Arrivals & Departures Weekly Travel News & Views 17 September 2024

SEATS SELLING

Who would have thought? We announced our Round Europe Dinner last week and have already sold 100 of the 150 seats. It’s a combination of food, music and words at the University Club of Western Australia on November 14. Details at westtravelclub.com.au/events

A WISE MOVE

We’re often asked about the best way to manage money overseas, and the Wise travel card is our top ranking. We have often mentioned it. A spokesperson at Wise describes it as “a payments app for doing things in other currencies”.

A good measure of any product, service or company is what happens when things go wrong. Reader Ian Bevan reports: “I recently left my Wise travel card in an ATM in Bali. I immediately cancelled the card and was issued with a new one online, with the new card being posted to me. I was able to move the new card to my wallet straight away and could then access funds. I could not be happier with the card and the exchange rate when drawing funds overseas.”

… & WISE INVESTMENT

Last week, it was revealed that Wise has been granted an Australian financial services licence for investments from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. It coincides with Wise surpassing one million active personal and business customers in Australia, who are now holding more than $1 billion in balances.

The spokesperson explains that, with the new licence, Wise will be able to bring its popular investment product, called Assets, to Australia later this year. The spokesperson says that’s an answer for customer feedback asking to grow the money they hold with Wise.

Wise will offer the ability to earn a return on the $1b in balances held by investing in money market funds in multiple currencies, with no minimum balance requirements and no lock-up periods. Customers will still have instant access to their money.

COMING OF AGE

This month is the 21st anniversary of Smartraveller, the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s travel advisory service. The Smartraveller website has information on passports, visas and travel insurance, and detailed travel and cultural advice on more than 175 destinations. Its latest survey, with the Insurance Council of Australia, reveals that 50 per cent of travellers say they’d use Smartraveller for advice.

GREECE TRAP

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has expressed concerns about the number of international visitors arriving in Greece at peak times of year. He was speaking at the Thessaloniki International Fair on September 7. In the past year, a record 36 million tourists visited Greece. It has prompted the Greek Government to propose a new tax and consider, from next year, restricting the number of cruise ships allowed to visit Greece’s most popular islands. Tourism might contribute nearly 20 per cent of the national economy, but some locals says tourism has adversely affected the cost of living and overall security, as well as the state of some cultural landmarks.

BIGGER NZ TAX

On September 3, the New Zealand Government announced a pretty significant shift in its approach to tourism, as it will nearly treble the tax that it collects from international visitors. It starts on October 1. The International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) will increase from $NZ35 ($22) to $NZ100. Tourism Minister of the National Party-led coalition government Matt Doocey has been reported saying the increase will help fund conservation projects and enhance the visitor experience in national parks.

PARKS & PASSES

The WA Government is putting taxpayer money into a tourism-focused division within the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Its job will be to drive new commercial tourism projects in national parks. It is reported that 500 tourism businesses are connected to WA’s national parks.

There were more than 24 million visits to our national parks in the 2023-24 financial year. Kings Park welcomed more than five million visitors in the same period. About 800,000 people went to Perth Zoo.

Every West Australian aged 15 or over can claim up to four free tickets to the zoo through the ServiceWA app. Available for both adults and children, the Perth Zoo Free Pass will allow entry to the zoo through to November 30. It could save a family more than $100 on a trip to the zoo.

FAVOURITE HAUNTS

America Haunts, a leader in haunted attractions across the United States, has announced the season openings of many top haunted attractions (americahaunts.com). Among those opening on Friday (Friday the 13th!) are The Edge Of Hell (edgeofhell.com) and The Beast (kcbeast.com) in Kansas City; Spooky World in Boston (nightmarenewengland.com); Headless Horseman Hayrides in Ulster Park, New York (headlesshorseman.com); and Factory Of Terror in Canton, Ohio (fotohio.com), which has been offering “23 years of fear”.

PERSONAL SAFE

If, after all that, you feel you need a bit of extra security, you might look at the Master Lock personal travel safe. This small safe can be fixed to something immovable with its cable and fits smartphones, ear buds, passports, credit cards and cash. That sort of stuff. You can set your four-digit combination and I’ve found it online for under $20.