Travel
Updates on travel industry trends, tourism, and economic impact.
Britain’s High Speed 2 rail project is now ranked as the most expensive in the world. The first and only phase of HS2 is priced at between A$93.44 billion and $112 billion by the U.K. government. This breaks down to a staggering $665.6 million per mile. The US$128-billion California High Speed Rail in the U.S. is the only other rail project to come close to matching HS2’s costs. When it launched in 2012, it was with a projected overall cost of approximately $68.48 billion for almost 400 miles (643.738 kilometres) of new railway. HS2 has now been overseen by five different CEOs, seven chairmen, six prime ministers, eight finance ministers and nine transport ministers. Railway journalist Christian Wolmar says that the project was likely to fail from the start, with simple design flaws contributing to the rising prices. “A number of mistakes were made at the outset, including the decision to build the line for 400 kilometers per hour operation, 100 kph faster than the international norm,” he says. “There was also a lack of discussion over the chosen route, which could have followed existing highway corridors.” Rapidly rising construction costs, unexpected British political upheaval and permit issues have
A multi-million dollar tourism campaign will use cricket to try and bring more visitors to Australia from India. Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins will appear alongside Tourism Australia's mascot Ruby the Roo in the campaign, titled “Howzat for a Holiday?”. It features a series of social media videos and television commercials, and is expected to reach 50 million Indian viewers. The campaign will also include billboards and print advertisements across India. Tourism Australia is aiming to target potential visitors from India’s middle class by utilising a mutual love of cricket.Credit: Tourism AustraliaThe managing director of Tourism Australia, Phillipa Harrison, said Indian tourism levels had already exceeded pre-pandemic numbers. Building on this, last week a Tourism Australia delegation travelled to New Delhi and Mumbai to sign a new partnership with national carrier Air India to schedule more flights. This campaign effort comes in the wake of a reduction in Chinese tourists, as their market struggles with geopolitical tensions and the pandemic.
Air New Zealand is reportedly considering reintroducing flights between Auckland and London. The airline has secured 236 slots at Gatwick Airport for daily service beginning in mid-2025, according to ch-aviation. “We are constantly reviewing our network and we actively listen to the feedback we get from New Zealanders as to where they would love to fly,” an Air New Zealand spokesperson said. “It’s not uncommon for airlines to apply for slots in new airports as part of this network review process.” “London is one of those destinations New Zealand has a very special connection to and we continue to explore options.” Air New Zealand first reportedly applied for 420 slots at Heathrow Airport, though its bid was unsuccessful. Flights between Auckland and London are 18,354 kilometres long. If Air New Zealand relaunches the service, it will again become the longest flight in the world, surpassing the 15,400 kilometre flight between New York City and Singapore. The airline operated flights from Auckland to London from 1982 to 2020. It was Air New Zealand’s only European route. "Today Kiwis have more than twice the number of ways to fly to London than a decade ago and preferences have changed,” acting CEO
Etihad and Virgin Australia will end their code sharing and loyalty program partnership next year, according to Etihad. Beginning June 1, travellers will no longer be able to book Virgin Australia flights through Etihad’s booking portals. Etihad passengers will not be able to earn and use loyalty miles on Virgin Australia flights, and vice versa. “The decision reflects a divergence in the strategic direction of the respective airlines,” according to Etihad. “Etihad Airways remains dedicated to serving Australia, as it has since 2007.” Travellers with existing bookings will not be affected. Etihad Airways also said that the airline would increase its flights to Sydney and Melbourne in 2025. Qatar Airways said last month it aimed to buy a 25% equity stake in Virgin Australia. If the deal is approved by government regulators, Qatar Airways will become Virgin’s exclusive booking and loyalty partner in the Middle East. The partnership with Qatar Airways “will provide access to a greater range of international destinations with improved schedules and frequencies, increased earn and redemption opportunities for members of [loyalty programs] Velocity and Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club, and broader access to great value fa
U.S. Thanksgiving travel numbers are expected to break records this year. In a statement, AAA expanded their annual Thanksgiving travel forecast to include the Tuesday before and the Monday after for the first time, covering November 26th to December 2nd. Stacey Barber, Vice President of AAA Travel, said that “Thanksgiving is the busiest holiday for travel” and this year would be expected to break records.Credit: AAAThey are projecting nearly 80 million travellers for this year, an increase of 1.7 million people compared to 2023. It is also two million more than pre-pandemic numbers recorded in 2019. The vast majority are expected to travel by car, just under 90%. A possible factor for this increase is petrol prices coming in lower this Thanksgiving season compared to 2023. Just over 7% will travel by plane and 2.8% will take an alternate form of transport outside of these two options, including buses, cruises and trains.
