N e w s l e t t e r 4 6 , J u n e 2 0 2 0

Shop 2/70 Nicholson Street PO Box 116, Bairnsdale Vic. 3875Phone: 03 5152 6533 Fax: 03 5152 2984 Web: www.cooperstravel.com

TO OUR WINTER ED IT ION

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In this ever-changing world that is impacting businesses so much with employees being encouraged to work from home,retail stores being pushed towards online sales etc., we at Coopers Travel are committed providing the same friendly shopfront sales, where our clients can continue to engage with us on a personal level. We cannot thank our staff enough for theirefforts as we have worked through this COVID-19 Pandemic. It has been an extremely difficult time for all in the travelindustry and obviously our business has been impacted heavily. Bill, Lynne and the whole team at Coopers Travel wouldlike thank you our clients for the faith you have shown in us, we have been truly humbled by the thoughts and good wishesof so many of you, as we have continued our way through this very challenging time.

Welcome

Sadly, we have farewelled Kathleen Taylor from our office. Withthe advent of all that faced the industry, Kathleen decided to takeup a new career venturing into the field of teaching. Whilst werespect and fully understand Kathleen’s decision and wish herwell in her new career, we hope perhaps she may return one daydoing what she does so well – assisting people to live their traveldreams.

Bill & Lynne Cooper became grandparents again in Februarywith the birth of a new grandson “Monty” born to their daughterSerrin, and her husband Tim Bertino and then again with thebirth of their first granddaughter, Lola, born early May to theirson John and his wife Tegan.

On a brighter note, Jen Kater celebrated her 60th. Birthday “IsoStyle” and had a wonderful day – certainly one she will alwaysremember. Jenny also simultaneously celebrated her 40th year inthe travel industry. Well done Jen and thank you for the hugecontribution you have made to our office.

STAFF NEWSDATABASE UPDATE

We ask you to urgently complete the attached formand return it to our office in the enclosed envelope

or email your advice to our office.

Please know and understand, whilst this update isessentially necessary due to the ever increasing cost ofpostage, Coopers Travel always strive to meet ourclient’s needs, and as such are more than happy to

post a hard copy of newsletters etc. for yourconvenience. We want our clients to engage with us in a manner that suits your needs, newsletters, emails,

Facebook or by visiting our website online.

FROM THE BRIDGE CRUISE MAGAZINE: Unfortunately, due to the impact COVID-19 has had onthe cruise industry, the Winter Edition of ‘From the Bridge’

was not published. We do apologize for this, but feel sure you understand the circumstances.

Our office is now open to the public, however for the health andwell-being of our staff and valued clients, could you pleasepractice safe social distancing and safe hygiene. If you haveexperienced a fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath ortravelled overseas in the last month, please contact us viatelephone 5152 6533 or email instead admin@cooperstravel.com.

Our office hours will remain at 9am to 3pm for the wintermonths, and we will update you of any change to these timesover the ensuing weeks/months. Our phones are alwaysmonitored, with an emergency number available for afterhoursshould this be necessary.

OFFICE HOURS:

Given the publicity that has surrounded the travel industry in thelight of these unprecedented times, our staff have always put ourclient’s considerations first, working under extreme stress tosecure the best possible outcome at all times for our clients in lightof so many cancelled and amended travel plans. It has not beenan easy task, given that we act as an agent on behalf of all airlinesand travel wholesalers and as such we must abide to their termsand conditions, albeit ever changing ones throughout this Covid-19 pandemic. It has been our privilege in some instances toperhaps obtain a more favourable response than we may haveexpected because of our longevity and experience in the industry.

Understandably this has proved a stressful time for clients also,with many companies/airlines only issuing credits for futuretravel, and we fully understand this is not suitable to everyone.We continue to address this with many tour companies, but ourunderstanding is that their Non-Recoverable costs do sit within

ACCC guidelines. Likewise we understand the disappointment ofclients given the uncertain time delays in obtaining refunds whereapplicable. Please understand we are now expecting delaysbeyond 6 months in some instances for refunds to come back.Frustrating yes, but when one considers the enormity offcancellations worldwide, and given the financial challenge thattravel companies face having to work with heavily reduced staffnumbers, in order to remain financial viable, it certainly shedssome light on these expected delays.

