Hoo boy, today’s a big one, readers. We hope you’re ready to feel the full weight of all the agent knowledge you could possibly know right now. You’re welcome.

Travellers Choice agents Wu-ed in Maroochydore

(L-R) Monique Hulsman (Ucango Travel & Cruise Centre), Dave Hulsman (Ucango Travel & Cruise Centre), James McMillan (Wendy Wu Tours), Lynn Parker (Kawana Waters Travel), Jacinta Lane (Coolum Travel), Genna Quinn (Coolum Travel), Richard van Schouwen (Kawana Waters Travel), Lyn Worthy (Coolum Travel), Kelly Bannam (Ucango Travel & Cruise Centre) and Kathy Watson (Ucango Travel & Cruise Centre)

Travellers Choice agents on the Sunshine Coast gathered together in Maroochydore recently for some informal networking and a product update from Wendy Wu Tours.

The event – organised by Travellers Choice BDM for Queensland and Northern NSW, Kim Tomlinson – took place at Ucango Travel & Cruise Centre’s agency in Maroochydore, with Wendy Wu Tours’ James McMillan providing details on the company’s latest destinations, along with its current agent incentives.

“Travellers Choice agents are a close knit group and they all enjoy and see the benefits of catching up with their peers,” said Tomlinson.

“Events such as these not only provide the opportunity to nurture the Travellers Choice culture, they also ensure agents are up-to-date with important product information, so on behalf of the entire group a big ‘thank you’ to Wendy Wu Tours for sponsoring the Sunshine Coast function.”

Celebrate the remake of Beauty and the Beast…

To celebrate the highly anticipated Walt Disney Studios’ remake of Beauty and the Beast, here are a few ‘real life’ ways to step inside this animated classic.  In cinemas nationwide from 23^rd March 2017, Emma Watson and Dan Stevens will bring the characters of Belle and the Beast to life in this new adaption of the beloved fairy tale.

Celebrating its 25^th Anniversary this year, from 20^th March, Disneyland Paris is turning spectacularly sparkly, with an array of highlights, including: a new Disney Stars on Parade, which is an anniversary party hosted by Mickey Mouse and all his friends; plus a new show, ‘Disney Illuminations’, complete with dazzling lights, projections and special effects where Disney stories, including Beauty and the Beast, come to life before your eyes.

Take the time to visit Florida’s Walt Disney World’s most popular dining location Be Our Guest Restaurant for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  The restaurant is an expansive and elegant 550 seat dining destination located at the foot of the Beast’s Castle.

Travel Counsellors continues to grow corporate travel

A group of Travel Counsellors recently travelled to Melbourne to attend a two-day workshop focused on building the corporate travel side of their home-based businesses. Held at the Travel Counsellors head office, the workshop was hosted by corporate business development managers, Simon Gatt and Marg Newbigin.

Over two days, the Travel Counsellors learned how to improve their corporate business portfolio and increase sales from their existing corporate client base. Sharing their expert knowledge with the attendees, the presenters were able to motivate the group to implement new sales techniques and adopt a fresh approach to securing new corporate clients.

Uncover Central America with G Adventures

G Adventures has launched their Uncover Central America campaign, offering savings of 15 per cent across tours throughout the region.

Trips vary in length and style, providing travellers with the chance to taste the flavourful cuisine, feel the warmth of the sun along kilometre after kilometre of beautiful beaches, or simply discover an unspoiled tropical paradise (pura vida!) within the magnificent region that is Central America and the Caribbean. The sale ends April 1 2017 and includes departures through to December 31 2017.

Discounted offerings include: Costa Rica Quest, sale price $977 (save $172); Mayan Adventure, sale price $2549 (save $450); and Cuba Colonial, sale price $2235 (save $394).

G also today announced discounts across all of their Expedition itineraries, including Norway, Arctic and Antarctic trips. Now through March: travellers can save up to 15 per cent on Expedition adventures. more information, or to book, visit www.gadventures.com.au and www.facebook.com/gadventures.

