The award-winning network welcomes two new recruits in Queensland this month: CJ Travel Experts in Moreton Bay and Townsville-based Jetsetter Travel.
CJ Travel Experts is a new Australian business owned and operated by Carla Jordan, who relocated to Queensland last year from the affluent New Zealand coastal city of Tauranga, where she owns successful retailer CJ & Travel Brokers.
Jordan says the Australian market operates a little differently than New Zealand.
"The brokerage business model is more common across the ditch," she says. “It's nice, now that I’m operating as a genuine independent, to be backed by Travellers Choice, which has been amazingly supportive and helpful in getting me established and connecting me with suppliers.”
Jordan is originally from Brazil, and her Tauranga agency has a strong South American focus, which she’s hoping to replicate in Australia.
"I'm looking forward to introducing South America to a lot more Australians."
Stefania Towler, owner of Townsville's Jetsetter Travel, says that the opportunity to work with a high-calibre stable of preferred partners was a major motivation for joining Travellers Choice.
Her agency – a finalist in the 2025 NTIA's Most Outstanding Independent Leisure Travel Agency category – specialises in creating bespoke FIT travel experiences for a client-base that extends well beyond North Queensland to all corners of Australia and even North America.
Towler, who acquired the business seven years ago, says she also identifies with Travellers Choice's members.
"The network includes some of the travel industry's most experienced agents, and the way they operate aligns with my own approach in terms of business practices and values," says Towler. "You can also tell a lot about a group by the quality of the suppliers it works with, and Travellers Choice's preferred partners are among the industry's best."
Also joining the group this month is Melbourne’s Snowsea Cruises, a mobile-based agency catering specifically to Chinese Australian travellers.
Owner Xueying (Snow) Yu launched the company in November 2024, drawing on her experience working as a front-line consultant for Flight Centre and an onboard crew member for Princess Cruises.
Marketing largely through Chinese social networking and e-commerce platforms, the company now employs two experienced consultants in Melbourne, and a third in Europe, who specialises in river cruises.
Yu says the key benefits Travellers Choice offers her business also centre around relationships.
"As an independent niche operator, it can be hard to connect with suppliers, but as a Travellers Choice member I am now developing trusted and supportive relationships with preferred partners," says Yu. "At the same time, I'm looking forward to sharing experiences and insights with our group’s other home-based agents."
One of those home-based businesses, Perth-based Byford Travel Agent, also joined the group this month.
The full-service travel agency’s owner, Jessica Jamieson, has more than 14 years’ travel industry experience, including eight years with American Express Global Business Travel in Western Australia.
She says her customers are primarily leisure, and she has a strong focus on "bringing affordability back into quality family holidays.
"As an independent operator Travellers Choice allows me to do my own thing while provided all the support I need in the background," says Jamieson.
"The fact that the Travellers Choice team builds and manages my website and looks after my digital marketing activity is a real highlight because it frees me up to deliver my customers the best possible service."
Travellers Choice member shareholders will meet in Melbourne next month for the Company’s Annual General Meeting, which will immediately precede the network’s 2025 Conference. The three-day event will offer panel discussions, networking sessions and a range of keynote speakers, along with a Preferred Supplier Exhibition and the Travellers Choice National Awards Gala Dinner.