Things to do in Melbourne

Melbourne is the cultural capital of Australia and probably one of the easiest cities in the world to fall in love with. What's more? The increased airliners operating to the city has resulted in cheap flight tickets.  Here are a few tips to help you balance between exploring the coast and the urban adventures. 

Federation Square :- The good thing about starting your trip from Federation Square, apart from the fact it is the heart of the city, is that you can meet a lot of Red Shirt Ambassadors who will give you helpful advice on how to spend your time in the city. The best way to ensure you get cheap air tickets online to Melbourne is to browse multiple portals before booking your air tickets.

Culinary Scene: - Melbourne is home to numerous immigrant communities mostly comprising of Chinese, Greek and Italian. The good thing about having a thriving immigrant scene is the chance to experience some lip smacking world cuisine without having to set foot out of the city. Start your trip at one of the Italian bistros in Lygon Street and end it at the Queen Victoria Market where the entire city's cuisine comes under one roof.   

Coffee Tour: - Melbourne is crazy about coffee. The espresso culture brought in by the Italian immigrants evolved over time into a city that is obsessed with coffee and currently its home to more than 2500 cafes and roasting houses. Try out the best ones by taking the coffee tour with Maria Paoli of Coffee Tours Melbourne, or you can wander the city and randomly explore on your own.

Victorian Queenscliff: - Catch a ferry to the other end of Port Philip bay and spend some time at the historical Queenscliff. This is a quaint Victorian village situated at the mouth of a harbour and used to serve as a weekend getaway for Aussie aristocrats.  Drop in at the impressive roof top bar in Vue Grand Hotel for an impressive selection of craft beer.

Surf in Torquay: - If you are into watersports, make your way to Torquay, the legendary home to some of the best surf spots in the world and the Bells Beach. You can sign up for a lesson with the Great Ocean Surf Tours where you will be taught the basics like stand-up paddle boarding.

Global Travel Trends of 2014

The travel industry saw a whole of changes in 2013; today we extrapolated the trends to predict upcoming travel industry trends in 2014.

Rise of the digital traveler: - The rapid proliferation of digital channels has empowered travelers to use online tools and mobile apps to find his way around town. We are rapidly witnessing the growth of a new breed of travelers who shun hand holding by the hospitality industry. It will be interesting to see how the industry evolves to fulfill the needs of the new age customers.

Curation gains prominence: - Travelers are getting bombarded by a huge amount of data and advertising and they are getting tired sifting through them to find what they want.  As a consequence, many travel portals are adopting intelligent curation powered by big data and analytics. HotelTonight has adopted an interesting curation algorithm whereby it displays a set of same day deals for each market. For 2014, expect a whole lot more intelligence to creep into your search listings. As portals become more intelligent, they are expected to lure more travelers to book cheap air tickets online rather than through their agents.

Weightage to Visual: - The stratospheric rise of Instagram and photosharing on Facebook is a clear indication of the power of visual in the digital age.  Over the past year, Visual Content Marketing has been fast gaining prominence; with even corporate brands like American Express utilizing imagery to communicate with their audience.  Brands like Starwood are increasingly utilizing their customer's photos, videos and social network to create marketing collateral that are more likely to resonate with other potential customers in the same demographic.

The march of the Low Cost Carrier (LCC): - Low Cost Carriers (LCC) are expected to continue their glorious march onwards in decimating every other aviation sector.   With the success of the sector, many more carriers like Norwegian, WoW Air and West Jet are set to enter the LCC sector; further increasing the competition.  Expect international air tickets prices to plummet further in 2014.

Relaxed Visa Regulations: - Many nations around the world are realizing that visa fees and complicated processes is stunting inbound tourism.  The realization has led to the introduction of visa on arrival by numerous Asian and European countries.  Even traditionally closed countries like Russia, China and India are slowly seeing the benefits of easing their visa regulations. The changes could serve as a huge impact in driving tourism from previously untended sectors.

Top 5 Cities to Celebrate Christmas and New Year

Ring in 2014 somewhere new - from Valparaiso to Sydney, here are the cities which rocks the New Year with some of the biggest parties and firework displays.

Valparaiso, Chile :-  Chileans sure know how to ring in the New Year in style – Valparaiso organizes one of the biggest New Year bashes in Latin America and welcomes the new year with a 20 minute firework show in the Valparaiso harbour. The fireworks are fired from 17 points across the coast and signals the start of the dance party that lasts till dawn. The festivities start around the 28th and in the preceding 3 days, Valparaiso attracts almost a million people who come to experience one of the biggest party in the region. If you are looking to book cheap flight tickets to Valparaiso, make sure you check multiple online portals before making the booking.

Reykjavik, Iceland :- Iceland's capital has a  massive nightlife scene despite its diminutive geographical size and  New Year's eve is when the party freaks come out in full glory. The party starts of with community bonfires and firework display that symbolizes burning away of last year's troubles. For the best view, head to Pearl which offer panoramic views of the city, as a plus you get to gorge on delicious food and dance the night away. If you make it till 5 am then you can join the hotdog queue to curb that hangover. International flight tickets to Reyjavik is not cheap but the unique experience more than makes up for it.

Bratislava, Slovakia :- This quaint town hosts more than 10,000 people every New Year who come witness the amazing fireworks over the Danube, dance away in the open air dance floors and attend concerts. On the eve of the New Year the city gets demarcated into “concert zone” where music lovers gather to watch live music and “party zone” for those who looking to socialize and dance.

Edinburgh, Scotland :- No other city in the world celebrates New Year with as much zest as Edinburgh. The celebration lasts four days and includes a grand torchlight parade, open air concerts and  a crazy street party in Princes Street. Townsfolk believe in the tradition of “first footing” where the first guest to arrive in the new year brings in gifts; usually Scotch or shortbread. On the first day of the New Year, people gather to witness brave ones jump into the icy cold water in the Queensferry Loony Dook charity.

Sydney, Australia :- Sydney leaves all other cities in the dust in the race to be the first metropolis city to celebrate the New Year.  The city also hosts one of the biggest New Year parties- attented by a whopping 1  million people and wathched by more than a billion on television screens. The celebration starts on the morning of 31st  and features an air and water show, a Harbour Parade featuring more than 50 vessels and two brilliant firework display at midnight.