Tourism Solomons wants to see more New Zealand product managers at its annual trade show next year.

Job seekers in the travel sector should avoid limiting themselves to a particular role or position, says Alisa Wilson, senior recruitment consultant with TMS Talent.

Giving agents and brokers ‘the path of least resistance to achieving their goals and growing their business is a key to being successful as an industry representative, says ‘multi rep’ Mark Richardson.

Mobile technology and the desire for business travellers to have control (and immediacy) over their own arrangements presents both challenges and opportunities for the corporate travel management sector, says Jamie Gray of Gilpin Travel.

About 80% of people applying for jobs in the travel and tourism sectors are actually more qualified than they realise, and are not reflecting their true worth on their CV, according to a recruitment specialist.

Do the complicated stuff and charge well for it – that’s one of the keys to success according to experienced travel designer David Moss, of YOU Whangarei.

From 1 July, New Zealand Travel Brokers will join the Helloworld network as an Associate Member.

House of Travel’s ‘Better Bucket List’ digital campaign has received thousands of entries since its launch on Sunday, 2 June with trending destinations including the Greek Islands, Italy and USA – including New York, Chicago and LA.

New tools for travel designers were amongst the announcements by Visit Orlando this week, along with hotel and attraction openings and the revealing of record visitor numbers.

With leisure travel at an all time high, and experiential travel being a strong motivator, travel agents were able to hear more about Marriott’s experiential rewards programme, Marriott Bonvoy, at the At Marriott event in Auckland recently.
Marriott International’s Ramesh Daryanani, VP global sales Asia Pacific, says the big trend that is inspiring families, couples and individuals to travel is experiences. ‘What we have done with Bonvoy is to make it more than just a hotel programme. We are making it more experiential where people can attend once-in-a-life-time experiences, for example, attending the Hong Kong Sevens in a suite,’ he says.

Taking the frustration (and sometimes even fear) out of booking transfers for both the trade and their clients is
the main goal of Ugo Transfers.com, says founder and CEO Brad Wicks.

Sixty five percent of respondents in a Sabre Corporate Travel Survey say that premium economy continues to gain ground in the region.
One travel manager in three has recorded an increase of close to 5% in premium economy bookings over the last year. As travel-related expenses become a central consideration for companies, the survey also reveals that downgrades, shifting reservations from business to economy class, account for close

TMS Talent Candidates have on average six to 15 seconds to get their CV noticed by a recruiter or potential employer when applying for a new role.

Frustration with South Africa’s visa dispensation system has been expressed from the highest levels of the country’s government during Africa’s Travel Indaba last week.

Tom Manwaring CEO / director at Express Travel Group (ETG) says the company did not enter into negotiations with First Travel Group on the basis that ‘X, Y and Z members’ would agree.

New Zealand’s tourism planning has in part been based on inaccurate and unreliable forecasting and it is now time for a dose of realism, a hotel conference in Auckland heard this week.

Embracing the research that clients do online but the taking the core information and ‘decluttering it’ to make a tailored experience is a major key to success for the modern day travel designer, according to a double TAANZ National Travel Industry Awards winner.

Making customers feel like they are on holiday as soon as they walk in the shop is part of the formula to keep loyal clients, says an industry stalwart who retires this week after 50 years in travel.

Travel management companies, plus hospitality and transport providers, have been urged to embrace cloud-based apps and recognise how essential connectivity has become for corporate travellers.

The growth and development of modern luxury, plus identifying a need to service the sector in a dedicated way, are key reasons for the formation of Our Luxe, according to creator of the Our World sub-brand Lindy Christian.

Women traveling solo continue to present huge opportunities to the travel trade, according to Caryn Young, head of operations at Adventure World in New Zealand.

New Caledonia has launched a new microsite showcasing its adventure, cultural and foodie experiences.

By Belinda Peddie, TMS Talent

Career coaching, is not just another fancy buzz word. In reality it’s something that could give tourism and travel professionals the edge needed to take their career to the next level, according to the Auckland-based recruitment team manager at a leading staffing agency.

Group travel to Asia is continuing to be strong out of New Zealand, driven particularly by Indonesia / Bali programmes, according to a leisure and incentive destination management company that held a trade function at White and Wongs, Auckland last week.

