Kiwi consultants will have more Australian tourism products to work with following Journey Beyond’s completed acquisition of Kelsian Group’s tourism businesses across the country.
The deal adds a sizeable collection of cruises, resorts, sightseeing tours and marine experiences to Journey Beyond’s existing rail, cruise and accommodation portfolio.
. . . Captain Cook
In Sydney, the new additions include Captain Cook Cruises, The Jackson and the Starship Group, covering a range of harbour cruises and experiences.
The well-known Murray Princess paddle-wheeler and Adelaide Sightseeing are now part of the portfolio in South Australia, while Western Australia brings in Captain Cook Cruises Perth, Swan Valley Tours and Bells Functions.
. . . In Queensland
Queensland is a major part of the expansion, with Kingfisher Bay Resort, K’gari Beach Resort and K’gari Explorer Tours joining the group on K’gari (Fraser Island). The acquisition also includes Red Cat Adventures and Whitsunday Jetski Tours, adds Journey Beyond.
. . . New Branding
Several former SeaLink operations will trade under the new Island Connections brand. These include services in the Whitsundays, K’gari and Tasmania’s Bruny Island, plus Northern Territory routes to the Tiwi Islands, Darwin-Mandorah and Groote Eylandt. The expanded line-up pro vides more opportunities to combine Journey Beyond experiences across different regions and trip styles.
Journey Beyond chief executive officer Chris Tallent says the company will retain the individual character of the businesses and destinations as they become part of the wider group.“The [Kelsian Group’s] port folio is highly complementary to our existing experiences and gives our guests even more ways to explore Australia – whether that’s rail to reef, river to resort, or city to sea.”
