When Virtuoso recently announced the appointment of a new General Manager for Australia and New Zealand, it is fair to say there was a certain level of shock across the local industry. Surprise that Fiona Dalton, the local head, was stepping aside from the position she had overseen for the past few years, and also mystery as to who her replacement, Greg Treasure, was.

Luxury hotels, restaurants, spas and cruises in Australia, New Zealand and the wider surrounding region are on the watchlist of Forbes Travel Guide as the global authority on ‘genuine Five-Star service’ mulls its next move in this space. Furthermore, new travel agency partners here are already being considered, LATTE can exclusively reveal.

ID Travel Group continues to celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2023, this week launching a Black Friday Exclusive for travel advisors.

Mexico’s resort destination on the southern tip of Baha California, Los Cabos, is on the cusp of achieving record-breaking visitor numbers as more luxury hoteliers open and average room rates surge nearly 60% compared to two years ago.

From 1 May until 31 December 2023, travel advisors who make three new bookings on any of Tauck’s 2023 European river cruises, will earn one complimentary cabin* on a Tauck river cruise departing before 31 December 2024.

This month sees the release of Aurora Expeditions’ 2024 Arctic & Beyond program, covering destinations such as Greenland, Svalbard, Iceland, Norway and the Northwest Passage, accessed aboard the award-winning Australian adventure company’s two ships, Greg Mortimer and the freshly delivered, Sylvia Earle.

This week LATTE chats with Francois Gelly, Director of Sales at the historic Hôtel Belles Rives on the French Riviera. A partner property of global luxury travel networks, Virtuoso and Serandipians, and a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, the independent, waterfront hotel is represented in Australia by La Collection’s Co-Founders Lea Seguier and Craig Farrell.

This week LATTE chats with Serge Dive, CEO and Founder of This is Beyond Ltd and the disruptive trade show for the Asian luxury travel market, Further East, which is taking place next month in Bali.

Luxury Lodges of Australia says its online lodge availability calendar has proven a ‘game-changer’ for customers and travel advisors, and is encouraging the trade to utilise the multitude of resources available on the collection’s website.

This week LATTE chats with Eamonn Ferrin, Vice President International Business for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) to gain his insight on the Australian cruise market and trends.

Seabourn has trimmed the elapsed time between voyage check-in and suite entry with the introduction of a streamlined embarkation process. Designed to have guests in their suites quicker than ever before, Seabourn is now utilising electronic and mobile boarding passes, as well as assigned embarkation times.

Small ship expedition cruise operator Captain Cook Cruises Fiji is emerging from the pandemic pause with renewed energy, new experiences, activities and a seven-night voyage.