National Round-up                        February 2007

We salute our national award winners

Congratulations to our national tourism award winners for the "Hosted Accommodation" category, Gary and Vicki King of Woodlands Rainforest Bungalows, a member of Accommodation Getaways Victoria. Gary and Vicki operate the 4.5 star property that offers four bungalows in Narbethong, north east of Melbourne.

A special commendation was also awarded to Seppeltsfield Vineyard Cottage, South Australia (BBFSA member) and Crystal Creek Meadows Luxury Country Cottages and Day Spa, a 4.5 star property in the Shoalhaven area on the north coast of New South Wales, again a member of our peak body, BBFNSW-ACT.

Update on Pandemic Preparedness for Australian Industry

I addressed the BBFA Board recently on our preparedness should an influenza pandemic occur in, or close to, Australia. I did this following a meeting with the Federal Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources.

There is global concern that H5N1(also known as avian influenza or bird flu) could mutate and be easily transferred from human to human resulting in an influenza pandemic with significant consequences.

The very nature of an influenza pandemic in Australia will create new challenges for businesses.  It may arise rapidly and spread quickly; make people very ill; generate unprecedented levels of fear and anxiety; require full community mobilisation; and result in very high staff absence rates for some periods during the pandemic.

Tourism and hospitality sectors are likely to be severely affected with possible restrictions on travel, temporary closure of public places and reduced consumer confidence.  Experts suggest that business should plan for 30-50 per cent staff absences at the peak of the pandemic.

I have committed the BBFA to fully support the Federal Government in communicating these important issues and encouraging our operators to become aware of the implications not only to themselves, but to their business. I urge you to visit the government website, www.industry.gov.au/workshops to learn more about this issue.  

Peter Cook
BBFA Chair

BBFA Board meets

The BBFA Board met on 28 February 2007. The key issues discussed were
-    The cost effectiveness and business efficiency of a national administrative model has been formally proposed. Each state will now be asked to consider this issue with a broad options paper to be presented back to the Board in early May 2007.
-    Sales of gift vouchers since 4 December 2006 have exceeded $22,500. Based on recent success in Victoria and South Australia, the corporate market is being considered as a prime target for this initiative.
-    A quality check list outlining the minimum standards expected of BBF operators is being considered for national implementation
-    The Board acknowledged some concerns from properties on the criteria for the national tourism awards. A letter to the National Tourism Alliance is being prepared to raise our issues
-    An ongoing research program is beginning to provide some early data. In partnership with Sensis, BBFA has prepared a brief statement on the sector supply base. The statement will be included in a B&B and Farmstay industry snapshot that will be released shortly by Tourism Research Australia.   

Flight Centre most popular travel agent - Wotif.com most popular among online outlets

Flight Centre is the most popular travel agent amongst holidaymakers with 14% using it in the last 12 months.  Other often used travel agents are: Blue Holidays (5%), Qantas Holidays (4%) and Harvey World Travel (4%).  Wotif.com (6%) is the most popular online-only booking company, followed by Webjet.com.au (2%) and Lastminute.com (2%), according to the latest Roy Morgan Research Single Source data.

Travel agents remain the main channel for booking overseas holidays, despite an increasing number of Australians booking direct with airlines and accommodation providers.  Three-quarters (73%) of Australians book overseas holidays through a travel agent with one-quarter (25%) booking direct through an airline.

For domestic holidays, most Australians either don't bother booking or book their own flights and accommodation. Only 11% used a travel agent and 6% an online-only booking service such as Wotif.com or Webjet.com.au.

Jane Ianniello, Roy Morgan Research International Director of Tourism, Travel & Leisure, says:
"Despite Australians increasingly using the Internet to book their holidays directly or through an online-only booking company, travel agents clearly have an important role to play when booking holidays, especially to long-haul overseas destinations."
Full Details: http://www.roymorgan.com/news/press-releases/2007/611/
 

T&CWA launched at Cottesloe Beach

Eighty Farmstay and B&B operators gathered with industry representatives at the Cottesloe Beach Hotel, Perth, WA in mid February to celebrate the launch of Town and Country Accommodation Western Australia.

The new organisation will represent the combined sector and has been realised following months of collaborative brain storming.   AAA Tourism National Marketing Manager, Kim Davies attended the gathering and spoke of the on going support of the BBF sector from AAA Tourism.  

BBFA Chair, Peter Cook launched T&CAWA and congratulated the joint committee for two years of endurance to bring the two organisations together in a state where farming and agriculture is an integral part of the economy.  

National Roundup is a publication of Bed & Breakfast and Farmstay Australia (BBFA) comprising the State and Territory B&B and Farmstay associations within Australia.

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