Helloworld for Business Agents Get Up Close to the NBL Action

(L-R) Steve Hona, Helloworld for Business, Sharon Levingston, The Travel Authority, Jocelyn Abad, Eden Travel

(L-R) Nikki Beitner, Reho Travel. Brian Caddle, Reho Travel. Andrew Lewtas, Travel Connections. Dominique Oliveira, Reho Travel. Kathryn Sari, Verve Travel Management. Steve Hona, Helloworld for Business. Alex Stewart, 1000Mile Travel

Helloworld for Business recently hosted agents in Sydney and Melbourne for some exciting NBL games in each city. Hosting local agents and guests from The Travel Authority and Eden Travel for the Sydney Kings vs New Zealand Breakers at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney and local Melbourne agents from Reho Travel, Travel Connections, Verve Travel Management and 1000Mile Travel for Melbourne United vs Illawarra Hawks at Hisense Arena.

It was a chance to get up close to the NBL action as well as giving the agents a unique corporate experience and opportunity to connect with each other.

Magellan & Serko sign deal

Magellan Travel Group has announced the signing of a preferred partnership agreement with corporate travel technology provider, Serko.

The agreement with Serko brings to light another component within the Groups suite of member tools and services which not only support and propel individual member growth, they also further underpin the strategic growth plans of the broader Group.

Swiss Travel System Launches New Platform

Switzerland Tourism advises that Swiss Travel System AG has launched a new website, mystsnet.com, specially designed for agents, trade and media partners to refer to when familiarising themselves with the services and the company.

Visitors to the site will be able to obtain useful information including the Swiss Travel System Sales Manual and factsheets regarding product range, prices and various services. Images, videos, maps and logos are also available for download and distribution as well. The News Centre on the home page will provide updated information on the public transportation network. While the Download Centre provides resourceful material for marketing and promotional purposes.

Agents not already familiar with the Swiss Travel System are strongly encouraged to visit the website to better equip themselves with the available information.

Visit Britain & Tempo Holidays launch new campaign

Visit Britain and Tempo Holidays have announced a partnership to raise awareness of regional UK as part of their #OMGB campaign launching this month.

The campaign will focus on the immersive experiences across the lesser-known destinations such as standing on the very spot where Shakespeare learnt to write or sampling craft beer in a cosy country pub, and introduces 11 new itineraries with Tempo Holidays.

Filling the gap in the market for regional product, the new itineraries consist of unique four and five night independent rail packages across Birmingham, York, Preston, Southampton, Bristol, Leeds, Newcastle, Exeter, Manchester, Chester and Edinburgh.

Journeying by train adds a real sense of adventure to any trip and is the most scenic and relaxing way to discover the real Britain. Additionally, a fast and frequent rail network means you can escape London and be in Scotland in as little as 4 hours 30 minutes, so you can take in more of the varied history and culture on even a short trip.

Each package is designed to give agents and travellers complete flexibility as they can be bolted on to different locations allowing for the ability to pick and choose to create the perfect adventure.

Insider tip: Hop around the Greek and Croatia islands for more availability

Take the hassle out of booking your dream Europe Holidays when booking with Tempo Holiday. Easy to book and instantly confirmed up to two weeks prior to your departure are all of Tempo Holidays Greece and Croatia Island hopping trips. Island hopping with Tempo is easy, available and ready to go.

Cruise has been a favourite of many in such destinations, but with limited spacing, free sell on island hopping is the best solution. With 28 island hopping packages to choose from, that are tried and tested, it’s never been easier.

TravelManagers Celebrate A Year Of Outstanding Achievements

TravelManagers dominance continues as Australia’s premium travel network with Chief Operating Officer Grant Campbell proudly describing 2016, as being “another year of outstanding achievements” for the company.

“February 2016 saw TravelManagers achieve its best ever sales month and when you add in the significant raft of supplier awards, our growth and development as a company has been nothing short of exceptional.”

TravelManagers celebrated its 500^th personal travel manager in 2016, clearly positioning the company as Australia’s largest and most experienced home-based travel consultant brand.

