Travellers to Sri Lanka who compare advice from the British and Australian governments will see a sharp and confusing difference. The UK Foreign Office warns only against travel to the north and east of the Indian Ocean island - areas rarely visited by tourists. But Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs says the whole country is dangerous: "We advise you to reconsider your need to travel to Sri Lanka ... Politically motivated violence including assassinations, bombings in public places and on roads is escalating and there is widespread civil unrest".

Brisbane-based Strategic Airline has revealed its new livery and flight attendant uniforms, which will come info effect from November 15. The airline is also poised to add more routes.

Its planes and cabin crew will change their colours from red, white and blue to the nation's iconic green and gold sporting colours, with a boomerang as its motif.

Speaking at the airline's Brisbane launch yesterday, Queensland Attorney-General Paul Lucas said the airline's birth should be a warning to Qantas, which has damaged its reputation through debilitating contract negotiations with its workers.

Mr Lucas said Air Australia was poised to shake up the market.

"Those airlines that have been around Australia for a long time need to understand that no-one has a monopoly of calling itself the Australian airline,'' he said.

"This airline is 100 per cent Australian owned, is hungry ... and it is out there wanting to grow its market share.

"That can only be good for tourism and can only be good for Australian customers."

Chief executive Michael James said the airline would not be competing directly with Qantas or Jetstar and would focus on under-serviced routes, particularly direct international flights from Brisbane and Melbourne.

"We're on a bit of a different model,'' he said.

"We're trying to offer them a different service to fly directly out of these airports.''

He added he knew it was a "turbulent and competitive'' environment.

The airline will absorb existing Strategic Airlines routes from Brisbane and Melbourne to Phuket and Brisbane to Bali, with Honolulu to be added in December.

Further on, direct flights from Melbourne and Brisbane will also head to the west coast of the US, Vietnam and Japan.

Domestically, Strategic flies to Western Australia's mining towns, with routes between Brisbane and Port Headland and Perth and Derby.

Those routes will remain, and services to Darwin and Melbourne will be boosted.

Sale flights will be available until November 15 from $249 one-way to Bali, $329 to Phuket, and $349 to Hawaii out of Brisbane and Melbourne, running between two and six times a week.

Non-sale prices would then increase by between $20 and $150.

No other airline was flying to Honolulu from Brisbane or Melbourne, Mr James said.

"I think it is re-educating Australia that you don't have to go via Sydney anymore,'' he said.

Passengers will also be offered their first bag free.

The airline's frequent flyer program, which is yet to be created, will allow members who fly nine times to get the 10th flight free.

Air Australia's fleet will be boosted from three A320s to six by mid-2012 and one A330 to three by May 2012. Staff would also increase from around 300 to 3000 by 2021.

Source: 

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/travel/news/new-budget-airline-air-australia-a-warning-to-qantas/story-e6frg8ro-1226185329702

Hahn Air has announced the start of the “Hahn Air City and Airport Ticketing Centres”. Travel agencies can now join this network to benefit from several Hahn Air services.

Any travel agency that registers on www.hahnair.com will benefit from many new advantages, including a second ADM waiver “Your Rooster” per 365 days, upfront news and information, invitations to seminars and events at the Hahn Air training centre in Germany, an official profile of the travel agency on Hahn Air’s website, access to the upcoming Booking Portal and the virtual HR UATP Corporate Card as its form of payment. Joining the Hahn Air Ticketing Centres is an easy, fast and free process. A registered travel agency just needs to upgrade its current entry by filling in additional information; an unregistered travel agency needs to register first.

All travel agencies joining Hahn Air’s worldwide quality circle until the end of 2011 automatically participate in monthly sweepstakes, having a chance to win free credit for a virtual HR UATP Corporate Card, running up to € 1,000.

Hahn Air, has been specialising in global sales and distribution for many years. Operating a travel industry leading universal ET (E-Ticketing) platform, Hahn Air has implemented agreements with more than 250 airlines worldwide. The company plays a leading role in ensuring higher, optimised and secure revenues for its partner airlines in more than 190 (non) BSP and ARC markets through global accessibility to 85,000 IATA and IATAN travel agents, using any GDS.

Source: 

http://travelworldnews.com/2011/11/03/hahn-air-launches-hahn-air-city-and-airport-ticketing-centres-monthly-sweepstakes-for-travel-agents/

Almost 100,000 Qantas passengers were stuck around the world for up to two days after the national carrier grounded its fleet on Saturday, the Herald Sun reported.

