New year fizzer looms as Sunshine Coast Council scraps fireworks again
By Josh Dye
Sunshine Coast Council angers businesses after again voting not to hold midnight fireworks on New Year's Eve, which reportedly would have cost 36 cents per resident.
Susan had two sips of a pina colada. Hours later, she was in a coma
By Lice Movono and Nick Sas
An Australian tourist who was rushed to hospital after drinking a pina colada at a popular Fiji resort says she is convinced she was "poisoned" by tainted alcohol.
Ghost bookers bring axe down on Victoria's free-camping experiment
By Madeleine Stuchbery
A free camping program panned by tourism operators and plagued by ghost bookings and rubbish dumping is abandoned by the state government.
Free camping 'disaster' dumped by Victorian government
By Madeleine Stuchbery
A free camping program panned by tourism operators and plagued by ghost bookings and rubbish dumping is abandoned by the state government.
Country and opera embrace 'loving, drinking, fighting, and cussing'
By Hannah Walsh and Grace Nakamura
They are two music genres people love to hate — opera and country. But somewhere under a vast outback sky they find a shared audience.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-21/are-you-lonesome-tonight-outback-tour-success/105308088
Farmers transform old silo from 'tin can' into luxury accommodation
Old silos that were once used for storing food are undergoing glamorous transformations to become luxury accommodation, providing new income streams for farmers.
British climber breaks record by scaling Mount Everest for the 19th time
A British mountain guide has scaled Mount Everest for the 19th time, breaking his own record for the most ascents by a non-Sherpa guide.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-19/kenton-cool-breaks-mount-everest-record/105309464
Shopkeeper's high country dreams shattered as lease terminated
By Tavleen Singh
Located in Victoria's high country, Licola General Store is a local institution. But after the current shopkeeper's lease was not renewed, residents are concerned they will lose their social hub.
Rise in after-dark travel drives tourism surge across Australian
By Kristy Sexton-McGrath and Alison Branley
Star-gazing, nude solstice swims and spectacular light shows are part of a growing travel trend known as "noctourism" that's injecting hundreds of millions of dollars into Australia's economy each year.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-17/noctourism-trending-travel-night-tourism-australia/105299762
The Farm at San Benito to reopen as PH’s first Autograph Collection resort
Australia's travel advice for the US has toughened three times since April
By Ben Butler
Between early April and early May, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has changed the language of its travel warnings for the US three times in response to the Trump administration's tougher border stance.
Travel company collapses leaving holiday-makers out of pocket
By Kristy Sexton-McGrath
Holiday-makers have been left thousands of dollars out of pocket — and others stranded overseas — following the collapse of an Australian travel company.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-15/melbourne-travel-company-traveldream-collapse/105296488
Travel company collapses leaving holiday-makers out of pocket
By Kristy Sexton-McGrath
Holiday-makers have been left thousands of dollars out of pocket — and others stranded overseas — following the collapse of an Australian travel company.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-15/melbourne-travel-company-traveldream-collapse/105296488
Australia's travel advice for the US has toughened three times since April
By Ben Butler
Between early April and early May, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has changed the language of its travel warnings for the US three times in response to the Trump administration's tougher border stance.
Whale song stirs tourists' desire to do more for the environment
By Janel Shorthouse
A study has found that experiences of awe — often triggered by hearing whales rather than just seeing them — can inspire intentions to recycle more, reduce waste and support ocean conservation efforts.
Floods transform Channel Country into pelican paradise
By Hannah Walsh
Just add water to the Channel Country and watch it spring to life. It's a silver lining of recent devastating flooding in the outback.
Fight looms over proposed $15m retreat along iconic WA coastal trail
Dozens of locals and several conservation groups push back on plans to build the luxury eco-friendly retreat along the Cape to Cape trail in the state's South West.
Visitors say new fees to access WA blowholes not 'the Aussie way'
By Lina Elsaadi
Locals and tourists say they are disappointed by a plan to charge entry and camping fees at the Carnarvon blowholes in northern WA.
Brisbane secures international show for 75th anniversary celebration
By Will Murray and Jordan Bissell
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is coming exclusively to Brisbane in 2026, as part of the event's 75th anniversary celebrations, with the city's 2032 Olympic and Paralympic hosting bid forming part of the show's attraction to Queensland.
