A Trip News

The Gold Coast council planning committee revealed on Tuesday that development had been approved for the largest apartment complex in Surfer’s Paradise on the famous tourist strip of Queensland’s Gold Coast.
    The 700 million Australian dollar (639 million U.S. dollar) development will cover nearly 11,500 square meters of land.
    The Planning committee chair, Ted Shepherd, said the development would deliver a major economic boost and add significantly (more…)

Australia is set for another bumper cruise season with the nation’s largest cruise operator, Carnival Australia, announcing that a record 190,000 passengers will sail on its ships locally during the next six months.The figure is up 13 per cent on last year’s season and almost double the number of passengers carried by Carnival Australia five years ago.
The upcoming cruise season will also feature a record 217 visits to ports around the country with highlights including the maiden Fremantle and (more…)

Long-haul budget airline AirAsia X has been denied permission to fly to Sydney and Seoul due to a row between the Malaysian government and its sister carrier AirAsia, a news report said.
The refusal has forced AirAsia X to scramble to make new plans to utilise the three new Airbus A330 aircraft due for delivery this year, the Star daily said today.
“We had asked for rights to fly to Sydney and Seoul, and the government decided to defer granting us the approval,” AirAsia X’s chief executive (more…)

The Great Barrier Reef and Uluru have made the final round in a global contest to select the new Seven Wonders of Nature.
The Australian natural landmarks were selected from a shortlist of 77 top spots around the world to be among the 28 finalists in the New7Wonders of Nature competition.
Only 21 finalists were expected to be announced, but the number was higher because of high levels of participation.
There were originally 441 nominees from 222 countries when the campaign began, with the (more…)

THE days of the traditional Australian family holiday have reached a peak, with the market set to remain flat for the next decade as more Australians travel further afield for their annual break, figures show.
The Tourism Forecasting Committee says that domestic tourism will record its worst year since the ’90s with the number of nights spent away from home falling to 261 million - or 16 nights per person - a drop of 13 per cent on the peak of 2002. More than $2.5 billion on accommodation, meals, (more…)

Australian Greens leader Bob Brown says Kevin Rudd should respect the culture of indigenous people, after the prime minister rejected a proposal to ban climbing at Uluru.
A draft management plan for the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park has called for a ban on people climbing the 348-metre-high rock, which is sacred to indigenous people.
Mr Rudd said while it was important to properly manage the country’s natural landscape it would be “very sad” if tourists were denied the chance to scale Uluru. (more…)

In an offer almost too good to be true, British travellers will soon be able to fly to Australia for less than the price of a guide book.
In a take on the term 10 pound Pom, originally coined to describe British citizens who migrated to Australia after World War II, the scheme will allow Brits to travel Down Under for just STG10 ($A20.42).
The move to boost the tourism industry will see 150 Qantas tickets to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane or Adelaide available for anyone with a valid Working (more…)

For Asia Pacific travellers, overseas trips begin with a visit to the Internet to plan their own itinerary, according to the Travel Smart Survey commissioned by Visa. 72% of survey respondents seek travel tips to help them decide where to go, mainly from the internet (43%) travel agents (23%) or friends, relatives and colleagues (23%).
The way the sexes and generations use the internet for travel planning differs. Women are more likely to be their own travel agents than men with 48% of the women (more…)

Delta is launching its inaugural Los Angeles-to-Sydney flight.
The battle for air passengers on the busy Australia-US route has grown hotter with US airline giant Delta launching its inaugural Los Angeles to Sydney flight.
The flight is scheduled to leave LA international airport at 10.35pm LA time on Wednesday (3.35pm Thursday AEST).
Delta plans to steal market share from the dominant airlines on the route, Qantas and United Airlines and another newcomer, Richard Branson’s recently-launched (more…)

AN EXPERT report is set to cast doubt on claims by debt-laden Sydney Airport that it can handle a more than doubling of passengers to 79 million a year over the next 20 years. Such doubt will bolster the case for speeding up plans for a second airport for the city.
The findings are also expected to highlight the need for the Macquarie Group-controlled Sydney Airport to inject more funding into infrastructure over the longer term at Kingsford Smith, which is frequently criticised as one of the (more…)