Hundreds of passengers still stuck in Los Angeles have been told to wait at the airport for what could be hours to try their luck on getting a seat back home to Australia, the ABC reported. One Australian said the airline had given him a list of flights leaving later today but was told there was no guarantee he'd get home to Queensland.

Some travellers were told the first guaranteed flight out of LA for them was not until on November 12.

Did Qantas go too far? Tell us below

Meanwhile passengers stuck in the US were being diverted to flights through Europe and the Middle East, adding at least a day to their return journey.

A Qantas spokeswoman last night said some passengers would not return home until late tomorrow, with the airline estimating it would take 48 hours to get all its passengers on rescheduled flights. However it estimates the backlog of domestic passengers will be cleared by early this afternoon.

Flight QF41 from Sydney to Jakarta was the first international service to leave at 3.41pm yesterday, while the first domestic flight, QF438, took off from Melbourne bound for Sydney at 3.58pm.

A Fair Work Australia tribunal hearing at 2am yesterday ordered Qantas and unions terminate all industrial action, forcing the airline back into the sky and ending the torment for frustrated passengers.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce apologised to customers.

"We very much regret the inconvenience and stress that has been caused by this action," Mr Joyce said.

"We will be doing all that we can to put things right."

He said the FWA ruling created certainty for passengers and for shareholders, who saw Qantas shares rally to $1.61 at yesterday's close up 4.4 per cent.

"I think my determination to make sure we didn't capitulate to the unions' demands, that we were building a stronger and better Qantas, was the right decision for Qantas," Mr Joyce said.

But a defiant Mr Joyce vowed to push ahead with his plan for expanding into Asia, the Courier-Mail reported.

He said Qantas could now get on with its plan to establish an Asian airline staffed by an Asian workforce.

"I'm absolutely confident that nothing that will come through the negotiations will restrict us in setting up an Asian carrier," he said.

Unions have campaigned rigorously against the move to Asia and are seeking assurances from Qantas that members' jobs will not be sent offshore and only Qantas pilots will fly Qantas planes.

But Mr Joyce claimed profits from the new premium airline and a "Jetstar Japan" would secure jobs in Australia.

"This will be great for all Australian jobs and for tourism in Australia," Mr Joyce said.

Qantas applied at 10.23am yesterday to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority for permission to restart flights but had to answer several queries, delaying permission until 3.30pm.

There were cheers and applause from passengers when flights finally resumed late yesterday.

The first Qantas flight arrived in Melbourne at 5.35pm, with tired passengers relieved to be home.

Roxanne Walmsley, of Clarinda, said she was left stranded in Sydney after trying to return from a dream holiday in Brazil.

Ms Walmsley said she was "an emotional wreck" when at San Diego airport she heard about the grounding of the Qantas fleet.

Exhausted mum Ngaire Elwood could not wait to embrace her two boys as she touched down in Melbourne last night after a marathon trip from London spanning more than 48 hours.

Dr Elwood, from Mt Macedon, had been due to arrive at 6am yesterday from a conference in Rome, but was instead delayed 12 hours in Sydney waiting for a flight home.

She joined an influx of tired and relieved travellers who flooded Melbourne Airport's domestic arrivals terminal as QF443 from Sydney touched down.

Passengers praised the patience of Qantas staff while others took aim at Mr Joyce who said the airline would win back those customers.

"We will recover all market share of the corporate market and get it back where it needs to be for Qantas to continue to make profits on its domestic market," he said.

Refunds are available to passengers who had flights cancelled between Saturday and Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/travel/australia/thousands-of-qantas-passengers-still-stranded/story-e6frfq89-1226182036118#ixzz1cRiJnEF8

This advice has been reviewed and reissued with amendments to the Travel Summary and the Entry Requirements section (launch of new online visa scheme). The overall level of the advice has not changed; there are no travel restrictions in place in this travel advice for Sri Lanka.

• The Government of Sri Lanka has announced that foreign nationals, with the exception of foreign media crews, no longer need to have permission from the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence before travelling to the northern districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Mullaittivu and Vavuniya. See Safety and Security - Local Travel - North. 
• Political rallies in Sri Lanka have on occasion turned violent. British nationals should avoid any political gatherings or rallies and beware of spontaneous large gatherings.

   

• The Government of Sri Lanka has announced the launch of an online visa scheme, the Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), to replace the existing procedure of granting visas on arrival.  The ETA was introduced from 1 October on a trial basis and will become fully operational from 1 January 2012.  See Entry Requirements - Visas. 
• There is a general threat from terrorism in Sri Lanka. Although the LTTE or “Tamil Tigers” suffered a military defeat in May 2009, the Government maintains extensive anti-terrorism powers and increased security measures including checkpoints. A highly visible military presence remains throughout the country. The last reported LTTE attack was in July 2009 but isolated attacks cannot be ruled out and could be indiscriminate. Foreign tourists and visitors have not been targeted in the past but attacks have occurred in places frequented by foreigners. See Safety and Security - Terrorism. 

