South-East Queensland and Northern NSW based Virtuoso advisors were finally able to enjoy the Gold Coast leg of Virtuoso Travel Week Australia. It took place last week after being postponed multiple times due to COVID-19.

Virtuoso’s Senior Vice President of Global Operations, Michael Londregan, is urging the industry to be cautious of the pitfalls of predicting a timeline as to when business will resume to pre-COVID-19 days.

Cabarita Beach’s boutique Halcyon House has introduced a new One-Bedroom Suite, offering direct access to the luxury property’s pool and the northern NSW beach that shares its name.

It’s a case of full steam ahead for luxury travel network Virtuoso which will host its next regional Travel Week showcase in Queensland later this month.

In LATTE’s first Q&A column of 2021, we chat exclusively with Jesse Kornoff, General Manager of Mount Lofty House situated in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia. Jesse has been onsite at the property since the developments of the new and highly-anticipated addition, Sequoia Lodge, slated to open in April 2021.

Travel Associates is bedding down its alliance with luxury travel network Virtuoso, increasing its number of agencies in Australia from the current 16 to 50, effective 1 January 2021.

The surprise announcement by Western Australia that it would open its hard borders to residents of New South Wales and Victoria from next week, coupled with the reopening of the Queensland/NSW border earlier this week (see more below), has been applauded by travel groups.

Virtuoso’s new regional program devised in Australia is providing a footpath for local suppliers to access the luxury network’s global database of travel advisors. The new partnerships, revealed exclusively by LATTE last month, have provided suppliers with an alternative to dumping inventory with online package specialists, says Adrian Clarke, Virtuoso’s Marketing & Commercial Manager, Asia Pacific.

Virtuoso has signed its first property in Brisbane as part of an expansion of the luxury travel network’s partnerships in Australia. Emporium Hotel South Bank is one of nearly 20 new partners to join the group’s Regional Program as Aussies look to explore more of their own backyard.

Seven months on from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison banning overseas leisure travel indefinitely due to the escalating coronavirus crisis, the local industry continues to face trading turbulence and uncertainty as to when borders will reopen and businesses return to normal.

Travel agencies that have put their businesses on hiatus during the coronavirus crisis and taken advantage of the Australian Government’s JobKeeper payments have been encouraged to take charge and be ready to flick the lights on again.