The travel industry is under extreme pressure with no foreseeableincome and an ever-challenging workload of cancelled travelarrangements to be rebooked again with no recall of income goingforward, until such time as these amended bookings are all dealtwith. Given it may take some time before certain travel destinationsopen up and we adapt to the new way of travelling, we will findour challenge with forward International bookings may continue.

THE STATE OF THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY:

Coopers Travel will look forward to brighter days ahead, and tocontinuing to help people live their travel dreams. How lucky weare to live in such a diverse and wonderful country. If there is abright light that comes out of this whole Covid Scenario it will bethat we all find a little more peace living a simpler life, and thatmany more Australians venture out to see the wonderful sightsand experiences we have in Australia.

International Travel Certainly, we are commencing putting some travel bookings intoplace for later in 2021. At this stage, it will be a case of watch thisspace for the re-opening of the Australian borders. Certainly, webelieve for many clients it will take some time before they feelcomfortable booking international travel again and this will bebased on individual circumstances.

Cruising with Confidence:As most of you are aware the Cruising Industry has taken amassive hit from the recent events and will continue to feel thepressures to decide when is the right time to start cruising again.Most cruise lines have started to implement new measures forwhen they do resume operations to ensure you can Cruise withConfidence. Measures include enhanced screening prior toembarkation, rigorous daily stateroom cleaning including increasedsanitizing in all public areas. One can expect that there will befurther medically trained staff onboard, suitably trained and betterequipped to deal with any further viruses etc. Cruise-lines appearset to also have more medical isolation rooms available to dealwith any type of outbreaks, such as gastritis, COVID etc.

Certainly, Princess Cruises Lines have recently received more thantheir share of adverse publicity during this pandemic, howeverfrom Coopers Travel personal prospective, we believe they havecertainly worked extremely hard to ensure that all clients receivedultimate value for future cruises due to their impacted cruisecancellations. They have continued to offer full refunds back on

cancelled cruises at clients’ discretion, which has resulted in farfewer people incurring out of pocket expenses. It should beappreciated that the expected time for refunds is certainly beingextended up to 6 months, due to the enormity of refunds beingprocessed worldwide. Advice is many of the smaller ships cruisinginternationally are already recording very strong sales andreaching capacity in 2021 and beyond. We are also experiencingin our office, Domestic Cruising for 2021 is still selling strong andcabins are becoming limited. In all, consensus is cruising will beback, bigger and better into the future.

Gippsland Departures Our office was heavily impacted with cancellations for our 2020Gippsland Departures, and we thank those affected for theirpatience and understanding. As such, many of these tours are heldin credit and will be offered again in 2021. This has been a verydifficult and costly time for our agency, and we thank those clientswho have expressed to wish to re-book on these postponed toursinto 2021. We are currently working very hard to secureavailability etc. and are pleased that we have been able to sustainfrom any increase in tour prices from 2020 to 2021. We have alsohad to proceed with tours we had deposited on for 2021 inadvance, and are hoping to be able to fill tours sufficiently toensure all our 2021 Australian domestic tours operate accordingly.We will refraining from offering any new International GippslandDepartures at this stage, however we do have two options wefound necessary to postpone from 2020 being South AfricaKalahari Mobile Camps and Scandinavia and Icelandic Cruise toreschedule when the government are convinced Australians aresafe to travel again.

We urge you register with our office at your earliest shouldany of the outlined tours be of interest to you. This willgreatly assist us in our planning, given the expectedincrease in Domestic Tourism for 2021.

WHERE TO FROM HERE

Heading west in your caravan, or just looking for an Ultimate Kimberley experience?BERKELEY RIVER REMOTE WILDERNESS LODGE PROVIDES A PERFECT OPTION.

One of Australia’s most remote luxury lodges at Berkeley River is set between theTimor Sea and Berkeley River. From Kununurra you can enjoy four all-inclusive nights,all meals, selected beverages, return air transfers from Kununurra, river cruises, 4WD tours, as well as fishing and hiking tours. Bill and Lynne Cooper we’re lucky to enjoy time at the lodge in 2019 and loved everyminute of it. Call our office to discuss our exclusive package pricing which can includereturn airfares Melbourne direct to Kununurra or if you are a self-drive enthusiast wecan help with storage of your vehicle whilst you relax at the lodge. Certainly for thosewishing to explore the Kimberley Region, Kununurra is the perfect base offering toursof the Bungles, Argyle Mine and the Ord River, ElQuestro, Emma George etc.

