California’s luxury travel portfolio will go on show again in March 2020 as organisers of the Visit California Luxury Forum confirm the return of the event following a successful debut earlier this year in Santa Monica.

The Walshe Group brought together two dozen Virtuoso luxury travel advisors last Wednesday [18 September, 2019] to showcase three destinations the company represents in the Australian market. Representatives from Hawaii Tourism Oceania, Abu Dhabi Tourism and NYC&Co (the official marketing and tourism organisation of New York City) gathered at Studio Sydney Tower, where during a three-course dinner, they were briefed on some of the latest developments in the luxury space.

Los Angeles is on the move and that’s good news for visitors who want a luxury experience with no less than nine big name hotels due to open in the next few years, along with a slew of new cultural and dining options and a major upgrading of LAX that promises shorter queues and faster entry through Customs and Immigration.

When the sun set on TravelManagers’ annual National Conference in Perth recently, most of the attending personal travel managers (PTMs) were packing their bags, ready to head to their home towns and eager to put into practice all that they had learned over the preceding three days. For thirteen PTMs however, this would have to wait: first, a much-anticipated visit to the Kimberley region awaited.

Lufthansa is gearing up for Oktoberest, with the airline’s Trachten- crew readying for world’s largest crew in folk costume flight between Munich and Beijing on 23 September. A total of 21 Lufthansa flight attendants will be trading their uniforms for traditional Bavarian garb on the flagship Airbus A380 for the very first time

The UK’s Riviera Travel River Cruises visited Australia recently to mark two years of selling its European river cruises to the Australian market – exclusively through travel agents.

A select group of agents and media was invited to experience pure wonder on a journey through Gifu, the Centre of Japan, last Friday [13 September, 2019] at Sofitel Sydney Wentworth Hotel.

Viking hosted a 50 select travel partners in each state for an advanced screening of the new Downton Abbey feature film this week, including a preview in Sydney on Sunday [8 September, 2019] that was ahead of the global premiere in London. Events were also held in Melbourne and Brisbane.

Ovolo in Woolloomooloo was replicated as the unique neighbourhoods of Washington, DC last night, as Destination DC and their partners, Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group and United Airlines, treated up to 100 members of the travel industry and media to a taste of DC.

After 33 years in the local travel industry, part-owner of leading local travel agency Helloworld Travel Mackay & Mt Pleasant, John Cooney, is retiring and handing over the reins to General Manager, Annabel Dolphin.

The Margaret River region is renowned for its wineries, beaches and amazing natural beauty. It’s therefore not surprising that when TravelManagers offered a pre-conference famil to experience the many delights of this region, a total of 26 personal travel managers (PTMs) signed up.