By ADAM BISHOP, editor of Travel Daily
Speaking with some of the Journey Beyond team at Travel Daily‘s Bon Voyage event last year, I jested that given the brand’s recent acquisition history, surely the next logical step was to plot for world domination. The quip was met with a wry grin, which I suspected meant there was plenty more to come.
This year has not disappointed, with the experiential tourism business purchasing a host of marquee assets from Kelsian Group for $161 million earlier this year.
These included resorts on K’gari, SeaLink and Captain Cook tourism operations, the Murray Princess, to name just a few.
Fast-forward to this week, and Travel Daily was able to reveal the business has now undertaken a major restructure to lay down the tracks (excuse the pun) to facilitate its future expansion strategy.
The decision is designed to streamline the group’s portfolio into three core pillars: rail & touring, resorts & lodges, and experiences & attractions.
Leading the rail & touring division is internal rail specialist David Donald, with the company now on the hunt for two more MDs to take charge of the other two-thirds of its growing tourism pie.
The revamping of operations also revealed that when Journey Beyond bought Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia late last year, it was purchasing more than just the blue chip assets of the Ayers Rock Resort and the Mossman Gorge Cultural Centre.
Voyages CEO Matt Cameron-Smith has been installed as chief commercial officer overseeing the sales strategy for the entire company. Journey Beyond is fast becoming a tourism juggernaut, ceasing to be the business only synonymous with running great inland train journeys.
It has been clear for some time now that its growth plans are lofty and that it has a quest to own and integrate as much of the tourism ecosystem around its key rail assets as possible.
This will continue to open up more high value, multi-faceted travel journeys across the country.
Its approach is reminiscent of what some of the major cruise lines are doing by owning private islands and resorts.
The added flexibility of vertical integration alone must make it a tempting strategy when you operate expensive toys like ships and trains.
In many ways, The Ghan and The Indian Pacific are essentially land-based cruise ships, and may even be the reason why the company hired former COO Sture Myrmell.
While the experienced cruise executive has since departed the company to head up Saudi cruise line Aroya Cruises, no doubt his deep sailing experience has left an indelible imprint on guest operations.
Earlier this year, Journey Beyond CEO Chris Tallent flagged a revenue target of over $1 billion in just two year’s time, alongside an ongoing acquisitive outlook – so watch this space for expansion developments.
In other news….
I had heard whispers of something happening in this space late last year, but TA has only recently pulled the trigger on assembling a team and preparing to build a network of advisors specialising in the delivery of “unparalleled bespoke travel and concierge services”.
Heading up the new ultra-luxury model is Brisbane-based Tania Agnola, who quietly moved across from the national partnerships manager position with Travel Associates two months ago.
LinkedIn also showed the brand has kicked off recruitment, with Brodie Lewis now on board as business leader, while relationship managers Samantha Hartley and Jenny Stone have also joined, based in Brisbane and Perth respectively.
Speaking with global managing director – luxury and independent brands Danielle Galloway last year, she revealed the success that Scott Dunn was enjoying through its Scott Dunn Private venture.
The senior executive told me the brand’s invitation-only service created for travellers seeking the highest level of personal attention was growing in popularity, and it made sense that such tailored ultra-high-end experiences would resonate well in Australia.
So, the decision to launch Reserved by Travel Associates appears to be a logical play to capture this growing segment. According to the World Ultra Wealth Report, the ultra-high-net-worth population is accelerating around the world, and last year it experienced a 5.4% increase, following a 12% rise in 2024.
The growing demographic now holds almost US$60 trillion in collective wealth. Virtuoso is another network taking this growing wealth belt more seriously, launching its own specialists division in early 2025. The company’s senior vice president global markets Michael Londregan once described this demographic as the most fascinating in the industry.
He stressed to me the importance of understanding and speaking “the language” of ultra-high-net-worth travellers for sellers interested in targeting the space.
According to Londregan, booking travel for clients in this wealth bracket is like catering to a “new global country”.
They think differently, buy different product, desire different service, and therefore they need to be marketed to and engaged with differently.
Londregan suggested that while a ‘standard’ luxury traveller may want a private tour of the Picasso Museum for example, an ultra-high-net-worth traveller will not only want to see the museum when it’s closed, but also have a tour of the site led by Picasso’s grandson.
Clearly, this is not ordinary travel selling, but there is no doubt fertile ground in Australia for a brand like Travel Associates to make great inroads as part of FCTG’s broader luxury push on the segment.
Meanwhile, many in the travel industry breathed a sigh of relief this week after the Federal Government confirmed its upcoming budget will include a fuel security package that seeks to ensure at least 50 days of jet fuel supply at all times.
Under a wider $10 billion fuel policy, $3.2 billion will be allocated to create a government-owned fuel security reserve of around a billion litres, which will in turn significantly increase Australia’s long-term aviation fuel and diesel supply and storage.
The shortage of jet fuel has been a hot topic ever since the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East in March, with the global aviation sector sweating on access to ensure its continued normal operations.
Its skyrocketing price has also been a major thorn, with carriers all over the globe raising fuel surcharges and stripping back routes and frequencies to keep operations stable and profitable.
The precarious nature of operating a low-cost carrier in this climate was exposed too this week, with Spirit Airlines falling over and leaving thousands of passengers stranded across the United States.
With the price of jet fuel doubling since the outbreak of war with Iran, low-cost airlines, which generally operate under thinner margins, have high aircraft utilisation and less of a buffer from market shocks, are especially vulnerable.
A group of budget carriers in the States appealed to the Trump Administration for a US$2.5 billion rescue package, however the funding was not forthcoming, leaving many to wonder if other carriers will collapse in the face of rising fuel costs.
Now that the heavy stuff is out of the way, allow me to draw your attention to the unusual flight recently experienced by passengers on board a Southwest Airlines plane from Oakland to San Diego.
Everything seemed normal until Bebop, an AI droid that had bought a ticket for the flight, caught the attention of stunned cabin crew.
The flight was delayed after Southwest staff became worried about the silicon passenger’s batteries and hardware.
The carrier ended up confiscating poor Bebop’s lithium battery, which exceeded the airline’s maximum allowable size, before the flight eventually took off. Sounds a bit like robot racism to me.
Have a great weekend everyone.
