Travel resources Archives - Education Travel

Travel Scam Alert

Fri, 04 Aug 2023 05:10:53 +0000

With Qantas advertising a lot to remind people to reclaim their credits and a points bonus associated with this, scammers have obviously observed this and are trying to cash in!

Investigating 209 Scamwatch reports received in the past four months, the National Anti-Scam Centre says the scam involves text messages targeting Qantas Frequent Flyer, Telstra and Coles loyalty programs’ customers.

“While the vast majority of reports to Scamwatch received so far are in relation to Qantas Frequent Flyer, Telstra and Coles loyalty programs, it is important for Australians to be aware that any loyalty program could be referred to in this type of scam,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.

According to the ACCC, consumers receive a text message or email telling them their loyalty points are expiring. A link to a fake website is provided.

The message then prompts customers to log in. From here, they may ask customers to provide credit card details to use loyalty points.

If successful, scammers steal customers’ points, login details and personal information to use on other platforms for identity theft.

The ACCC urges customers of these programs to ignore any clicks in the text messages. They also suggest people independently check the status of their points on the appropriate app or website.

“The National Anti-Scam Centre has contacted the companies that have been impersonated by scammers and is working with web host providers to have the fake websites taken down, to minimise harm to the community,” Lowe said.

“We are very concerned that Australians experiencing cost-of-living pressures may be more susceptible to these scams.

“Scammers are deliberately panicking consumers by claiming their points are expiring soon.

“We urge people to immediately delete or ignore any message regarding a loyalty program that contains a link.”

The following advice to; STOP: THINK: PROTECT: is sound advice! Too many people react to a message too quickly!

To avoid scams generally, the ACCC recommends consumers (STOP) take their time before providing any personal information. They should (THINK) ask themselves if the messages could be fake, and (PROTECT) act quickly if something feels wrong. Customers should also consider contacting the company named in the message and report scams to Scamwatch.

According to The Guardian, Choice CEO Alan Kirkland said consumers “shouldn’t have to bear the entire cost of scam losses”.

“Banks should be required to compensate customers when they fail to take reasonable steps to stop money being stolen through a scam,” he said.

“A mandatory code that requires banks to reimburse their customers for scam losses would significantly reduce distress for customers affected by scams, and create the right incentives for banks to invest in scam prevention.”

ACCC figures show Aussies lost a record $3.1 billion to scams in 2022, which is more than 50 per cent higher than the $2 billion lost in 2021.

EDITOR Notes: The UK has recently introduced laws whereby the customers bank and the receiving bank are 50/50 liable for the loss to the customer. That should provoke some actions being taken by the banks! This is also an oportune time to remind people to ensure they have a quality VPN App on their device when travelling, not a free one a paid for version!!

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Start Organising Your School Group Tour Now

Wed, 18 May 2022 03:08:41 +0000

The hibernated world of travel is opening up! Not just for individuals, but also for school groups. We have a number of serious plans for 2023. The travel industry has changed and there are many more obstacles to work through. We already have many indicuals travelling with our non- school programmes so have come to speed with many of the current issues. Do proceed with your plans as we will proceed with caution to ensure it all comes together.

Quote from one teacher reorganising their tour.

Quote

I completely understand the caution. From my end I know my parents/students well and believe that the tour that was planned for 2020 was near perfect in regards to catering for the needs of the group in 2023. I understand that the price will have increased and that flight prices will not even be available for some time. I am so pleased that Passport Travel has survived, you are clearly one of the best agencies out there in my opinion and we would love to work with you again in 2023. I just wanted to go the ball rolling and start the process. Thanks for your time and let me know where we need to go from here. Unquote

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The future of airline check-in

Mon, 29 Mar 2021 02:29:14 +0000

Lets start the week with a some humour.

We have all got used to ever increasing levels of security checks at airports. We now have the vaccine certificate on the horizon. The following futurist cartoonist illustrates a next level:)

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Corona virus is dominating the travel industry. Here is what we are hearing:

Mon, 02 Mar 2020 05:55:31 +0000

There is much good information, but there is also a mountain of misinformation. This post is a longer than normal, but worth reading.

We are following accurate mainstream media and govt. information. In addition, we are talking to our partners in Europe. Along with these sources we have also heard directly from people we know in the medical science area in Australia. Thankfully some of the media is now stating correctly that this is a strain of flu, vaccine unavailable as yet. This is not Ebola – for which there is now a vaccine. The usual people are more susceptible – elderly with existing medical conditions. Aside from the ‘no vaccine yet’ situation it is the fast way this has spread which is a major aspect of difference.

