Lisa Patel - Flight Centre Travel Expert

Wow!! 🛳️

What’s the longest cruise you’ve ever been on? 🛳️

Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise is a mammoth 274-night voyage that circumnavigates the globe. 🤯

It visits 150+ destinations, 60+ countries, EIGHT World Wonders and all SEVEN continents!

The cruise began in Miami on 10 December last year and is set to disembark for a final time when it returns on 10 September 2024.

Welcome to this week’s Travel News! 🌏

🎤 Train Like A K-Pop Star!

South Korea is set to introduce the “K-Culture Training Visa” which will be open to foreign nationals who want to train in K-pop dancing, choreography and modelling. The move aims to help the country boost its tourism levels back to pre-pandemic levels. Full details are yet to be announced, but this could make your dream of being a K-pop star easier to achieve!

✨ A New Disney Ride Is Opening Soon!

A new ride is set to open at Walt Disney World tomorrow! The ride will be based on the 2009 movie, “The Princess and the Frog,” replacing the decades-old Splash Mountain. While the structure of the ride has not changed, it has undergone a complete facelift.

😍 Wombat Walker Wanted!

A zoo in Tasmania is currently on the lookout for a ‘Wombat Walker,’ who will be in charge of taking the wombats for their ‘morning waddle’ and helping them to maintain their peak physical and mental well-being. Responsibilities include coaxing them out of bed in the morning, giving them pep talks, and motivating them to complete their walk.

This is the world’s SHORTEST commercial flight! ✈️

The flight between Westray and Papa Westray in Scotland’s Orkney Islands is operated by Loganair six times a week.

While the journey is advertised to take just 90 seconds – if the wind is blowing in the right direction, it can sometimes be much quicker! 😳

It’s baaack! And it’s BIGGER, REDDER and BETTER than ever 🚨❤️‼️🎈

Give you and your wallet a break with massive savings, bonus value and exclusive limited time offers on cruises, tours, holidays and more. But hurry! These deals are here for a good time, not a long time.

Get in touch with me if you feel its time to jet away ✈️

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*T&Cs apply. Ends 19 April 2024. Airfares depart Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch in Economy Class flying Air New Zealand. A Travel Expert Service Fee of $150 per adult applies at time of booking. ^Taxes for child fares will be payable. Travel periods and conditions apply. Kids aged 2-11 years.

Awesome price for aussie flights!!! Let me know if you’re keen! 😁✈️

And we ticked one more off the travel bucklist yesterday…Tokyo Disneyland!!!
Bit of a life goal is to get to all 6, so far ive done 4 - Anaheim, Florida, Paris and now Tokyo 😝

✔️ Yesterday we ticked off another thing off our travel bucklist of seeing cheery blossoms bloom in Tokyo ☺️
We missed seeing the park in full bloom but were excited that a couple of trees allowed us to enjoy their beauty 🌸

Welcome to this week’s Travel News! 🌏

✨ 2024 Will Be The Best Year To See The Northern Lights

With the sun expected to reach solar maximum this year, scientists are predicting the northern lights in 2024 could be the best in 20 years!

While the next 3-4 years are expected to be the most favourable for auroral sightings, it's expected that visibility and the amount of viewing destinations will peak this year.

🗻 Japan Introduce New Mount Fuji Charge

Japan is set to introduce a new $13 charge for people wanting to climb Mount Fuji’s most popular route as authorities attempt to tackle overtourism. Last year, over 220,000 people made the climb between July and September causing congested tracks, increased injuries and more litter. From this year, just 4,400 people will be able to climb the Yoshida Trail per day.

🎬 Gen Z Are ‘Doing It For The Plot’

Gen Z are ‘doing it for the plot,’ but what exactly does that mean? Doing things, ‘for the plot’ is a mindset all about driving more authentic travel experiences rather than focusing on getting the photo. It’s all about actually having a good time than showing people you are having a good time.

They might be onto something!

Wow its March already, have you booked in your getaway for this year?

A great option for a stress free holiday is to consider Group touring.

Tours provide all the exciting locations, activities and attractions that come with a holiday. Our types of tours make it even easier to find a tour that suits your travel style, from luxury to food and wine, culture, adventure, romance and more.

Check out the different type of ways you can tour via this link from our FC website and if any appeal, let me know, lets get you away this year ✈️

Types of Tours Tours provide all the exciting locations, activities and attractions that come with a holiday. Our types of tours make it even easier to find a tour that suits your travel style, from luxury to food and wine, culture, adventure, romance and more.

Welcome to this week’s Travel News! 🌏

✨ Taylor Swift Is In Town!

Taylor Swift is in town with the world’s biggest pop star ready to party like it’s 1989 in front of her adoring fans. The first of her SEVEN sold-out Australian shows kicks off tonight in Melbourne.

The pop princess reportedly touched down at Melbourne Airport in the middle of the night on Thursday, so she has had a couple of days to shake off the jet lag!

✈️ Bali Introduces ‘Foreign Tourist Levy’

Bali is often referred to as Australia’s home away from home, with the destination popular amongst Aussie travellers. However, travellers heading to Indonesia’s holiday island will be required to pay a Foreign Tourist Levy upon touching down. The fee is 150,000 IDR, or about $15 Australian and will be required to be paid by every person entering Bali.

📈 These Destinations Are Booming!

Rome & Greece are two booming destinations that have seen a huge growth in demand over the past few weeks. So, if either of these destinations are on your travel list for 2024, we suggest booking your tickets as soon as possible to avoid missing out.

Welcome to this week’s Travel News! 🌏

😍 Pokémon Announces New Theme Park In Tokyo

Pokémon fans are finally about to get the theme park of their dreams, with the announcement of PokéPark Kanto. The amusement park will be part of Yomiuriland in Tokyo and will allow trainers from all over the world to see the series come to life!

