(1888PressRelease)
August 24, 2008 - Australian online travel agent, Direct Flights International, has introduced a new one-stop-shop travel advisor to cut lengthening red tape for international travellers.
The free ‘Know Before You Go’ facility on Direct Flights’ website – www.directflights.com.au – provides direct links to all the important but ‘boring’ details passengers need to know before they leave for the airport. These include fast hot links to visa information through www.visalink.com.au, travel health and vaccination advice via www.traveldoctor.com.au, travel warnings and advice on 211 countries from the Department of Foreign Affairs on www.smarttraveller.gov.au and even weather information on www.weather.com
“The weeks leading up to a big trip can be very hectic and stressful and it can be so easy to overlook the need for visas, with people often denied boarding at the airport because they don’t have the correct documentation,” said Direct Flights Marketing Director Grant Symonds. “So instead of travellers needing to juggle all these different websites for visa, safety and medical information, they can now access them all from our Direct Flights website,” Mr Symonds said.
“Our website also offers a fast and easy way to book a range of discount airfares and holiday packages to anywhere in the world. “Our aim is simple - to make travel easier to book and more affordable than ever before.”
The new ‘Know Before You Go’ service, accessible via the site map on www.directflights.com.auor or via www.directflights.com.au/knowbeforeyougo/index.html - provides direct links to:
Visa Link - a site which tells travelers if visas are required for their trip and if so, organises the issuing of visas. Included on the site are details of new requirements for travel to the USA after January 12, 2009, with passengers needing to receive electronic travel authorisation prior to boarding a US-bound plane.
Travel Doctor - this site offers updates on health problems around the world, health fact sheets for each country and outlines vaccinations recommended for your journey.
Smarttraveller – This Australian Government site provides up-to-date travel warnings, security advice and safety tips for every country in the world. The site currently warns against travel to nine nations – Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe and asks travellers to reconsider travel to another 16 countries including East Timor and Indonesia (including Bali) because of the risk of terrorist attacks. The site also warns about travel and internet scams and appropriate behaviour (refrain from eating, drinking and smoking in daytime) during the coming Islamic holy month of Ramadan from September 2 to October 1, 2008.
Weather Channel – predicts the weather you can expect when you land, which helps with the packing.
Established in 1991, Direct Flights International is a leading Australian online travel agent offering a fast and easy-to-use method of booking low-cost flights and holiday packages in Australia and around the world. Travellers can pair flights with more than 45,000 hotels, 3000 car rental locations, hundreds of rail trips and tours and attractions in more than 300 destinations across the globe. And seven convenient online and offline methods of payment are provided, with credit cards just one option.
Media contact:
Andrew Mevissen,
Peak PR,
0431 883 057 or: amev ( @ ) bigpond dot net.au
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