Melbourne

Melbourne’s culinary melting pot stirs US television audiences

American chef and best-selling author Anthony Bourdain has highlighted Melbourne’s numerous culinary delights in his US television series, No Reservations.

Melbourne, described as a “culinary melting pot” was the only Australian destination featured in the program, generating strong market exposure among US audiences.

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations is a travel/food program that attracts a worldwide audience of 172 million households and is the Travel Channel’s number one program.

Bourdain took in the sights, sounds and tastes from Melbourne’s diverse culinary scene including visits to Richmond’s famous Victoria Street, the emerging cultural offerings of Brunswick, award winning Royal Mail Hotel in the Grampians and classic Melbourne eatery – the European.

Several US wholesalers also launched Melbourne food and wine travel packages to coincide with the episode which screened on Monday 20 July.

Aviation

Superjumbos deliver super boost for Victoria

Victoria’s impressive run of aviation wins continue with news of Singapore Airlines' imminent plans to commence daily Melbourne-Singapore services with its Airbus A380 aircraft.

The A380 flights will deliver about 35,000 extra seats per year to Victoria, with flights due to commence on 29 September

Singapore Airlines will be the only daily A380 service out of Melbourne and are the second airline to bring A380 services to the state, with Qantas also operating the aircraft on the Los Angeles-Melbourne route.

Minister for Industry and Trade Martin Pakula was confident that Singapore Airlines’ shift to the new superjumbo services would generate increased tourist traffic into Victoria.

“Aviation is generally an excellent barometer of economic vitality, so our success in this area is a significant cause for increased confidence,” Mr Pakula said.

The announcement follows a string of recent good news including new routes and carriers, record international arrivals and growing air freight exports, further confirming Melbourne as one of the world’s top-tier airports.

Melbourne Airport racks up passenger numbers to defy tourism trend

Victoria’s tourism and business industry continues to show reliance with Melbourne Airport posting an overall increase in passenger numbers for the 2008/09 financial year.

Passenger traffic through Tullamarine grew to 24.8 million in total, a growth of 2.1 per cent.

The result was attributed to the strength of specific international markets such as the emerging Indian and Malaysian markets and established markets such as New Zealand.

Melbourne Airport CEO, Chris Woodruff, said Melbourne Airport would continue to work closely with airline customers to keep costs significantly lower than its competitors whilst maintaining excellent service levels.

The past year has seen the introduction of new Qantas, Air Asia X, Etihad and Emirates services, in addition to increased capacity to/from Melbourne from a number of other airlines including Air China, China Eastern, Pacific Blue, Vietnam Airlines, Philippine Airlines and Garuda Airways.

Tiger Airways flies high with low fares

Tiger Airways announced it will increase daily flights between Sydney and Melbourne as a result of strong customer demand for more services.

The additional flights will commence on 4 October with fares starting from just $39 one way.

The increased schedule provides more than double the number of daily flights offered by Tiger Airways on Australia’s busiest route, with up to nine flights per day in each direction between Melbourne and Sydney.

Accommodation

The search begins for RACV’s 101 Best Places to Stay

The Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) is again asking Victorians about their favourite holiday experiences, this time voting for the top 101 accommodation properties in a new online campaign, RACV’s 101 Best Places to Stay in Victoria.

The campaign follows the success of last year’s RACV 101 Best Things to See and Do in Victoria online voting campaign, which highlighted the state’s many great attractions.

Poll results will help to inform future RACV communications by providing members with independent suggestions for a host of accommodation options.

Visitors to racv.com.au can nominate and/or vote for their favourite accommodation places, from the most luxurious 5-star retreats to the local caravan park, and keep track of their rankings as the campaign progresses.

General Manager Tourism and Travel, Neil James, said the campaign intended to encourage more intrastate travel and uncover the secret, and not-so-secret places that make Victorian holidays so memorable.

Entrants who use the site blog to describe the reason for their vote can enter the draw to win one of three $1000 travel vouchers.

Voting will close on October 8. Competition information is available at racv.com.au

Travellers say “cooee” to Habitat HQ

Top-rated hostel, Cooee on St Kilda, has unveiled its new name – Habitat HQ – ushering in a new era in eco-friendly tourist accommodation.

The new name reflects the operator’s passion for environmental sustainability, while maintaining a focus on providing a homely place for travellers to meet, rest and grow. Habitat HQ aims to positively impact every guest’s journey and to enrich their stay by providing a safe, clean and fun environment.

The AAA Tourism Green Star-rated hostel is currently undertaking an environmental sustainability evaluation of existing services to further reduce its carbon footprint and become a leading sustainable accommodation provider.

Habitat HQ’s new owners are working with General Manager Anna Heaton and her team to preserve the hostel’s high customer satisfaction levels, while maintaining its status as a major player in the Backpacker Tourism sector. Additional infrastructure investments are planned to create a more visually exciting experience for guests.

Industry members are invited to officially farewell Cooee and welcome the new Habitat HQ in a celebration from 6.00 pm on Friday 28 August. To find out more, or to RSVP for the event, email or call 9537 3777.