   

• Although the conflict is over, extensive military operations are still ongoing, clearing minefields, unexploded ordnance and locating LTTE weapon caches (hides). The security forces are also involved in the resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs). Always obey orders from the security forces or signs warning about the danger from land-mines. Do not venture from the roads or cleared footpaths and if in any doubt, contact the local security authorities for local advice. 
• The majority of visits to Sri Lanka are incident free, although there are an increasing number of incidents of credit card fraud, road accidents and drownings. See Safety and Security - Crime, Safety and Security - Local Travel - Road Travel, Safety and Security - Local Travel -Sea Travel , Health and General - Consular Assistance Statistics. 
  
  
• You should get comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling. See General - Insurance.British nationals resident and/or working in Sri Lanka, or visiting for over one month, should register with theBritish High Commission   in Colombo.

By Amy Coopes | AFP

Tens of thousands of passengers were stranded around the world Sunday after Australian airline Qantas made a shock decision to ground its fleet indefinitely in a bid to end a bitter industrial dispute.

Stunned flyers who had been booked on Qantas queued up at airports around the world to find out when they might be able to fly, after the national carrier announced the extraordinary shutdown of all its flights.

"I am very surprised they are not flying," one French-speaking passenger said in Sydney after turning up for a flight to Noumea only to learn of the lockout of staff and grounding of the fleet announced late Saturday.

"We have been told nothing. I just want to get home but I don't know how or when I can do this," she said as she stood near empty Qantas check-in desks.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said the airline, which has been hit by a series of strikes, would lock out all employees involved inindustrial action from Monday evening without pay and ground flights from 0600 GMT Saturday.

The airline said pilots, engineers and baggage, ground and catering staff involved in the industrial action were essential to Qantas operations and their lockout made it necessary to take all planes out of service immediately.

Aircraft would remain grounded "as long as it takes to reach a conclusion on this," Joyce said, vowing not to bow to union demands for a pay increase and to abandon a plan to shift Qantas' operational focus to Asia.

"That would destroy Qantas in the long term. I'm actually taking the bold decision, an unbelievable decision, a very hard decision, to ground this airline," he said late Saturday.

Up to 80,000 passengers were stranded when 108 aircraft were grounded at 22 airports around the world as Qantas took the drastic step.

The move prompted immediate intervention by the Australian government, which took the rare step of asking the industrial umpire to terminate all industrial action because of the dangers posed to the national economy.

"I believe Australians want to see this sorted out," Prime Minister Julia Gillard said.

"Businesses want to see it sorted out. Passengers want to see it sorted out. I want to see this dispute sorted out. That's why we have approached Fair Work Australia."

In its submission to the labour relations tribunal, the government asked for the industrial action to be terminated or suspended for 90 days.

The tribunal's hearing ran into the early hours of Sunday morning, hearing submissions from both sides in the escalating dispute, but adjourned the hearing until 2:00pm (0300 GMT).

Qantas is urging Fair Work Australia to terminate all industrial action, but unions want the action suspended to give both sides a chance to resolve the conflict.

But Joyce said Sunday the airline would not put its planes back in the air unless the industrial arbiter terminated all industrial action, ending the strikes that he said were "slowly killing" the carrier.

"A suspension may not necessarily mean the airline gets back in the air. If it's a suspension, we cannot put the planes back in the air without having certainty," Joyce told Sky News.

If the regulator terminates action on both sides, planes could be back in the air late Sunday, Joyce said, ending the lockout that he said was a last resort aimed at limiting further damage to Qantas.

Unions have been protesting against pay and restructuring plans that would see 1,000 jobs axed and the establishment of two new airlines focused on Asia. Unions fear many jobs will be outsourced to Asia.

Three months of strikes have been costing Qantas Aus$15 million ($16 million) per week, with the total financial impact so far hitting Aus$68 million.

The grounding of the fleet came a day after a heated annual general meeting, with Joyce being accused of running the carrier into the ground while reaping massive personal rewards.

But Joyce on Sunday said the union's reaction to decisions taken at the meeting had been the catalyst that forced Qantas to take the drastic step of grounding flights.

One union leader had warned that protests could stretch until mid-2012 while ground staff leader Tony Sheldon threatened crippling 48-hour strikes.