Some highlights include:

• 2016 saw record personal travel manager attendance at the company’s locally based state meetings in November and the Annual Conference in Bangkok in August was deemed the most successful to date
• 500 plus supplier product and training cluster meetings were held in suburban and regional centres throughout Australia
• 700 one-on-one meetings were held between business partnership managers and personal travel managers
• Personal travel managers individually and collectively worked together to organise and co-ordinate 40 local travel expos and film evenings
• 193 national webinars were organised by the national partnership office, 121 of these facilitated by partner suppliers

New Zealand early bird ski specials released!

An icing sugar dusting of snow cover has sprinkled the southern alps over the past few weeks in New Zealand, building anticipation of winter luring.

Early snow sparks early savings for ski holidays booked in advanced with hundreds of dollars saved with pre-purchased lift pass deals.

Valid for sale only until 30 March 2017, New Zealand ski areas early bird multi-day lift passes to Coronet Peak and The Remarkbles in Queenstown start at $288NZ per adult for four days and $150NZ per child.

Mt. Hutt in the Canterbury region has multi-day passes on-sale for $272NZ per adult and $144NZ per child for 4 day packages.  As a further bonus for Mt. Hutt, all kids 10 years and under get free lift passes every day.

Additional multi-day packages can be viewed on-line.  The pre-packaged days all must be utlised within 12 days of the first day of skiing and need to be booked and paid for by 30 March.

Amadeus unlocks global rail growth with new merchant model

Amadeus has unveiled a new merchant model which enables a simple commercial to travel agencies, enabling railways to expand their global visibility, reach and revenue.

With the Australian Government committing $50 billion to infrastructure investment between 2013-14 and 2019-20 and providing targeted funding for an Investment Road and Rail Programme to improve the efficiency and safety of land transport, Amadeus’ merchant model marks the beginning of a new era and will revolutinise the industry, giving it what it needs to take a global leap and unlock growth.

Amadeus acts a merchant for rail operators to simplify contractual agreements, financial flows and invoicing with travel agencies, resulting in reduced costs for railways as Amadeus takes care of all setup, billing and settlement activities, and assumes financial and legal risks of selling via travel agencies.

The model will also enable railways to reach new travellers in new markets as Amadeus takes care of promoting their offer to travel agencies too.

Walk with Explore! and save

Explore Worldwide are having a sale on walking and self-guided walking holidays. Whether you’re a hiker who lives to reach the summit, or you enjoy a more leisurely stroll with plenty of (wine) stops, there is a trip for you. Save up to A$350 // NZ$370 per person if you book before the 27 March 2017.

If you’ve ever wanted to climb Kilimanjaro, walk the Camino de Santiago, or walk with some tasty stops through the wine country of Spain and Portugal then this sale is for you! Book any Walking or Self-Guided Walking trip on any available departure date.

Explore Worldwide are the adventure travel experts with over 500 tours available in 120 countries there is plenty of options to choose. For more information, or to book visit www.exploreworldwide.com.au / www.exploreworldwide.co.nz or call AU – 1300 439 756 / NZ – 0800 269 263.

PATA CEO makes first Solomon Islands trip

Fulfilling a pledge to visit the Solomon Islands, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) CEO, Dr Mario Hardy last week paid his first official visit to the Solomon Islands.

The visit, the first by a PATA CEO is seen as a major step in initialising a strategy by his organisation to place more emphasis on its South Pacific activity.

Accompanied by PATA Regional Director – Pacific, Chris Flynn, Dr Hardy was welcomed to the destination by Solomon Islands Minister for Culture & Tourism, the Hon. Bartholomew Parapolo at the start of a three-day fact-finding exercise.

His visit included meetings with key ministerial staff including Permanent Secretary, Andrew Nihopara, Director of Tourism, Barney Savoro and senior Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau (SIVB) officials.

A result of these meetings will see PATA increase its activity in the Solomon Islands, this including the implementation of training programs intended to assist the local tourism in building its already steadily increasing international visitation.

The Travel Corporation weekly deals

Southern Spectacular
Save up to $840 per couple when you book AAT Kings 10 day Southern Spectacular guided holiday and pay in full by 26 April 2017.