The Langham, Melbourne tops world city hotel poll

The Langham, Melbourne has been named Top City Hotel by readers of Travel + Leisure in the magazine’s 2009 World’s Best Awards in New York.

The August issue of Travel + Leisure recognises the venue as the top city hotel in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, as polled by magazine subscribers in the publication’s 14th annual ‘World’s Best Awards Readers’ Survey’ in January 2009.

Well-reputed among sophisticated business and leisure travellers alike, The Langham is situated in the heart of the Melbourne’s thriving arts and culture precinct at Southbank.

The hotel’s Managing Director, Ben Sington said the prestigious accolade was a testament to the hotel’s staff and their unwavering pursuit of excellence in guest service.

For more information on the award-winning Langham, Melbourne, visit melbourne.langhamhotels.com.au

Victoria’s regions

Mornington Racecourse receives slice of $86 million racing fund

Mornington Racecourse will receive a $4.6 million boost to dramatically improve its facilities as part of several major infrastructure and capital improvements at regional and rural racing and training venues across the state.

The Mornington Racing Club will benefit from four major projects under the $86 million Regional Racing Infrastructure Fund (RRIF), developed in partnership by the State Government, Racing Victoria Limited and Country Racing Victoria. The fund represents the biggest State Government investment in rural and regional racing venues in Victoria’s history.

The largest project is a $4.2 million treated water pipeline connecting the Mornington racecourse to the Eastern Outfall, which will provide on-site storage, pumps and other works to drought proof the racecourse.

Three other projects – a sand track upgrade, new barrier gates and replacement of a retaining wall – will also be introduced.

$14.5 million rolled out for bushfire-hit businesses and farmers

Over 1800 small businesses and farmers hit by February’s devastating bushfires are now recovering, with the Victorian State Government approving $14.5 million in business assistance grants to date.

The grants were delivered through the joint Commonwealth-Victorian Government $51 million business assistance package to help small businesses and primary producers directly affected by the bushfires.

The package provides grants for ABN registered businesses with fewer than 20 full-time employees, to help with immediate clean up and damage assessment costs, and reconstruction and recovery of premises and equipment.

Small Business Minister Joe Helper acknowledged that while these grants and services were making an immediate impact, more needed to be done.

“The $51 million business assistance package will continue to provide grants for short term relief but it will also now focus on helping businesses and primary producers with long term reconstruction,” Mr Helper said.

Backpacker

Competition winner enjoys Victorian ‘trip of a lifetime’

Tourism Victoria’s World Youth Day competition winner Cheryl Nadugo, recently flew into Melbourne to begin her Victorian holiday experience.  

Ms Nadugo won “a trip of a lifetime to experience all Victoria has to offer” by uploading her stories, photos and videos of her best Melbourne tourism experience during Worth Youth Day festivities last year.

During her travels Ms Nadugo will undertake placements with Conservation Volunteers Australia. She will work at the Bothfeet walking lodge (Great Ocean Road), a community vegetation site in Batesford (Geelong), Hepburn Mineral Springs and Sovereign Hill (Bendigo).

Ms Nadugo’s visit will also include day trips to the Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island with Bunyip Tours and two weeks in Melbourne, staying at YHA Melbourne Central and Base St. Kilda.

Victoria ran a competition targeting international ‘pilgrims’, predominately aged 15-25, to spark interest in a return visit to Melbourne as an independent traveller.

The competition also aimed to guide entrants to Victorian tourism websites for information and generate flow-on interest among friends and relatives to discover Victoria for themselves.

Industry

Tourism under short-term pressure but recovery in sight

The Tourism Forecasting Committee (TFC) has released its latest forecasts for Australian tourism.

Prepared in an environment of world recession, the forecasts indicate a modest but positive outlook, in line with the expected recovery of world and Australian economic activity.

The new forecasts anticipate a 4 per cent decline in international visitor numbers in 2009, before returning to 3.1 percent growth in 2010. Similarly, the economic value of international tourism to Australia is forecast to decrease 2.1 per cent to $24.2 billion in 2009 before returning to a 2.2 per cent growth in 2010.

Despite the declines, arrivals from China, India, Middle East, Malaysia and Taiwan are forecast to provide solid growth, thanks to favourable exchange rates, lower oil prices, increased air traffic to Australia and dramatic cuts to airfares.

The outlook for domestic tourism is mixed with 2009 expected to see Australians taking fewer domestic trips but spending more during their travels. Domestic visitor nights are forecast to decrease 3.9% in 2009 while the economic value of domestic tourism is forecast to increase 2.9% this year to $64.2 billion.

To download the TFC forecasts, go to tra.australia.com

Victorian tourism accommodation survey yields hope

Tourism Victoria has released detailed results from its latest survey of tourist accommodation for the March 2009 quarter.

During the period, Victoria achieved higher occupancy rates and takings than the national average, and key competitors New South Wales and Queensland, despite experiencing a decline for the period.

