A new hotel destination in St Kilda

If Kings Cross/Potts Point is your "go to" zone in Sydney and you like to stay in Fortitude Valley when in Brisbane then St Kilda might be your preferred place to lay your head in Melbourne.

Accor has announced a new chapter for the Saint Kilda Beach Hotel in the edgy beach suburb, which is currently undergoing a revamp led by owner ERDI, ahead of its reopening as Novotel St Kilda in October.

The transformation will see 80 re-designed guest rooms debut, "featuring a contemporary coastal palette to create calming spaces that support restorative sleep and everyday balance".

The hotel will feature a new conference and events facility for up to 140 guests, alongside a co-working space. Aa reimagined internal garden atrium will introduce natural light.

A new culinary destination, Urban Kitchen & Bar - St Kilda, is currently in development. The venue will seat up to 120 guests and include several private dining spaces.

ERDI has committed financial support to several local charities, including Sacred Heart Mission, The Mirabel Foundation, and St Kilda Mums.

“The transformation of this landmark property into Novotel St Kilda reflects the continued strength of Accor's network across the Pacific and our confidence in the Melbourne market,” said Adrian Williams, Chief Operating Officer of Accor in the Pacific region.

“Novotel is a globally recognised brand that continues to evolve in step with the needs of today's travellers."

Novotel St Kilda has an opening offer from $299 per night. To book, visit novotelstkilda.com.au

Qantas unveils Project Sunrise details

 

Flying Sydney to London non stop. 

Not for me, thanks, but it is easy to see why Qantas' unveiling of its Project Sunrise program has created so much excitement. 

Qantas will launch its world-first non-stop services between Sydney and London from October 2027. 

The announcement came as the Australian national carrier unveiled its first Airbus A350-1000ULR in Qantas livery at Airbus’ manufacturing facility in Toulouse. 

Qantas has been flying between Sydney and London since 1947, when the original Kangaroo Route took four days with seven stops in Darwin, Singapore, Calcutta, Karachi, Cairo, Castel Benito and Rome. 

The new non-stop flights will cut up to four hours off the travel time compared to current one-stop services with a time of around 22 hours. These ultra long-haul services will operate alongside Qantas’ existing Perth-London and Sydney-Singapore-London services. 

The first Project Sunrise Sydney to London services will go on sale in February 2027, the airline says.

The A350-1000ULR has been specifically manufactured by Airbus for Project Sunrise, fitted with an additional 20,000-litre fuel tank that enables the aircraft to fly more than 16,000 kilometres, for up to 22 hours non-stop. 

Qantas will take delivery of 12 aircraft in total, each configured with 238 seats across four cabins.

Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said confirmation of the launch route marks a new dawn of travel for customers around the world.

“Qantas was built on the belief that Australia's distance from the rest of the world should never stand in the way," Hudson says. "The pioneering spirit of generations of our people has forged that path ever since, and today is the most significant step in that mission in our 105-year history.

“Since we first flew the Kangaroo Route in 1947, where we stopped seven times on the way to London, every generation of aircraft has taken a stop out of the journey. Today, we're taking out the last one."

I like a stop or two en route. A meal, maybe, a massage, even an overnight sleep. But for many speed in of the essence and this fits their needs. 

Since 2018, more than 1.7 million passengers have flown on Qantas' non-stop long-haul services from Perth to London, Rome and Paris, and its Melbourne to Dallas and Auckland to New York services. 

Travel advisory pleases Australian travel agents

Does a subtle change to a government advisory make you more, or less, likely to travel?

The Australian Government this week lowered its travel advice for Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from Level 4 "Do Not Travel" to Level 3 "Reconsider your need to travel."

The Australian Travel Industry Association, the umbrella body for licensed travel agents, is calling the subtle switch a win for Australian travellers.

The change matters most for Australians travelling through Middle Eastern hubs to reach Europe, the United Kingdom, India, and Africa.

More than 150,000 Australians have transited through the region in the past six weeks alone.

Throughout this period, ATIA says it has worked with the Australian Government, DFAT, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to ensure travel advice reflects both the risks on the ground and the practical realities facing Australian travellers.

ATIA says the Level 4 advisory "created real complications and confusion for travellers with brief airside transits, especially around insurance cover". The downgrade removes that.

Level 3 remains a high threshold and the Government’s advice is that non-essential travel should be avoided. Prudent when Israel continues to attack and provoke other nations in the Middle East.

DFAT continues to advise "Do Not Travel" to Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Yemen. Some areas within Israel also remain "Do Not Travel."

ATIA recommends speaking with an ATIA-accredited travel agent or tour operator before booking.

"This is a sensible and welcome adjustment, and one ATIA has been seeking for some time," says ATIA CEO Dean Long/

"For many Australians, these hubs are the connecting points that get them to the UK, Europe, India and Africa. In seeking a travel advisory level commensurate with the reality of travel as a transiting passenger, ATIA was looking to ensure transiting passengers had all the benefits of travel insurance while on the ground.

