Travellers Choice is expanding its network in Queensland and Victoria with the addition of two new members, each looking to position their independent businesses for strong post-COVID growth.
Established 20 years ago in the leafy Brisbane suburb of Paddington, Travel Masterpiece specialises in offering high-end leisure products – including small-groups tours and cruises – to a sophisticated clientele.
Owner Julie Cleary says the past year has provided her with an opportunity to “step back and look at my business holistically.
“It’s not just about ironing out operational inefficiencies, it’s about ensuring my company is heading in the right direction and my overall strategy is aligned to my goals,” Cleary says. “Ultimately, I want to be more in control and proactive, rather than constantly reacting to other forces in the market.
“As part of that process I decided that Travellers Choice offers me product, technology and marketing support that is of real value and will help re-position my business where I want it to be post-COVID.”
Travellers Choice’s newest member in Victoria is Linda Foster, who over the past year has attracted praise for her advocacy work on behalf of travel agents, including her most recent effort – in partnership with the Australian Federation of Travel Agents – to encourage Australians to get vaccinated in order to be
travel-ready.
Foster launched her home-based agency, TravLin Travel, in 2016 on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. She says her decision to join Travellers Choice reflected a desire to be part of a network that could deliver scalable support to independent agents.
“Time constraints could be an issue for me after the limitations of COVID have passed, however, as a Travellers Choice member I now have the option of outsourcing key tasks, such as the management of my website and/or social media channels to the marketing team,” she says. “I can also call for additional marketing support when required.”
Foster says she was also attracted to Travellers Choice’s revolutionary online booking platform TC One, which provides members with a single interface through which they can search and book unrivalled rates at more than 1.5 million properties and 200,000 attractions and activities.
“TC One gives me access to products and technology that enable me to compete with online travel platforms, while maintaining that all important human travel advisor connection.
“Overall, I have the comfort and flexibility to be able to pick and choose the products and services I need to take my business to a new level.”
