According to the regional tourism authority’s Vice Chairman, Adrian Bram, who is also Managing Director of the Regions’ most diverse sailing & diving operation, Whitsundays Sailing Adventures.com, as many as 45% of [...]]]> Adventurous European Travellers now top the list of visitors to the Whitsunday Islands’ Region of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, now surpassing UK visitor numbers.

 According to the regional tourism authority’s Vice Chairman, Adrian Bram, who is also Managing Director of the Regions’ most diverse sailing & diving operation, Whitsundays Sailing Adventures.com, as many as 45% of all International arrivals into the Whitsundays were visitors from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands, France, Italy, Belgium and Scandinavia.

 “Over the past 12 months European travellers have outnumbered our traditional primary market, visitors from the UK, by over 30,000*. That is 64,000* from the UK and 95,000* travellers from Europe to June 30, 2010. Total International visitor arrivals for the same period were 213,000*.

 “We attribute the growth in tourist numbers from the ‘Continent’ to the Adventurous nature of European travellers being satisfied by the awesome unspoilt beauty of the 74 Islands and vast stretches of little visited Great Barrier Reef that make up this spectacular region”, Mr Bram said.

 Only a handful of the 74 Islands in the Whitsundays Group have resort developments. These include Hayman Island, Hamilton Island, Daydream Island, Long Island, South Mole and Club Med Lindeman Island Resort. Most of the other Islands are protected National Parks.

 A significant form of visitation to the Islands is via waterborne day tours and overnight, live-aboard sailing and diving adventure tours. Whitsundays Sailing Adventures.com operates a fleet of 15 live-aboard Sailing and diving vessels catering for a range of travellers’ budget options, from backpacker to four star.

 Guests can choose from a range of itineraries including two day one night, two day two night, three day two night, three day three night and six day and six nights cruise options.

 “We have multiple vessels leaving every day of the week from our base in Airlie Beach on the Queensland Central Coast. And in the last 12 months we have carried over 24,000 guests, most of whom were European and many of whom experienced snorkelling and diving for the first time, here in Australia’s underwater wonderland”, Mr Bram said.

 Sailing, diving, bushwalking, beach activities, kayaking and award winning eco interpretive tours add the range of experiences that Whitsundays Sailing Adventures’ guests can choose from. But probably the most significant difference that makes this particular operation stand out in the crowd is that each and every vessel is owner operated resulting in a focus on vessel and crew standards, fantastic food, personalised service and a truly individual and unique experience.

*Source International Visitor Survey from Tourism Research Australia.

Thank you very much for all of your help booking the Kiana for my family and me for the sailing on December 25th. We had an absolutely amazing time. It was actually the highlight of our 3 1/2 week trip for me. I was sad to not be able to meet [...]]]> Dear Lisette,

Thank you very much for all of your help booking the Kiana for my family and me for the sailing on December 25th. We had an absolutely amazing time. It was actually the highlight of our 3 1/2 week trip for me. I was sad to not be able to meet you in person when we checked in for the sailing or when we returned so that I could properly thank you in person for all of your help, but I hope you also had a wonderful vacation over Christmas.

My family and I very much enjoyed the Kiana. The ship was perfect for us, as were our sleeping arrangements. The crew (Brent, Paul, and Paul) was absolutely phenomenal. I can’t say enough about how wonderful they were making us feel welcome with their outgoing personalities. The food that Paul cooked was excellent. The other Paul did a great job with teaching my family how to scuba dive and snorkel and Brent always greeted us with a cheery smile and was more than willing to teach us something new. I doubt if Brent ever has a bad day, he is such a positive and uplifting person.

Anyway, thank you very much for all of your help deciding upon and booking Kiana. I greatly appreciate it and will definitely share this excellent experience with all of my clients travelling to Australia and encourage them to include the Kiana in their vacation as well. Thank you again for all of your help!

Sincerely,
Christina Plesha
STA Travel

The above was received by Lisette in the WSA Reservations Office after Christina’s recent trip on Kiana.

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