Some of the feedback we have had;

From Thursday last week – family travelling from Australia to Italy with one of our school groups.

The all situation is just crazy! I saw a facebook live yesterday in Venice, a girl was filming the national tv channel (RAI) as they set up cameras and had paying actors stating that Venice was empty and no one was attending the annual carnival event because of this virus. All people were pushed on the sides of St Marco plaza to show no one was around!!! This is the information Italians are receiving from the Italian Media! Venice was packed, considering it was a working day!

Unfortunately the majority still believes that all the news are like gospel. If it’s in on tv or radio, must be true! Our parents are saying that a bottle of bleach or sanitizer now can cost up to 70Euro and a box of 10 mono use masks is now 15Euro (use to be 1Euro)

We are still planning to travel, at this stage our only concern is if on the way back we will need to be isolated, but if it will happen, we will deal with it.

From an Italian tourism service provider;

Dear Giuseppe,
We would like to reach out to you to let you know that the media is perpetuating fear in people and companies are now following suit by threatening to quarantine any employees if they come to Italy. I know someone who works in the infectious disease unit in Milan and the virus is not as bad as what they are saying. It is like the common flu, which is really only threatening the elderly or people with weakened immune systems due to a chronic disease or illness, per normal with any virus or flu. This leaves out most of the general population…which are the people cancelling their plans. Many study abroad programs are also being cancelled. It is doing a disservice to everyone, causing missed opportunities and financially destroying a beautiful country that relies greatly on tourism to stay afloat. Yes, on occasion you will see someone wearing a mask but it is only because of the media’s scare tactics and not because people are dropping like flies on the street. Italy has an amazing and very inexpensive healthcare system (public healthcare is free) unlike in the US and other parts of the world… so in my opinion, Italy has most, if not all of the cases documented because people can actually afford to go to the hospital and/or doctor without costly deductibles. They have an amazing treatment in place which is implemented for those infected.

Below we have set out the latest status of warnings from the DFAT Smart Traveller site (www.dfat.gov.au) and the Centre for Disease Control in the United States (www.cdc.gov) sites.

DFAT ADVICE & WARNINGS
At present the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has a number of coronavirus related warnings in place. They are:

“In most countries, we continue to advise Australians to ‘exercise normal safety precautions’. For the coronavirus, this means taking sensible measures to minimise your risk of exposure such as practising good hand hygiene (see Health). It does not mean reconsidering or cancelling your travel plans to these countries.

We have raised our advice level for five countries: China and Iran – to ‘do not travel’; South Korea, Japan and Mongolia – to ‘exercise a high degree of caution’. We have also raised our advice levels for regions in northern Italy – to ‘exercise a high degree of caution’.”

Specifically, in relation to Italy, DFAT states:

“Due to a heightened risk of sustained local transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19) in parts of northern Italy, we now advise you to exercise a high degree of caution in the regions of Lombardia and Veneto. We continue to advise you to exercise normal safety precautions in the rest of Italy”

As we know, many countries have adopted advanced screening procedures including temperature checks, self-quarantine obligations and restrictions on those who have been in specific countries or regions including China, northern Italy and other parts of the world.

CDC ADVICE
The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States has specific travel advice out for 6 countries as follows:
“China — Level 3, Avoid Nonessential Travel — updated February 22;
Hong Kong — Level 1, Practice Usual Precautions — issued February 19;
Iran — Level 3, Avoid Nonessential Travel — updated February 28;
Italy — Level 3, Avoid Nonessential Travel — updated February 28;
Japan — Level 2, Practice Enhanced Precautions — updated February 22;
South Korea — Level 3, Avoid Nonessential Travel — updated February 24.
CDC also recommends that all travelers reconsider cruise ship voyages into or within Asia at this time.”

The DFAT and CDC warnings are replicated in similar advice from other organisations including the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The link below takes you to an FAQ section re coronavirus and asks and answers (to the extent that answers are known at the present point in time) many questions about the virus.
https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses

Attached to this document as Annexure A is the latest WHO recommendations for international traffic as updated on Saturday 29^th February.

And the link below will take you to the latest WHO Situation Report, SR40, which was issued on Saturday 29^th February.
https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200229-sitrep-40-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=7203e653_2

Our more specific advice is the obvious;

people should avoid any area which is open to travel but where COVID-19 is spreading rapidly including South Korea, Iran and northern Italy;
people should seek to mitigate their risk by undertaking advanced hygiene measures, including wearing protective masks on aircraft (including Australia if there is an outbreak here) and other means of public transport, carrying hand sanitising gels at all times (and using them) and wearing gloves when out in public areas;
people who are unwell for whatever reason should defer their travel plans until they have fully recovered;
people who have respiratory problems including a history of pneumonia should defer their travel to any areas where there may be a risk of contracting the virus.

