Adventure World Managing Director Neil Rodgers has for a long time wanted to bring to Australia one of his brand’s sister marques, Celtic specialist Brendan Vacations.
That is not just because Rodgers, like Brendan, is Irish. More than anything, the Adventure World exec thought the Dublin-based operator’s style of intimate touring and private chauffeur explorations, which are longer in duration and more in-depth, would play well in Australia.
This year, The Travel Corporation’s new owner, Apollo Global Management, finally made it happen.
Brendan is now rolling out in Australia, with AW to serve as its general sales agent, in a similar capacity to the role it plays for cruise line National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions.
The operator offers small group tours in Ireland and Scotland, which travel with a maximum of 24 guests. Fully independent private driver itineraries, as well as self-drive and rail programs, will also be pushed in the Australian market.
Brendan’s itineraries focus on intimate experiences and local connections, with guests staying in hand-selected accommodations, including historic castles, bed & breakfasts, and four- and five-star hotels.
Also factoring into Brendan bringing its product to Australia is the lack of Celtic specialists Down Under. Rodgers pointed out many of its key competitors in the market are either based overseas or online, giving Brendan the key advantage of being able to provide on-the-ground support.
The tour operator’s off-the-beaten-path style of adventure will be first showcased to Australians in May, when Managing Director Catherine Reilly will make her first visit Down Under since her brand’s debut in the country.
Brendan’s relationship with Adventure World is also likely to see the two sell their product together in Australia in the coming years, Rodgers added.
In other news, earlier this week, creditors approved Air T’s purchase of struggling carrier Rex, ending more than 15 months of uncertainty.
Now, several large regional councils want more financial compensation from the Federal Government off the back of the fall-out of Rex and Bonza.
“It is really disappointing that we continually have foregone income because of failures of carriers,” said Albury City Council Mayor Kevin Mack, who said that the council is owed $996,000 from Rex, Virgin Australia, Bonza and Jetgo.
“If the Federal Government can’t demonstrate that an airline will stand the test of time, they need to look at underwriting an airline.”
In other aviation news, Webjet released its 1H26 preliminary results this week, which saw a 7% decrease in its underlying EBITDA from $15.8 million to $14.4 million, while bookings slid 8% from 784,000 to 724,000.
TTV also decreased by 4% from $752 million to $726 million.
Unsurprisingly, this was due to a challenging environment, including the heightened tension in the Middle East, tariff-related trade disruptions, as well as “elevated Australian domestic airfares following the reduction in competition on major city routes with Rex’s exit”.
However, Webjet CEO and Managing Director Katrina Barry is confident that the near-term outlook for the business has not changed its ability to deliver sustainable long-term growth.
“I would like to stress that while TTV is our key metric, it is not being measured in isolation,” she added.
“The management team’s mandate and scorecard require sustainable growth to scale the business while improving efficiency, and to maintain margin discipline.”
In other news, our team had the chance to check out the swanky new Luxury Escapes in Westfield Bondi, which opened with much fanfare and saw people queue up from 4am in hopes of scoring $100,000 worth of holidays.
From the oversized floor-to-ceiling digital screens to the luxe fixtures and in-store bar, it’s clear that founder Adam Schwab has heavily invested in this store, but based on the success of the Chadstone store which opened two years ago, it’s worth it.
“The Chadstone store has been a phenomenal success – within two years becoming one of the world’s highest grossing travel stores by creating an inspiring experience before customers even take off on their holiday,” he said, noting that while an online customer may spend $2,000 on average when buying a holiday, over the phone that can go up to $3,500 and in-store, it’s almost $8,000.
That wraps up another week of some of the biggest stories in travel. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