While details of the park are still vague, there’s speculation that it’ll be a fully-fledged attraction with rides and other activities much like Super Nintendo World.

🌑 The Best Place To Watch The Solar Eclipse...

For most people, being able to witness a total solar eclipse is a once-in-a-lifetime event! Visitors to New York State are set to soar in April, with the destination believed to be the best place to witness the phenomenon in 2024! This will be the first total solar eclipse over the state in almost a century.

🤯 World Record Ruled Out Over Matchsticks

A French model enthusiast has attempted to break the world record for the highest Eiffel Tower made of matches, but unfortunately for him, things didn’t quite... stick! The judges noticed that something didn’t quite match up, when they spotted that the little red piece of sulphur was missing, technically making them not matches!

Welcome to this week’s Travel News! 🌏

💨 🤢 Flatulent flyer gets kicked off plane

Literally raising a stink on an American Airlines Flight before it even took off earned one nameless passenger a ticket to nowhere. Nose and eye witnesses said the man had been arguing before he said "You thought that was rude, well how about this ..." and proceeded to go on a farting spree before crew intervened, turned the taxiing plane around and dropped the windy warrior back at the terminal.

🤒 Holiday sickie probably busted

Realising she didn't have enough leave to cover her holiday, Australian TikToker Leila Soares did what any decent person would do and pulled a sickie. In a TikTok that went viral, Leila can be seen hiding in her seat inconspicuously wearing a facemask, baseball cap and dark sunglasses with the text, "Messaged my boss to call in sick only to find he on the same flight ☠️"
What could possibly blow her cover?

🛂 World's most powerful passports revealed

The latest rankings of the world's most powerful passports reveal France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and Spain boast visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 194 countries – an unprecedented six countries now sharing the top ranking. Not far behind are the passports of UK (191), Australia and New Zealand (both 189).

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Welcome to this week’s Travel News! 🌎

This week, we're checking out some exciting new hotels that are set to open this year 😍

Which of these excites you the most if you could get a chance to visit?

Welcome to this week’s Travel News! 🌏

✈️ Could You Soon Be Able To Use Your Phone On A Plane?

Vodafone has just announced in-flight roaming, which will allow customers to switch off airplane mode and use their phone on selected airlines.

Once the plane reaches cruising altitude, travellers will be able to connect to a network that’ll allow them to use mobile data, send messages and even make or receive phone calls! The service is set to cost around $5 per day.

⭐ The Aussie Cities Making A Big Impression

Aussie cities are making a big impression on a global stage, with Tasmania & Brisbane making the cut for the New York Times’ ‘52 Places to Visit In 2024’ list.

Tasmania, which came in at No. 29 was recognised for its rich indigenous culture, abundance of nature and fantastic dining options. Brisbane (No.39) was praised for its ongoing facelift with a special mention of the Queen’s Wharf expansion project.

😍 A Big Week For Perth

It has been a big week for Perth with TWO big announcements for more flights coming to the state. Thai Airways’ non-stop flights from Perth to Bangkok are set to return in March. Meanwhile, South African Airways has announced that they will be returning to the Western Australian capital in April with flights to Johannesburg recommencing.

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Do you want to know what the top New Zealand travel trends were this year?

New Zealand’s Year In Travel 2023: What Were Our Travel Trends? Travel was back with a vengeance this year. Let's have a look at some statistical highlights from the last 12 months that marked New Zealand’s year in travel.

I’ve ✔️’d off half this bucketlist 😄 how about you?
Have we missed a city off this list that you think should be on it?
Let me know 🗺️

Top 10 Must-See Cities Before You Kick The Bucket | Hot List These must-see destinations NEED to be on your bucket list! On this episode of Hot List, we'll be counting down the top 10 must-see cities before you kick th...

Tired of buying your loved ones socks they’ll never wear and candles they’ll never use? 🎁 Wrap up the world this Christmas with a Flight Centre Gift Card! 🌏

Whether they’ve been dreaming of an exciting city escape or a relaxing river cruise – this gift could take them anywhere in the world ✈️ Contact me today!

A day doesn’t end much better than this; enjoying a Western Australian sunset with one of the furry locals 😎. It’s joey season on Rottnest Island, so if you're heading there soon, keep your eyes peeled and you might see a baby quokka taking its first peep at paradise from the comfort of mum’s pouch.

📷
📍 Rottnest Island, WA

Vienna - Day 13 of Avalon cruise
Today we wandered around Vienna city this morning, before having a quick lunch and then onto the bus over to the boardering country of Slovakia, where we visited the capital Bratislava
Tour was a little short but great to see a different city, and some similarities as well.
Tonight we had our Chefs farewell dinner, and another local band to entertain us, with some interesting instruments from Slovakia.

Melk & Wachau Valley - Day 12 of the Avalon cruise
Today we walked through the Melk Abby, such an amazing place. Couldn’t take many photos as they dont let you inside the building but a must see for sure.
Currently still has a Monastery in the East wing with a school attached.

Passau - Day 11
Today we had to change ships and say goodbye to the amazing crew in the Avalon Illumination, which meant bye bye to Fabi 😫
We bused over to Passau which is known as the city with 3 rivers, and enjoyed some time there while we waited to board our new ship, the Avalon Passion

Regensberg - Day 10 of Avalon cruise
Today we decided to skip the included excursion and walk into town ourselves.
We wandered a little then had a bit of a chill day as its been a busy few weeks travelling around and exploring

Roth / Nuremberg - Day 9 of Avalon cruise
Today we arrived in Roth but decided to do the day trip to Nuremberg.
We visited the Nuremberg castle situated up on the hill and then walked down through the town.
Ended the night with the Chefs farewell dinner