“Additionally, with 150,000 Australians having safely travelled through those hubs, we wanted to ensure consumer confidence in Smartraveller’s advice remains optimum - travellers were telling our members that the “do not travel” advice for passing through just didn’t seem to hit the right balance.”

Festival offers a glimpse into Canada's indigenous culture

The remote Yukon Territory offers a unique slice of Canadian life to tourists, far removed the urban experiences of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. 

The Klondike gold fields, Dawson City and Whitehorse are home to a fascinating combo of wilderness, history and indigenous culture and are a highly recommended destination. 

Lover of cultural ceremonies are alerted to the Moosehide Gathering, described as one of Canada's most moving cultural celebrations, as the spirit, stories and songs of the Hän people come alive. 

To be held from July 30 to August 3, the celebration of Indigenous culture is hosted by the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in at historic Moosehide Village, on the banks of the Yukon River near Dawson City.

This cultural event is an expression of resilience, renewal and cultural pride, at the heart of which resides an extraordinary story of survival. 

During the upheaval of the Klondike Gold Rush, Chief Isaac foresaw the threat that rapid change posed to the traditions of his people. 

To ensure the songs and dances of the Hän people would endure, he entrusted them to relatives in Alaska for safekeeping. Decades later, those treasured traditions were returned to the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in and revitalised, paving the way for the first official Moosehide Gathering in 1993.

Open to all, Moosehide Gathering invites travellers to move beyond sightseeing. 

Air Canada offers daily direct flights to Vancouver from Sydney and Brisbane. Direct flights from Sydney to Vancouver are also available on Qantas. 

Internal flights to Whitehorse and Dawson City are available on Air North and Air Canada. Additionally, travellers now have the ability to combine WestJet and Air North on a single ticket or itinerary. 

For more info see travelyukon.com

Tourism booming despite global uncertainty

Global tourism continues to boom despite ongoing issues in the Middle East. 

UN Tourism's latest data shows 207 million tourists travelled internationally in the first quarter of 2026, about 6 million more than the same period of 2025.

While the start of the year saw sustained travel demand overall (+2.5% cumulative growth in January and February), the Middle East conflict impacted performance in March (+0.4%).

The US assault on Iran and Israel's genocide in Palestine and Lebanon is expected to reduce growth in international arrivals by 1 to 2 percentage points below UN Tourism’s initial forecast of 3% to 4% for 2026, depending on the conflicts' duration and scope.

Aside from disruptions in flights to, from and within the Middle East and effects on traveller confidence, the spike in oil prices and jet fuel shortage in some markets is increasing air fares and reducing flight capacity also in other regions. 

More expensive travel coupled with uncertainty about air connectivity, could redirect demand towards closer tourism destinations while also affecting overall travel demand.

“The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is disrupting travel patterns well beyond the region itself, including rising inflation, particularly in transport and accommodation," says UN Tourism Secretary-General Shaikha Al Nuwais. 

"This is placing pressure on travellers, businesses and destinations alike. Even amid this uncertainty, international tourism continued to show resilience in the first quarter of 2026. At a time of growing geopolitical and economic pressure, this reinforces tourism’s wider role in supporting economies, creating opportunity and sustaining communities far beyond the sector itself.”

The latest UN Tourism Confidence Index, which monitors sentiment by 300 tourism professionals around the world, reflects a cautiously positive outlook for May-August 2026, amid a challenging geopolitical environment.

New flights link Hanoi direct to Amsterdam

Vietnam Airlines has officially inaugurated its non-stop service between Hanoi and Amsterdam, becoming the first Vietnamese carrier to operate a direct route connecting Vietnam and the Netherlands.

The new service marks a significant milestone in the airline's international network expansion strategy and further strengthens air links between Vietnam and Europe.The initial flight, VN83, departed Noi Bai International Airport at 3:50 AM on June 16, carrying nearly 300 passengers aboard an Airbus A350 wide-body aircraft.

After a flight time of more than 12 hours, the aircraft landed at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. In the opposite direction, flight VN82 departed Amsterdam for Hanoi at 2:00 PM on the same day.

Vietnam Airlines will operate three round-trip flights per week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

"The inauguration of the Hanoi-Amsterdam service reflects Vietnam Airlines' continued commitment to expanding its international network and strengthening Vietnam's connectivity with key global markets," said Nguyen Quang Trung, executive vice president of Vietnam Airlines.

"This new route not only offers Vietnamese travellers more convenient access to Europe, but also facilitates greater travel to Vietnam for international visitors.

"As the national flag carrier, we will continue investing in service excellence and network development to meet evolving customer demand and further reinforce our role as an air bridge linking Vietnam with the world."

The new route also strengthens Vietnam Airlines' presence in Europe. With the addition of Amsterdam, Vietnam Airlines now operates 12 non-stop routes linking Vietnam with eight major European destinations: Paris, London, Frankfurt, Munich, Milan, Copenhagen, Moscow and Amsterdam.

And from July 1, Vietnam Airlines will increase the frequency of its Hanoi–Moscow service from three to four round-trip flights per week.