Travel Counsellors’ managing director, Kaylene Shuttlewood, and 20 Travel Counsellors and members of the Melbourne support team, joined over 2,000 Travel Counsellors, business leaders, support team members and supplier partners from around the world at the annual global conference in Manchester, England – themed ’25 years of Moments that Matter’ – celebrating the company’s 25th anniversary.
“It was a real privilege to have spent time in Manchester to attend this conference with the Aussie TC’s. By providing the platform that enables travel entrepreneurs to run their business wherever they are in the world, Travel Counsellors can travel without disrupting their business,” Ms Shuttlewood said. “While some TC’s have taken time out to attend this conference, others continue to run their business as usual while travelling.”
By day, conference sessions were filled with speakers from across the business, and high profile guests including wildlife filmmaker Dr Chadden Hunter, boxing champion Nicola Adams, coffee entrepreneur Sahar Hashimi and adventure man Bear Grylls.
“Our conference theme this year celebrated the special moments we create for our Travel Counsellors and customers, with a clear focus on the future as we continue to strive to provide the best levels of support for our business owners, who in turn provide exceptional booking and travel experiences for their customers,” said Steve Byrne, ceo at Travel Counsellors. “We are constantly progressing our tools and support through increased investment in our technology platform, commitments to better sustainability and bringing our talented community of travel business owners together to share their expertise. An extremely special community spanning seven countries has been created at Travel Counsellors for 25 years, and we are committed to supporting the continued growth of our leisure and corporate travel business owners for years to come.”
Throughout the weekend, delegates were entertained by world class acts including Vernon Kay, Dara O’Briain, Only Men Aloud, Belle Voce, Paloma Faith and Gary Barlow. On Saturday evening, the memorable Gala Awards celebrated the world’s best, with four Australian Travel Counsellors recognised on the global stage as finalists for Australia’s Top Performing Travel Counsellor.
Following the conference, eight Travel Counsellors joined Supplier Relations Manager Megan Larsen-Smith and Globus to experience the highlights of the North of Ireland.
Representing Travel Counsellors Australia (L-R) Marnie Pugsley, Lucinda Winton, Glenda Carter, Vivienne Smith, Kerryn Murphy, Tracy Dodsworth, Laurie Heaton, Rebecca May, Steph Harberger, Katie Heaton, Shane Earnshaw, Kerrie Croft, Cheryl Andrews, Nadine Kutz, Susan Burns, Clare Hardie, Graeme Burns, Bronwyn Weir, Liz Wait, Dean Hickford, Caitlin O’Farrell (Not pictured: Kaylene Shuttlewood, Megan Larsen-Smith)