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Holiday Closer to HomeHoliday Closer to HomeHoliday Closer to HomeGippsland Departures 2021

New Zealand Gippsland DepartureDEPARTING 23 JANUARY, 2021.

“CELEBRITY ECLIPSE”15 day/14 night "Free & Easy" Land & Cruise Package.

INCLUDES: • 3 nights' accommodation in Auckland• 2 day Hop-on Hop-Off Bus Pass • Half Day Tour• One Way Flight MEL-AKL • 11 night Cruise on board

'Celebrity Eclipse' Auckland/MEL • All Transfers • Airfare/ Land package can be purchased separately

New Caledonia & Vanuatu13 Night Sapphire Princess CruiseDeparts 28th Feb, 2021. Ex Melb.

Fully Escorted Tour departing Bairnsdale on Saturday, 13th March 2021

All inclusive package includes:– Return Transfer from Gippsland to Melbourne.

– Overnight accommodaiton at Park Royal Melbourne Airport.– Return Qantas Group flights EX Melbourne including taxes.

– 7 nights Accommodation at Somerset Apartments– All Touring & Meals as per Itinerary (B, L & D).

Tasmania In Fall10TH - 22ND APRIL 2021

Fully Escorted Tour, Easy Paced & Multiple Night Stays

TOUR INCLUSIONS:• Return Flights • All Transfers• 12 Nights accommodation• The Nut Chairlift• Gordon River Cruise• West Coast Wilderness Railway• The Ship That Never Was Play• The Wall in the Wilderness Entry• Tahune Airwalk Adventures• Port Arthur Historic Site Entry• Cataract Gorge Cruise

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Register your interest or secure your spot by contactingCoopers Travel for more information.Gippsland Departures Rescheduled from 2020 to 2021 due to COVID, Seats are Limited.

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����%��#�• Domestic Air Fare MEL-ADL / DRW-MEL• One night’s accommodation in Adelaide

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Darwin Highlights Tour, Litchfield & Kakadu National Parks,Corroboree Creek Cruise & Mary River Wilderness Park & more

Experience one of Australia's iconic rail journeys

on this fully escorted trip from Gippsland.

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Fully Escorted Gippsland DepartureThurs. 18th – Friday 26th November 2021

Norfolk Island

Group Inclusive & Free and Easy options available.

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TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:• Birdsville Hotel & Big Red sand dune• Cordillo Downs woolshed• Burke & Wills Dig Tree & Cameron’s Corner• Menindee Lakes & Maidens Hotel• Back O Bourke Exhibition Centre• Royal Mail Hotel, Hungerford • Eulo Queen Hotel

�����������This 15 day fully escorted small group tour visits some

of Australia’s most iconic Outback Pubs.

Stops include: Bourke, Hungerford, Thargomindah, Noccundra, Toompine, Innamincka,Cameron’s Corner, Tibooburra, the Palace hotel at Broken Hill and of course the most famousOutback Pub of them all the legendary Birdsville Hotel. Although we visit lots of iconic pubsit’s not just about the pubs... it’s the outback with amazing sunsets and wonderful scenery.

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• Flights MEL/Cairns/Brisbane/MEL• Cairns & Townsville short stays • Overnight Sleeper & Premium Economy Seats onSpirit of Queensland

• All transfers, meals and touring as per Itinerary

INDIAN PACIFIC RAIL JOURNEY& WILDFLOWERS LAND TOUR

Indian Pacific Sydney to Perth, combined with 8 Day Monkey Mia and West Coast highlighting wildflowers land tour

Discover the Batavia Coast andthe wild&owers in KalbarriNational Park (seasonal). Be charmed by the MonkeyMia dolphins and thestromatolites at Hamelin Poolwill arouse your sense ofwonder. Discover Aboriginalculture and traditions atYanchep National Park, andthe cosmopolitan cities ofPerth and Fremantle.

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South Africa, Kalahari &Botswana

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Fully Escorted by Bill and Lynne Cooper from Bairnsdale

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