Journey through spectacular New Zealand Fiordland, this package includes an experienced Travel Director, quality accommodation, travel in luxury coach, airport transfers, and more! Priced from $3,416 per person (including discount), twin share and available on select departures between 15 October 2017 – 25 March 2018. For more information or to book call 1300 556 100 or visit aatkings.com *Conditions Apply.

2018 Boutique River Cruises
Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection is encouraging guests to book early for the best prices on 2018 itineraries. For the first time ever, those who pay in full at the time of booking will enjoy 10% savings on all voyages booked before 30 June 2017.

The new collection now features each of Uniworld’s 2018 itineraries from around the globe – Europe, Russia, Egypt, India, China, Vietnam and Cambodia; with more than 30 unforgettable luxury adventures in all. For more information call 1300 780 231 or visit uniworld.com

St. Patricks Day
Save 12% with Trafalgar, when you book select Irish itineraries in celebration of St. Patricks Day book between 13-19 March, pay in full 20 March 2017. You’ll soon learn why the Irish say if you’re lucky enough to be Irish, you’re lucky enough. Experience the Best of Ireland (Reverse) over 10-days.

Priced as low as $2,398 * per person, twin-share available for select departures 02 July, 06 August & 17 September 2017 (subject to availability). For more information or a further selection of Trafalgar’s authentic, fun and effortless guided holidays visit www.trafalgar.com or call Trafalgar on 1800 002 006(toll-free).*Conditions apply

Palace on Wheels
Save up to $450 per person when you book Adventure World’s Palace on Wheels rail journey through India and deposit before 31 March 2017.

Priced from $4,485* (including discount) per person, including 7 nights twin accommodation on the Palace on Wheels, many meals, transport, sightseeing and the services of an English-speaking guide. Available for departure between 5 April – 26 April 2017. For more information and full terms and conditions visit Adventure World at www.adventureworld.com call 1300 363 055 *Conditions Apply

African Voyage
Save up to 21%*on a cruise fare when you book Creative Cruising’s 18-night Safari & African Voyage before 31 March 2017. Journey through the Indian Ocean, receiving a bonus of up to US$150 on-board credit, complimentary gratuities and a reduced flat deposit of $300 per person.

This package includes a one-way Economy class airfare to Cape Town flying South African Airways, 2 nights pre-cruise accommodation in Cape Town, a full day Safari at Aquila Game Reserve, a 16-night cruise onboard Queen Mary 2 from Cape Town to Fremantle (Perth), meals and entertainment onboard and more! Priced from $5,889*per person (discount included, airfare departing Perth) departing 27 January 2018. *Conditions apply please see www.creativecruising.com.au or call 1300 362 599 for more information.

European Escapade
Save from $248* when you book Contiki’s 25-day European Escapade by 13 March 2017. From Rome to the Rhine Valley, not a minute of your European Escapade will be wasted.

This is 25-days of heart-pounding, partying and living with no regrets and non-stop adventure. Priced from $3,747 *per person and available for travel between 28 March 2017 – 11 September 2017. For more information visit www.contiki.com or phone 1300 266 845. *Conditions Apply

Sacred Sites and Legends
Save up to $318 per person when you book Insight Vacations 18-day Romantic Britain and Ireland escorted journey and pay in full by 27 April 2017. A wealth of history, dramatic scenery, sacred sites, legends and traditions all come together, invoking a sense of romance on this tour.

Included in this journey is an expert Insight Tour Director, travel in luxury coach, quality centrally located hotels and more. Priced from $5,724 per person (including 5% early payment discount) on select departures between 26 April – 20 September 2017 (subject to availability). For full terms and conditions visit insightvacations.com or call 1300 727 767.

Italian Adventure
Save up to 8% off Busabout’s Italian Adventure when you book before 30 April 2017.

On this 3-day Italian tour Busabout will take you to discover the history of Pompeii, the breath-taking Amalfi Coast and the glitzy glamour of Capri. To book call 1300 287 226 and quote promocodeEB3. For more information and a range of other Europe trips on sale visit http://www.busabout.com/