Last Friday marked two years since the earthquake which devastated the Christchurch CBD, and caused the death of over 180 people. The quake destroyed or severely damaged thousands of homes and businesses…
Previously close, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce and Tourism Australia chairman Geoff Dixon are now at loggerheads after Joyce withdrew $44 million funding from TA. But Joyce is determined his positioning strategy for Qantas won’t be disrupted.
AAP
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce is a master of brinkmanship. The withdrawal of $44 million of marketing support to Tourism Australia based on the perception of a conflict of interest with the board chairman, Geoff…
It’s easy to find examples of good development in national parks – Cradle Mountain Lodge, for example – and examples of where it hasn’t worked.
Michael Dawes
You’d be hard pushed to find someone who doesn’t love national parks, either as visitors or as reasonably-minded bystanders. But can those parks be loved to death? And, if so, who should step in to help…
Timor boasts some unspoiled coast, but lacks key tourism infrastructure.
Denis Tolkach
Timor-Leste’s recent elections were dubbed “the key test for the fragile democracy” by the Australian media. A peaceful outcome of the election meant that United Nations military and police contingent…
Regional Victorian tourism is likely to feel the impact of Victoria’s recent TAFE cuts, which follow bi-partisan policy failure around competition.
Tourism and hospitality course closures have featured prominently in the recent announcements about redundancies flowing from the estimated $200 million of Victorian TAFE funding cuts.
While the causes…
Quarries and quandaries: Australia’s natural splendour is a major source of income, yet it sits uncomfortably with mining’s spread.
AAP/Fantasea Adventure Cruising
Australia has built a strong global brand based on its iconic natural beauty. For example, the new Australia Tourism campaign, “There’s nothing like Australia”, features icons like the Kimberley, Uluru…
Familiar territory: Australia’s tourism pitch to China was well received, but it could have been more adventurous.
AAP
In a symbolic move, Tourism Australia chose Shanghai to launch its new “There’s Nothing Like Australia” campaign. The classic advertising imagery returns us to the pre-Hogan era, before Paul invited prospective…
Arise marsupial: the NSW town of Campbelltown could be the place to claw back Big Koala status from this one at Dadswell Bridge, Victoria.
Flickr/pixelhut
One of Campbelltown Council’s councillors, facing re-election in the upcoming elections, recently suggested that the city should construct a “Big Koala” (BK) in the style of other “big local features…
Sydney’s Airport’s international terminal.
Sydney Airport
Does Sydney need a second airport? In the the recent furore, Foreign Minister Bob Carr, former Prime Minister Paul Keating, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, former Federal Transport Minister Peter Morris, and former…
Chinese airlines are on the rise.
AAP/James Morgan
AUSTRALIA IN THE ASIAN CENTURY – A series examining Australia’s role in the rapidly transforming Asian region. Delivered in partnership with the Australian government.
Here, Professor Brian King crunches…
Persuading tourists to return to Japan has become a national mission for the country’s officials.
AAP
In a highly symbolic move, the World Tourism Summit this week opened in Sendai, Japan, the area most affected by last March’s tsunami and Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown.
Hosting the Summit, which…
The way tourism companies in the Blue Mountains engage in corporate social responsibility changes depending on whether they are owner-managed or not.
Flickr/nosha
“Corporate social responsibility” (CSR) isn’t just a term used by blue chip corporations to give them a more caring image. It’s a principle being adopted by thousands of small and medium-sized tourism…
Another wave is coming: the coral-killing crown of thorns starfish.
Flickr/<SLIM>
The Great Barrier Reef is under attack from a range of enemies including climate change effects (coral bleaching, increased severe storms, and ocean acidification), pollutant discharge from the land, coastal…
How do you stop young Australians from participating in risky activities overseas?
Flickr/vampirogordo
Australians love to travel the world. In 2011 more than 7.5 million Australians (or more than one third of all Australians) travelled outside the country. Of course, most Australian travellers abroad have…
The stricken cruise ship Costa Concordia lies off the Italian coast.
Vigili Del Fuego
During the decade since the 9/11 attacks and the ensuing “war on terror”, cruise ship, resort and theme park tourist bubbles have been remarkably terror-free.
The tourist-only environments on cruise ships…
Serena Williams practices ahead of this week’s Australian Open.
AAP/Mast Irham
The first real global contest for professional tennis each year is the Australian Open: the preceding international games in Brisbane, Hobart and Sydney are comparative warm up bouts.
Through the months…
How does Queensland tourism recover after a cyclone and floods earlier this year?
AFP Photo/Paul Crcok
This year’s natural disasters have been an omnipresent and unwelcome theme impacting on tourism to Japan, New Zealand, Queensland and Thailand.
Long after the initial horror of a natural disaster, the…
Has Australia managed to make the most of our opportunities to tap into the Chinese market?
Flickr/peregrinari
I recall attending a World Tourism Organisation [WTO] Conference in Tasmania ten years ago, where it was predicted that China would become the both the largest outbound travel market as well as the largest…
Qantas management have taken a risky approach to end their dispute with unions.
AFP/William West
Qantas planes are set to return to the air today after Fairwork Australia ruled to terminate an industrial dispute that grounded the airline over the weekend.
The extraordinary action on Saturday by…
Every trip has positive and negative effects.
Ben Beiske/Flickr
Many of us eagerly await those few weeks when we can escape the daily grind and break away to some breathtaking holiday destination. But with increasing concern over climate change and the emissions generated…
Sunset on the Kimberley coastline. Is the future of tourism in WA at risk from mining?
AAP
The West Australian government’s decision to reject a proposal to establish a coal mine near the Margaret River in the state’s south came after a drawn-out application and approval process that was anything…
Tiger Airways needs to better understand the maturity of the Australian aviation market.
AAP
Tiger Airways chief Tony Davis' decision to sell 1 million of his own shares in the company last week didn’t send the best message about his prognosis for the budget airline’s future in Australia.
While…
