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By James Wilkinson at ITB in Berlin

Ayers Rock Resort is having a flying start to 2014 and particularly so from the incentive market, says Voyages’ Executive General Manager of Sales, Marketing and Distribution, Ray Stone.

Speaking exclusively on camera to Spice and sister magazine HM at ITB in Berlin, Germany, last week (Mar 5), Stone said the property was seeing increased corporate bookings out of Europe, China and the United States, particularly for incentives and groups of between 25 and 50 people.

Stone said interest was up from European markets generally and the company’s chartered flights from Melbourne were proving to be a roaring success with load factors of over 80 per cent.

He also said the upcoming Royal visit in April by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George would also be a significant boost to the property.

To view the exclusive video, click on the YouTube image at the top of the page.

Since speaking to Spice, Jetstar this week launched direct flights to Uluru from Melbourne in a huge boost to Voyages and Ayers Rock Resort.

Jetstar is set to start a four times weekly return service between Melbourne and Ayers Rock Airport (Uluru) from 29 June 2014, while Sydney flights will also move to daily at the same time.

“We know Uluru is one of Australia’s most highly sought after holiday destinations and we’re confident our low fares will help drive tourism growth to the region,” said Jetstar Australia and New Zealand CEO David Hall.

“History has shown we have a great track record of generating new market demand through our low fares and we’re excited about the role we’re playing to strengthen the local tourism industry.

“We’ve seen a lot of international travellers connect on to our existing services from Sydney to Uluru and we’d expect to see this pattern continue from Melbourne.

“This is good news for the Victorian economy as we’re likely to see more international travellers combining a stopover in Melbourne with their visit to Uluru.”

 Spice flew to Berlin with British Airways. BA flies to Berlin via London’s Heathrow Terminal 5, one of the world’s best, and the author recommends flying in Club World (Business Class), which features flat-bed seats, hundreds of hours’ entertainment on demand, a great selection of wine and some of the best meals in the sky. For bookings, visit www.ba.com