Who got a new gig this week? Check out this week’s travel industry movers & shakers.
1. New Managing Director appointed for Travelport Japan
Travelport has appointed a seasoned travel industry executive as its new Managing Director for Travelport Japan.
Osamu Tokairin has recently joined the company to lead the expansion of Travelport’s presence in Japan following the announcement of the acquisition of its third party distributor in April.
A well-known leader in the Japan travel industry, Mr. Tokairin has over 25 years of experience working for both regional and global travel companies.
Prior to joining Travelport, he has held various senior level management positions such as CEO of Kuoni Japan, Managing Director for Gulliver’s Travel Agency Japan, and General Manager of Toptour Corporation’s office in LA.
Since the acquisition of Travelport’s third party distributor, Galileo Japan K.K. (GJKK), Yoshinobu Aoyama, Director and General Manager, had been leading the successful integration of GJKK into Travelport Japan. After servicing GJKK for almost 30 years, Mr. Aoyama will be retiring this month.
2. Trafalgar announces internal promotion to the role of Manager, Sales & Development
The global leader in guided holidays, Trafalgar, and sister company CostSaver, are excited to announce the internal promotion of Conrad McCall from Senior Sales Manager to the position of Manager, Sales & Development.
Utilising his 12+ years of experience with the brand, Conrad will be working with the Reservations Sales Agents and Sales Managers to ensure Trafalgar is delivering the best service to trade partners.
As a CSP (Consultative Sales Process) ambassador, an integral part of Conrad’s role will involve the implementation of CSP to Sales Managers and Trafalgar’s in-house sales team helping to identify and customise a solution ensuring all trade partners are best equipped to meet and exceed targets in their individual businesses.
Overall, Conrad’s role will ensure the Trafalgar Sales teams are the best in market – informed, confident, committed and driven to succeed – maintaining Trafalgar as the guided holiday of choice.
3. Royal Caribbean completes new look Australasia team
RCL Cruises has appointed Kathryn Valk as Director of Sales & Marketing, Neil Linwood as Director of Operations and Melinda Ryan as Head of Revenue & Planning, completing the new-look leadership team for Australia’s fastest-growing cruise company.
These senior appointments follow the appointment of Adam Armstrong to Managing Director earlier this year whilst Gavin Smith was promoted to Senior Vice President International.
Kathryn Valk joined the company earlier this month and leads the Marketing and Sales functions in Australia & New Zealand.
She brings a wealth of experience from her previous position as Executive General Manager of Marketing & