a historic reimagination
The Empire State Building has announced the completion of the third phase of its top-to-bottom reimagined Observatory Experience.
The entirely new 102nd floor opening to the public on 12th October (EST), will now provide guests with an entirely unobstructed view of New York City.
Located 381 metres in the air, the 102nd floor has been designed to place guests in the centre of Manhattan. Sixteen floors above the renowned 86th floor observatory, which sees four million visitors annually, the 102nd floor has been under renovations since January 2019.
The reinvented 102nd floor observatory will now provide panoramic views of Manhattan and beyond through floor to ceiling glass panels that will offer an unequaled 360-degree view at any time of the year.
Switzerland sending kids to the snow for free again
For the second year in a row, Switzerland is sending more than 12,000 children to the snow for free.
Following a successful Kids4Free campaign last year, Switzerland Tourism and their local partners are once again holding a global draw where 12,650 weekly ski passes exclusively for children under the age of 13 are up for grabs.
Adults can enter the draw via MySwitzerland.com/kids4free on behalf of one child throughout the month of October 2019.
Last year’s campaign revealed that 20 per cent of the winners had not planned a ski holiday in Switzerland. This led to the campaign repeating this year in order to encourage more interest in visiting Switzerland during the winter season.
Tourism Ireland celebrates Irish family names
A major new exhibition at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum in Dublin is celebrating Irish family names and paying tribute to Irish people who emigrated.
The Power of the Name exhibition is adding the names to an interactive exhibition in the museum, showing the spread of Irish emigrant names throughout the world.
Every emigrant who left Irish shores took one very important thing with them – their name. By collating the names of people who moved from Ireland, EPIC is giving millions of people of Irish descent an opportunity to reconnect their ancestor’s name with their homeland.
People can add their name to the Power of the Name exhibition via the EPIC website (www.epicchq.com/names). As well as their names, the exhibition will include where they emigrated from and the year they left.
Spend a night in the sky at Sydney’s highest sleepover
In an Australian-first, the Sydney Tower Eye has joined forces with the sleep experts at Koala to give one lucky couple the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience Sydney’s Highest Sleepover – an exclusive overnight stay at the city’s tallest building, the Sydney Tower Eye, 250 metres above the streets of Sydney.
As part of a national competition, Sydney’s Highest Sleepover will take ‘a room with a view’ to the next level, inviting Australians aged 18 and over to share in 50 words or less why they deserve to win the ultimate night’s sleep from Sydney’s ultimate viewpoint. From today, and for three weeks only, the competition is open nationwide, with Sydney Tower Eye and Koala flying the lucky winners to Sydney for the exclusive night in the sky.
The competition to win ‘Sydney’s Highest Sleepover’ is open for three weeks, from 12am on Wednesday 9 October to 11.59pm on Wednesday 30 October. Winner to be contacted by Friday 1 November.
To enter, just visit the Sydney Tower Eye website and tell us in 50 words or less why you are in need of the ultimate night’s sleep from Sydney’s highest viewpoint!
Taiwan gears up for KOM cycling challenge
The Taiwan King of the Mountain (KOM) cycling challenge is set to kick-off on the last Friday of October and will see amateurs and professionals alike take on one of the world’s toughest mountains.
The 90-kilometre challenge starts at zero metres by the Pacific Ocean on Taiwan’s east coast, winding its way up through the Taroko Gorge, with its towering marble cliffs above and roaring rapids below, the ride continues up the alpine summit of Mt. Wuling at 3,275 meters, taking the riders to the peak of Taiwan’s highest passable mountain road.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
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Low-cost Indian carrier SpiceJet continues to burn cash
It’s not just low-cost Australian carriers that are facing hardship. SpiceJet, India’s version of Bonza, recently announced a 72 per cent reduction in its net loss versus last year. But, despite this improvement, the airline has posted losses for six straight years. But it has secured board approval to raise up to INR 30 billion […]
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SAKA Museum recognised in TIME magazine’s World’s Greatest Places 2024
AYANA Resort Bali’s newly-opened cultural and events centre, SAKA Museum has been recognised in TIME magazine’s World’s Greatest Places list for 2024. Part of AYANA Bali’s resort destination, the museum integrates Bali’s rich history with state-of-the-art facilities, making it the centrepiece for the island’s spiritual and cultural heritage. TIME magazine’s inclusion of SAKA Museum in […]
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Journey Beyond launches first brand-led campaign during Paris Olympics
Journey Beyond is pushing the boundaries. On The Ghan, you can't even see them!
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Ascott Australia partners with Hotels for Trees
Hoteliers can take a 'Lyf' out of this book and improve their green credentials.
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Victoria’s TAC Top Tourism Town Award winners for 2024
Keep looking in our own backyard. There are plenty of places to go.
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Uniworld partners with Camilla Franks with Egyptian-inspired collection
We are in de-Nile about making puns combining Crocs and leopard prints, given this luxe partnership.
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Aussies at Paris Olympics anxious about travel risks, with incidents already recorded
Fortunately one of our biggest gold medal hopes still held onto his pedals.
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Banyan Tree Seaview Villas elevates Laguna Lang Co
If you've ever played golf in the tropics, start early. LIke way early. It's hot! Damn hot.
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Silversea taps Barbara Biffi as senior vice president for global sales
Ultra-luxury and expedition cruise travel brand, Silverseas, has announced Barbara Biffi as its new senior vice president of global sales. Biffi joined the company in 2007, holding numerous positions and gaining a deep understanding of the brand, the preferences of its guests and its strategic goals, the company said. An Italian national with a wealth […]
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Wendy Wu unveils new Japan travel brochure and itineraries
Get outta town! Off-beat Japan will be a lot less congested we figure than the usual tourist hotspots.
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UK and Europe event organisers look to venues with sustainability integrity, ICC Sydney survey finds
Here in Sydney, you can even eat the table centrepieces. Although we advise they be cooked first.
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Renos Rologas new general manager ANZ for FCM Travel
Two decades in the travel game! Let's hope Renos is in for the long haul at FCM.
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Untamed Escapes to offer Cultural Day Tour from Port Lincoln in partnership with Maba Idi
International visitors travel thousands of kilometres for this experience. Time to share.
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Luxe Finish Line Penthouses offer the best vantage point for the finish of the Sydney-Hobart
Long have we been following the yachts leavings Sydney Harbour and one day, we will see the finish, from this place!
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In a busy world, proximity to nature is the new luxury
Forget Raffles, treat your nearest and dearest to a stay at the local campsite. They'll be super close to nature.
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Circular Quay welcomes new Korean dining experience to Sydney Place
We once took Korean-American chef David Chang around Koreatown, Eastwood. Not happy about driving rain, loved the food.
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MSC Cruises unveils a new outdoor kid-friendly attraction on World America
Drop your kid down the jaws of a shark and they come out 11 decks below. Sounds good to me.
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Amadeus welcomes FCM Travel as new reseller partner of Cytric Easy
Cytric Easy, the travel management tool embedded in Microsoft Teams, is to be integrated into FCM Travel portfolio. Amadeus and FCM Travel have extended their Cytric distribution agreement to include Cytric Easy. With this new agreement, global travel management company FCM Travel, becomes a reseller of the innovative travel management collaboration solution embedded into Microsoft […]
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Australian travellers abandon peer-to-peer stays and gravitate back to big hotels, survey finds
Doom scrolling Airbnb for the best-possible stay options two days out from departure was wearing us down, apparently.
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Quark Expeditions launches the Ultimate Summer in the Arctic sweepstakes for travel advisors
Summer in the Arctic still means it's freezing. But hopefully a winning sweepstakes tickets will warm your cockles.
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‘I bet it smells weird’ – Internet divided over floating restaurant in China
I you are still feeling peckish at the end of your meal, their fish tank is full. But can you eat koi?
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‘Turn up in the Northern Territory this Spring’ campaign deals
Agents and airlines get all hot and sweaty over these enticing deals. Or did someone just turn the air-conditioning up?
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‘Like nothing on earth’: Saudi Arabia’s new Treyam resort set in a Star Wars-style landscape
As long as Jar Jar Binks is not there, we would like a seat at the Mos Eisley Cantina please.
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Raffles Hotels and Resorts is set to open in Tokyo in 2028
Time to get your vision boards at the ready! Raffles is landing in Tokyo!
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‘A true honour’ – Andrew Stark wins Flight Centre Director’s Award for the second time
Congratulations Andrew! If you're a fan of British reality TV you might notice a familiar face.
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Club Med debuts travel agent portal 2.0 with bonus prize for tops sales
See those people by the pool. That could be you. Start selling through the portal people!
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Envoyage announces 2024 Australian Icons and rewards event in the Maldives
We were going to edit our name into the list but we chickened out.
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HIF Global signs collaboration agreement with Airbus on eFuels
We know it's a good thing but can a jet fuel geek out there send in a diagram explaining this please.
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Crystal announces release dates for 2026 itineraries
If you have started collecting 2026 itineraries then here is another one for you.
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Cairns Airport unveils display of support for FNQ youth
If you were craving some winter sun now you have a cultural reason for booking a flight to Cairns.
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Viking announces six new cruise itineraries
Now's the time to start learning Putonghua, Nihongo and Lhasa. Or maybe even know where these are spoken.
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Join Qatar Airways, Celebrity Cruises & Klook – Showcase Your Brand at Click Frenzy Travel August 2024!
Clicking calmly will also be welcome when it comes to this particular deal. Click calmly here to find out more.
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InsideAsia Tours launches new incentive that doubles agent commission
Double commission! We like the sound of that. Hope their system doesn't crash as a result.
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Push to revive Parramatta’s iconic Roxy Theatre into entertainment destination
Long have we wished for this iconic heritage cinema to be revived as a tourist destination. Still waiting.
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Qatar Airways signs an expansion to Boeing 777-9 aircraft order
Known as a quiet rural town in England, the entire global aviation industry now has its eyes on Farnborough.
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Flight Centre shares down following revised profit guidance
The stock market moves fast. What will the rest of the week hold for Flight Centre?