BFT

“Travel insurance is much cheaper overseas than here in Australia,” says a Traveller reader. “Most of my family in Europe have a year-round/world-wide travel insurance policy and no age or health restrictions seem to apply. Are we being ripped off here in Oz?”

It’s not hard to find other nationalities who pay less for travel insurance than we do, but ripped off, no. For a UK resident, for example, 43 years old and traveling solo, visiting Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand between April 1-30, 2024, a basic Allianz Bronze travel insurance policy costs $105.

For an Australian of the same age with the same itinerary and dates, the equivalent Allianz Basic policy cost is $174. However, for a US resident the cost of a Basic policy is still higher, $284 if the total trip cost is $6900. If that trip costs $9960, that same Basic policy costs $420.

Even within Europe the cost varies. That’s the same Allianz policy for a month in South-East Asia for which a British resident pays $105 will cost a resident of Germany $347. Gary Ross Hunter, a travel insurance expert at finder.com, says: “There

Cilegon –

A man with the initials SI (52) died after having sex with his date at a hotel in Cilegon, Banten. The man convulsed before finally dying.

The incident occurred on Tuesday (19/3/2024), at 00.30 WIB, at a hotel in Sukmajaya Village, Cilegon. On Monday (18/3), at 23.45 WIB, the man and his female friend with the initials WSA (28) arrived at the hotel for a date.

“According to the statement of witness, WSA (28), at around 23.45 WIB the witness and victim SI (52) arrived at room 04 of the Kalyana Mita Hotel. Next, witness WSA (28) and victim SI (52) had sexual intercourse,” said the Cilegon Police Chief. AKP Choirul Anam.

According to the witness, Anam continued, the two of them then had sex for the second time. However, after having sex the second time, the man experienced convulsions and became unconscious.

“After serving the victim twice, at around 00.30 WIB, the victim SI (52) experienced a seizure and became unconscious. Then witness WSA (28) asked his colleague for help, after the witness saw the victim was still having a seizure, the witness reported to the hotel management,” he said.

For many, “travel agent” sounds like an anachronistic job title, conjuring images of shoulder pads and strip malls, corded telephones and desktop computers with cathode-ray tube monitors. Indeed, ever since the advent of online booking, travel industry watchers have been predicting the demise of traditional travel agents. But in reality, travel agencies are still estimated to be a $72 billion industry in the United States alone, and upwards of $450 billion globally. Travel agents haven’t disappeared, many have just swapped the drab offices and chunky monitors for ring lights and smartphones.

Increasingly, influencers have become a new breed of travel agent, helping us decide where to go and what to do when we get there. On TikTok alone, the “travel” hashtag boasts more than 182 billion views. Over on Instagram, 695 million posts bear the same tag. Even search giants like Google are realizing that around 40% of users aged 18-24 are looking to TikTok or Instagram first for inspiration.

All that content is great for general inspiration, but the industry is lacking some crucial infrastructure to make it actionable. Influencers still need an