The number of establishments and rooms available for Hotels, Motels & Serviced Apartments servicing 15 or more grew, with Victoria also recording higher takings and more capacity for Visitor Hostels.

Holiday Flats, Units & Houses yielded an 8.1 per cent increase in nights occupied and a 27.8 per cent increase in Victoria, in contrast to decreases experienced nationally and in New South Wales and Queensland.

Employment in the sector remained stable despite the economic environment.

Media & trade visits

Tourism Victoria continues to support tourism operators across the state by coordinating familiarisation visits for Australian and international media and the travel trade.

Spa and wellness strategy

Tourism Victoria has engaged journalist, Carrie Hutchinson (ex-Deputy Editor of Vogue Entertaining + Travel) and photographer Ewen Bell to produce stories for its latest spa and wellbeing media strategy.

Carrie and Ewen travelled to the Daylesford and Macedon Ranges region in late July, visiting the Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa, taking a walk through The White House and enjoying lunch at Koukla, among other activities.

Tourism Victoria is also working with the Sydney Morning Herald on a 16-page feature on the region to appear in an upcoming edition of the Good Weekend. Ballarat-based journalist Sandy Guy has been appointed to prepare the editorial and stories for the feature.

Campaigns

Jersey Boys campaign to draw crowd for Four Seasons

Tourism Victoria and Qantas Holidays have launched a national campaign offering consumers great ticket and accommodation packages to see Jersey Boys – The story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne.

The campaign, which began in July, encompasses a range of print, online, radio and television advertising and allows participants to design package that suits their needs and budget by selecting their accommodation and Jersey Boys performance time.

Print advertising will feature in Good Weekend, Q-Weekend BNE, SA Weekend, Brisbane Sunday Mail, Sydney Morning Herald, mX Sydney and Brisbane, and Sunday Telegraph.

Radio advertising will also take place, along with a television segment on Channel Nine’s Today Show.

Additional Tourism Victoria campaigns scheduled to take place in late July and early August include:

• Goldfields – tactical print advertising in Adelaide Magazine and search engine marketing on Google.
• Gippsland – continued billboard advertising at Victorian universities and online branding. Electronic direct mailouts distributed to South Australia and ACT markets.
• Ski – continued tactical and online branding on BigPond News and Weather, qantas.com, Courier Mail, PerthNow and MSN weather.
• Melbourne –
• Lose Yourself in Melbourne's Theatre District campaign. National print advertising, radio advertising in Sydney, and online branding on news and travel websites.
• Qantas Holidays Only in Melbourne campaign featured on Qantas weekday flights in July, Channel 7, SBS and pay TV stations. Also includes print ads in metropolitan dailies.
• Arts & Culture –
• Lost and Found online campaign on Twothousand, Coolhunter, The Vine, Australian Creative, and Dumbo Feather.
• Melbourne Winter Masterpieces domestic print campaign and New Zealand print and online advertising.
• Theatre –
• Wicked Last Weeks campaign, comprising television commercials in Adelaide, print advertising in Adelaide, Hobart and Launceston and radio advertising on Mix 102.3, HOFM and 7LA.
• Jersey Boys DeBortoli magazine campaign includes culinary magazine advertising in Donna Hay, Gourmet Traveller and Delicious and instore magazines at Dan Murphy’s, Liquorland, Cellarbrations and Safeway Liquor.
• Australian Open – Print advertising includes Adelaide Sunday Mail, Adelaide Advertiser, mX Sydney and Brisbane, Daily Telegraph, and Courier Mail.

International

Australia prefers VISA

Tourism Australia, Tourism Victoria and VISA International have launched the 2009 instalment of a decade-long promotional campaign targeting platinum VISA card holders in China.

The Australia Prefers VISA consumer campaign intends to encourage the high-end Fully Independent Traveller (FIT) segment to consider Australia as their next destination.

Nine Victorian operators are featured in the direct mailer which features travel experiences and unique offers to VISA’s 500,000 Platinum and Infinite credit cardholders in China.

What’s on

The Age Good Food Guide Winter Restaurant Express

Expect delicious local, seasonal dishes in top Victorian restaurants when The Age Good Food Guide Winter Restaurant Express comes to town from 26 July to 9 August.

Visit any of The Age Good Food Guide restaurants across Victoria and treat yourself to two courses from the menu featuring Victorian produce, a glass of Victorian wine and coffee or tea – for the palatable price of $35 for lunch or $45 for dinner.

Click here to download the full list of more than 80 participating restaurants. Bookings can be made directly with venues.

The offer is one of many unique events and activities as part of the Put Victoria on Your Table campaign supported by Melbourne Food and Wine, Victorian Wine Industry Association and Regional Development Victoria.

To find out more visit putvictoriaonyourtable.com.au

Upcoming events

• Tourism Futures conference, 17-19 August, Gold Coast
• Australian Tourism Export Council / Tourism Victoria Famil and Workshop, 20-24 August, InterContinental Hotel, Melbourne
• Dreamtime 2009, 12–16 October, Sydney