"They weren't listening to the shareholders and then they talked about escalating the dispute. That was the threshold moment that changed everything, and it was only after the AGM we saw that."

He denied union claims that Qantas had been planning the shutdown for some time, saying all airlines have shutdown contingencies to cope with various crises.

Passengers were stranded at all Australian airports as well as in Qantas hubs such as Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Frankfurt and Los Angeles.

Source: 

http://news.yahoo.com/qantas-grounds-entire-fleet-amid-industrial-dispute-001625287.html

Transylvania. After a century of being name-dropped in literature and film, this region inside Romania inspires instantaneous association with severe mountains, gothic castles, peasant villages and an all-star team of semi-human carnivores who buy floss in bulk.

The undisputed A-lister of this blood-draining cabaret is Count Dracula, vampire, seducer, velvet enthusiast.

While there's far more to Transylvania than Dracula shtick, there's no denying the allure of Dracula-themed tours, visiting sites linked to both the literary "Dracula" and the real-life Vlad Tepes Dracula, Prince of Wallachia (reigning in 1448, from 1456-1462 and again in 1476).

Unfortunately, the urge to squeeze out a few extra tourist dollars has resulted in both accidental and intentional misinformation about the precise location of the real Dracula's castle. This multilayered combination of reality, myth and literary fiction fascinated me after I moved to northeast Romania. While much of the mystery was unraveled with online investigation, conflicting details, new facts and dubious legends were revealed, which only increased my longing to visit each site.

Off to a kitschy start

My first objective was about 19 miles east of Bistriþa, just inside the northeast border of Transylvania. This "castle" at the Tihuta Pass (aka the Borgo Pass, entrance to the realm of the literary "Dracula" taken by poor, soon-to-be lightheaded Jonathan Harker), is in fact the 53-room Hotel Castel Dracula. While the authenticity of this 1980s edifice wouldn't fool the most gullible of tourists, appreciators of kitsch will have a field day.

Though one can opt for recently renovated, more comfortable rooms, I was drawn to the classic rooms, furnished with faux-period wood furniture, cranberry curtains, dragon-themed decor and Dracula embroidered towels.

After a fortifying drink in the bar, located in the hotel's short tower, I descended the creaky stairs for the haunted house-caliber, candlelit tour of "Dracula's Tomb."

Whether you're prepared for the tour's surprise ending, it's best to leave your drink upstairs.

Trail grows warmer

The next mission took me south, across the whole of Transylvania to Bran, where Bran Castle is a far more realistic potential lair for both the literary and real-life Draculas, chiefly because it was actually standing back when Vlad was terrorizing, painfully staking (and later fleeing) the invading Turks.

The castle appears to organically sprout out of a rocky bluff, rising up in vampire-pleasing fashion with several turrets.

In terms of visitors, Bran Castle is Romania's Colosseum. I weaved in and around many tour groups and, after appraising a variety of folk art and Dracula-themed souvenirs, I joined the procession of visitors creeping up the hill for a look inside the castle. I dived in the door just ahead of a large, shuffling tour group and scampered up to the first level on a very narrow, dungeon-caliber staircase.

Romania's King Michael and Queen Marie redecorated and modernized much of the castle for use as a summer chill-out space in the 1920s. Room after room is filled with furniture imported from Western Europe for the remodel, sitting side-by-side with older museum pieces. In-wall display cases hold ceramic art and aging books. A thick, elaborately carved wooden canopy bed is the hands-down highlight of the furnishings.

But this was never Vlad Dracula's home.

It was built by Brasov Saxons in 1382, and though Tepes may have spent one or two nervous nights here while on the run from vengeance-bent Turks in 1462, that's the end of its association.

Bran Castle has only one entrance and exit, so I backtracked, waited patiently for a group of people to inch up the narrow staircase, quickly scurried down and headed back to the car.

Not in Transylvania

It was another long drive on narrow, busy roads over the Carpathian mountains out of Transylvania and into Wallachia to my final destination. You didn't really think that the Prince of Wallachia erected his castle in Transylvania, did you?

Indeed, the bulk of the Dracula's Castle confusion is the result of "Dracula" novelist Bram Stoker's artistic license. (If they have any conscience, the Transylvania Tourism Bureau should send Stoker's descendents an enormous fruit basket for all the tourist revenue he unintentionally sent their way.)

A few minutes outside the village of Arefu, allegedly still home to the decedents of the servants of Vlad Tepes, is a dirt parking lot with a few sheds selling refreshments. A path leads up the hill from this parking lot, and after groaning up 1,480 sadistic steps, I arrived at Vlad Dracula's true home, Poienari Citadel - or what's left of it.

