Last year was a big one for TravelManagers with twelve consecutive months of record sales, reaching a milestone of 550 personal travel managers (PTMs) and launching individual PTM websites.
“These achievements, and many more, come as a direct result of the experience, expertise and passion to deliver excellence for which our people are renowned,” explains Chief Operating Officer, Grant Campbell, who notes that the company’s PTMs have an average industry experience of more than 20 years, with more than half having chalked up at least five years with TravelManagers.
Recognising that investing in their people reaps great rewards both for the individuals and for the company, TravelManagers focused considerable attention on personal and professional development throughout 2018.
Last year saw TravelManagers take part in nine dedicated airline product and fares days and six dedicated cruise training days. In addition to this were 258 webinars, run by the National Partnership Office (NPO), providing updates on a range of topics, both internal and partner supplier-related.
In addition to this, there were 26 specific corporate webinars that were supported by dedicated corporate classroom workshops in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide and at the annual National Conference in Hawaii.
Professional development also included 248 opportunities for worldwide product and destination famils, with 132 PTMs taking part in fifteen famils that were exclusive to TravelManagers.
TravelManagers are constantly seeking ways to enhance the business, looking beyond the status quo to ensure that TravelManagers retains its place as the preferred travel company for its people and its clients.
Accordingly, several new initiatives were announced at the company’s annual National Conference, which was held in Hawaii in August, including a new partnership with Luxury Escapes as their sole home-based network and inaugural retail partner and TravelManagers’ new Network Assistance Program (NAP) is an initiative aimed at supporting its members’ health and well-being.
“Our PTMs can choose their own work hours and location, so it’s important they still have the support and camaraderie they would enjoy in a traditional office environment,” Campbell explains.
“The retail travel environment is not without its stresses and challenges, but NAP is designed to provide PTMs with access to expertise across a wide range of professional services, covering everything from anxiety and anger management to mediation and conflict resolution.”
The 2019 annual national conference has been confirmed for 9-11 August in Perth.