Travel business owners who have put in the hard yards are being rewarded with good prices when selling in the current market, according to an Auckland based accountant who specialises in the industry.
Paul Davies of TA Accounting Limited says there is a lot of buying, selling and merging activity going on right now and a number of travel business owners are taking advantage.
‘Businesses where owners have been working on them for a few years and are profitable are commanding a good price,’ he says.

Now is an ideal time for people to consider a career move into travel consulting, as well as for existing travel consultants to look for new opportunities, according to the head of a leading travel and hospitality recruitment agency.
John Terry, group managing director TMS Talent, says the New Zealand travel job scene is a ‘candidate short market’ right across the country.

Travel business owners who have put in the hard yards are being rewarded with good prices when selling in the current market, according to an Auckland based accountant who specialises in the industry.

Brokers who effectively tell their story and highlight their points of difference will reap the rewards in business, delegates at a major conference in Taupo were told over the weekend.

Seasonal and regional dispersal remain the biggest challenges faced by our mushrooming tourism industry.

Airport IT spend is planned to rise this year, reaching 5.69% of revenues in 2018, and it’s poised to increase further in 2019, according to the latest SITA annual report.

A new company dedicated to assisting the NZ tourism industry with its current and future skills and talent shortage is being launched this month.

Orton International and Fathom Asia (part of the Francis Travel Marketing Group of companies) are now offering 11% commission on all tailor-made packages to all their featured destinations.

Travel related merchandise provides potential for agents to add to their margins, according to the owner of an online luggage and accessories outlet.

To sell New Zealand as a year round destination, the tourism industry should avoid the word winter, says Nathan Farmer of Big Picture.

While New Zealand’s distance from many international markets is often a major focus, it is Australia’s proximity that can present its own challenges, the CAPA New Zealand Summit was told.

Industry observers and commentators say it is inevitable that low cost airline Tigerair will be put on trans Tasman routes once the Air New Zealand – Virgin Australia relationship ends later this month.

Attracting young people to work in a business is far easier than keeping them there long, the audience at the TAANZ Summit heard last week.

G Adventures has launched a collection of tours dedicated to wellness and adventure featuring trips in 10 destinations.

Embrace ‘radical flexibility’ – that was the advice to travel industry leaders at the TAANZ summit this week, in a panel presentation entitled Future of Work.

A focus on employing locals and supporting communities and environment are a major part of Asia DMC’s activities in Burma, a visitor from the company has been telling New Zealand agents over the past week.

Playing ‘pied piper’ is often a successful strategy for travel agents looking to develop a niche and point of difference, says Aaron Russ, director of Wild Earth Travel.

The travel agency sector is seeing increased activity when it comes to interest in business sales and acquisitions, according to an Auckland based accountant who specialises in the industry.

World Resorts of Distinction (WRD) has launched an exclusive agent portal as part of its recent rebrand and updated website.

It was great to see all the winners receive their certificates and trophies at the inaugural Regional Tourism New Zealand Awards on Wednesday night.

Travel agents can turn ‘price driven customers’ into value driven ones, and earn money themselves by being engaged and presenting an experience they would not have thought of themselves, the First Travel Group Conference heard over the weekend.

While customer facing technology plays an important part in the travel business, especially in the corporate sector, the true success of the future is all about touch points with the customer, First Travel Group’s conference at Pullman Auckland heard over the weekend.

The key to a successful business and weathering the ‘AI storm’ is about reducing as much friction as possible, keynote speaker Nigel Latta told the First Travel Group delegates at their conferences over the weekend.

Social media influencers are becoming a lucrative niche for luxury travel agents and signify a new form of corporate travel, says a leading international agent.

Finding out exactly what individual clients want, even when they are travelling with a group, and delivering on it is an essential part of being successful in the luxury sector, according to panellists and speakers at Luxperience in Sydney this week.

The evolution of the trans-Tasman market, including discussion into how the market will evolve now that the Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia partnership has dissolved, will be just one of the topics discussed at the CAPA 2018 New Zealand & Corporate Travel Summit in Auckland on 17 and 18 October.