In 1459, a group of wretched, soon-to-be-skewered Turkish prisoners hauled stones, bricks and mortar up the same hill to build Poienari on the ruins of a 14th century citadel. Tepes only enjoyed his castle for three years, before Turkish reinforcements arrived in 1462, determined to do a little skewering of their own. He fled into Transylvania, where he (might have) had a snooze at Bran Castle. Poienari continued to be used until the first half of the 16th century before it was abandoned. A significant portion of the castle fell down the mountain during a landslide in 1888.

Dracula, in ruins

Having recovered somewhat from the climb, I limped into the cluster of mostly head-high ruins, which are significant enough to suggest the former scale of the structure and the dramatic mountaintop views that Vlad must have had from his dining room. Picking around the ruins, I found what I believed to be traces of a kitchen and a dungeon, or possibly the toilet pit, all of it highly satisfying.

Walking back down to the car, a route I imagined that a stake-brandishing Vlad himself must have trodden dozens of times, was almost more difficult than the climb. My quadriceps burned and threatened to fail much of the way.

It seemed fitting that a wee bit of agony accompanied the end of my search for a torture fan's stronghold. I resolved to nurse my pain later that night with the reddest wine available, while being mindful of pale, thin, generously mustached, preternaturally charming strangers.

Mahinda Chintana

The Honourable Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected as Sri Lanka’s fifth President in 2005. A lawyer, human rights activist, former Government Minister and Prime Minister of the 13th Parliament of Sri Lanka, he is dedicated to bringing in peace and economic prosperity to all the communities in Sri Lanka, ushering in the future while upholding the traditions of the past.

His vision is to change Sri Lanka, to be a modern state whilst fostering the national heritage and culture with peaceful co-existence among the communities of the Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and others, instilling economic growth and prosperity; and maintaining a friendly relationship with all the nations.

In keeping with his goals and aspirations for a better Sri Lanka, the President developed the long term development programme called the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’. The programme underwent an intensive consultative process involving the sectoral Ministries and other relevant Government agencies.

The Mahinda Chinthana and Tourism

Tourism is a vital area in the Mahinda Chinthana policy framework. It has been identified as capable of effectively driving the country’s socio-economic development. The programme’s vision for the tourism sector is to make Sri Lanka the foremost leisure destination in the South Asian Region. The programme believes the human resources and natural and cultural endowments, values and ethos will be fundamental in transforming Sri Lanka into a centre of excellence and offer tourists, the highest values of authentic experiences in its unique setting.

Key Objectives Include

1. To achieve 2.0 million tourist arrivals by the year 2016.
2. Target the upscale Free Independent Travellers (FITS), who are comparatively high spenders.
3. Make tourism Sri Lanka’s third largest foreign exchange earner
4. Transform tourism to become the fastest job creator and help reduce the unemployment levels.

The Mahinda Chinthana Policy Framework

The Government of Sri Lanka is committed to ensuring a controlled and planned development of tourism is carried out. High priority will be given towards sustainable tourism development, which involves cleaner, wholesome production, protection of indigenous flora and fauna as well as archaeological and cultural treasures.

The programme hopes to move the industry from mass tourism to concentrated marketing, particularly on high income earners. In order to promote upscale tourism, market segmentation and diversification will be carried out. The diversified segments would include nature tourism, adventure tourism, agri-tourism, culture tourism, community tourism, sports tourism, eco tourism, and wellness tourism. The targeted markets include Japan, China, Korea and Australia.

The Sri Lankan Government will be primarily involved in providing a policy environment conducive to the private sector to operate all tourism services. It will also act as a facilitator and regulator at the national level.

Moreover, the Government will provide attractive incentives to attract the local and foreign investors. Project approving procedures will be simplified and relevant stakeholder agencies will be brought under a strong network for purposes of speedy investor facilitation.

The Mahinda Chinthana is committed to ensuring that strict laws and regulations are set out by the Central Environment Authority, Wildlife Department, CCD, UDA, Department of Immigration etc, in order to ensure the proper compliance with the standards and specifications.

Domestic Tourism

The Mahinda Chinthana will focus on developing Sri Lanka’s fast emerging domestic tourism sector. Providing low cost holidays with substantially high quality accommodation facilities will be the central focus. Developing lesser known attractions will be another focus point of the programme.

Strategy

The Mahinda Chinthana has developed a lucrative strategy that will be used to achieve forecasts. Key highlights of the plan are as follows;

1. Develop Sri Lanka as a regional hub in the tourism industry