Every year Earth Hour gets bigger and hopefully 2010 will be the biggest yet.

Earth Hour falls at 8.30pm local time on  March 27th, no matter where you are in the world. So gather your friends and family and switch off the lights and sit in darkness.... or go to a Nomads Hostel and enjoy, amongst other things, live acoustic music by candle-light, glow-stick parties or a nice candle-lit dinner.

For details of how Nomads is supporting Earth Hour 2010 check out http://nomadshostels.com/earthhour

"It is with great pleasure that we can finally reveal to you that NOMADS CAPITAL has been nominated in the 2010 Corporate Events Guide People's Choice Awards, under the category of 'Best Nationwide HOTELS.

The Corporate Events Guide's People's Choice Awards are the most prestigious accolades to win in the New Zealand conference and events industry. 2009 winners were decided by the votes of more than 13,000 people connected in some way to conference and events in New Zealand, almost 400% up on 2008's total of just over 3,400 votes." - Corporate Events Guide

If you've enjoyed your stay at Nomads Capital Backpackers Hostel, Wellington then make sure you click on the image to register your vote!

Image via Wikipedia

If you're heading to Fraser Island and are planning a self drive Fraser Island Tour then you can get yourself 2 FREE nights accommodation at Nomads Hervey Bay Backpackers Hostel.

For only $150 you get your Mad Fraser Island Tour and the 2 free nights accommodation.

See http://frasermyway.com for more details about the offer, the conditions and Mad Fraser Island Tours

See Nomads Hervey Bay Backpackers Hostel for more details about the hostel

Image via Wikipedia

As well announcing the purchase of two backpackers hostels today, Nomads also announced that they will be taking over operational and marketing duties for Koalas Fraser Island Tours. This Fraser Island Tours product will now be known as Mad Fraser Island Tours and all tours depart from the new Nomads Hervey Bay Backpackers Hostel (formerly Koala Backpackers Hervey Bay).

To find out more about Mad Fraser Island 4WD Tours visit http://frasermyway.com

The purchase of these two East Coast Hostels makes traveling from Sydney to Cairns or Cairns to Sydney even easier for backpackers, especially those with a Nomads Mad Backpacker Discount Card!

Useful Links to find out more:

• Nomads Hervey Bay Backpackers Hostel - webpage
• Nomads Noosa Backpackers Hostel - webpage
• Destination Hervey Bay - Travel Guide for Hervey Bay
• Destination Noosa - Travel Guide for Noosa
  

Image via Wikipedia

Nomads Byron Bay are pleased to share the news that they are one of Hostelworlds top rated hostels for 2009 and they were even sent the logo to prove it!.

Nomads Byron Bay is a purpose built hostel that opened earlier this year and hostelworld customers have rated the hostel at an average of over 80% for 2009. Facilities at Nomads Byron Bay Backpackers include a rooftop spa and a cinema lounge in addition to all the facilities a backpacker expects such as a communal kitchen, internet etc.

Last month Nomads Byron Bay was voted the Best Hostel in NSW at this years Golden Backpack Awards run by TNT.

Come and stay at Nomads Byron Bay Backpackers Hostel and see if you agree with the top rating backpackers have given this hostel.

Nomads newest addition to their website is a free resource for anyone who is thinking about how to run a backpackers hostel, or anyone currently within the tourism and hospitality sector who wishes to gain further knowledge to help improve their business practices.

http://nomadshostels.com/biz

Nomads has been in the tourism business for over 20 years and the aim of this is for the backpacking sector of the travel and tourism industry to collaborate and work together so that backpacking may become a viable option for travellers who may not have considered backpackers hostels as a place to stay before.

Nomads will be regularly blogging their operational procedures, checklists, HR procedures, marketing ideas and even their opinion on the industry as a whole.

Read the media release about Nomads opening up its intellectual property

Read more about why Nomads has launched its Knowledge and Learning Centre for the tourism industry

Check out the Auckland Destination Guide which has comprehensive information on local attractions such as Piha Black Sand Beach and Aucklands popular Whale and Dolphin Safari.

The Destination Guide will be updated regularly with more destinations being added and more attractions and activities being described. You can even learn a bit about the history of your chosen destination. 

Nomads Queenstown opened in August 2009 and is a popular choice for backpackers heading to New Zealands extreme sports capital city of Queenstown.

Nomads Queenstown Backpackers is currently rated at 92% on hostelworld.com, this high rating on hostelworld is based on 101 reviews left by some of the backpackers who have spent some time in the hostel.

Backpackers rate the hostels under the following criteria: Character, Security, Location, Staff, Fun and Cleanliness.

"This was so amazing, I've never had more fun in a hostel in my life! The staff were very helpful and infomative, and every night they had the best activities you could join in. Awesome way of meeting new people and just having an amazing time in general. It was a blast...thanks guys for an amazing experience. I would of stayed longer if I could!" Sky, Canada, stayed 29/10/09

Read more Nomads Queenstown reviews on hostelworld.

The Golden Backpack Awards are Australia and New Zealand’s only dedicated awards program for the independent travel sector, winners were announced at a gala dinner in Sydney this week.

Backpackers voted for their favourite hostel, tour and backpacker night in every State and Territory in Australia and across the Tasman. National awards recognised tour operators, transport providers and hostel booking engines while the general category saw awards for best travel agent, recruitment service and training provider. Awards were also presented for innovation and outstanding achievement in the industry.

More than 40,000 votes were cast and the winners revealed on November 5 at a gala dinner hosted by AFL legend and red meat campaigner Sam Kekovich.

"We are all very proud of the property and ecstatic that we have the been given the thumbs up from our guests. We had faith in our product, but it's always good to beat out our Sydney competitors" says assistant manager Mick Vasquez.

Nomads Byron Bay opened in March 09 and is the second hostel in Byron Bay for Nomads. The high spec of the property has set new standards for backpacking in Australia and is an instant favourite for all those who stay there.

The awards were sponsored by Tourism New South Wales, Backpacking Queensland, Tourism Victoria, The South Australian Tourism Commission, Tourism Western Australia, WorldNomads.com, Sleepmaker, Tiger Airways, Taxback, St George Bank, The Adventure Travel Trade Association, The Adventure Travel and Backpackers Expo, Backpacker Trade News, TNT Magazine and Thumbrella.com.au.

Media Enquiries:

Peggy O'Neil

Regional Operations Manager, Nomads

e: peggy@nomadsworld.com

p: 0438272343

web: http://nomadshostels.com