So, for our part, would we go to Japan right now? Yes.
Would we go to Italy? Yes, except to the affected villages.
Would we go to Singapore? Definitely.
Would we take a domestic or Trans-Tasman cruise anytime soon. Yes.
Would we book a Mediterranean or Antarctic cruise for summer 2021. Yes.
Would we book a cruise for any time this year in Asia? Not unless the crisis was over, a vaccine available and you could get 100% of the deposit back in the event I chose to cancel for any reason.

CONCLUSION
We are now in uncharted territory.

The situation today has moved on since yesterday, which was different to the day before. Tomorrow will be different again. As the world races to control this outbreak, pharmaceutical companies and research facilities around the world are working day and night to come up with a vaccine. In the meantime governments are planning for a possible pandemic and, outside of China, for the most part, people are getting on with their lives as best they can.

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How to get a crash course in a new language

Mon, 11 Nov 2019 05:21:01 +0000

You are suddenly departing for a foreign country and you like to get some grasp of the local language. here are some tips about learning some of the basics before you arrive. We thenn provide a link for a PC magazine survey of free language learning apps. It is always best to pay for more substantive software, but if you don;y want to invest this summary will give a lite start..

Travelling may be an exciting and rewarding experience, but it inevitably takes us out of our comfort zones and inherently breeds challenge. Top of the list is getting around a foreign city where you can’t communicate. So here are some practical tips on how to learn a new language fast.

USE LANGUAGE LEARNING APPS AND ONLINE PLATFORMS

Arranging a class with a teacher in three days may sound like an impossible task, but with a little bit of magic (or the Internet), it’s really not such a big deal. Feeling like you need a couple of French conversational classes before hitting the City of Love? Voilà! Your flight to Berlin is in two days but you forgot everything you learned about Plusquamperfekt? Put the grammar book aside. Instead, download an app and get a quick introduction to German tenses in a playful light-hearted way.

CHANGE THE LANGUAGE OF YOUR DEVICES

The most effective way to prepare for the journey fast is to immerse yourself in a language while you’re still at home. And since most of us are surrounded by operating systems, applications and programs in our everyday life, try to do so by switching all your devices to the target language. Doing so will bring the atmosphere of the destination country to your home and will prepare your mind for a new linguistic experience. Who knows? When you land, you may even recognise a couple of words!

PLACE NOTES ALL OVER YOUR HOME AND OFFICE

If your roommates and colleagues don’t mind, start labelling furniture, devices, food, and other stuff around you. Using sticky notes is an old but extremely useful trick that will help you gain the necessary vocabulary in a short period of time. Starting with the contents of your fridge and ending with your wardrobe, put labels everywhere you can and soon those words will be stuck in your memory.

WATCH MOVIES AND TV IN YOUR TARGET LANGUAGE

There are actually two ways to handle this: you can either pick some new foreign shows or just download subtitles to your favourite ones. The first way works best if your language level is already pretty high, whereas the second one fits for everyone. Just choose a series that you’ve seen so many times that you can quote the lines and add subs.

Not only does it help learn a language quickly, but watching Seinfeld in Croatian is hilarious.

READ FOREIGN MEDIA

And the last piece of advice — check out foreign news portals and media before the trip. It will help you not only expand vocabulary but stay tuned for upcoming events in the country you’re visiting.

Learning a language and planning your journey, all in one!

Link to survey of language learning apps.

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Geography students and teachers have new resource for wacky town names

Tue, 21 Aug 2018 06:53:02 +0000

English speakers who visit the UK are often subject to a smirk when they see some of the old village names – Lower Wallop, Middle Wallop, Cocking etc. then there is the famous Austrian village of F_ck where their local signage is stolen all the time. Some travellers make a hobby of collecting images of these strange names – anyone guilty out there?

Australia is not know for its wackish names, but someone has compiled a map! Yes a paper map in the day of google maps, there is life after google! Yuo will note a certain ‘Aussie Twang’ to the names, of course! From Lovely Bottom (Tas) to Bullshit Hill (SA), from Pisspot Creek (Tas) to Titwobble Lane (Vic), via Pimple (Qld), Pensioners Bush (Tas) and Peculiar Knob (SA).

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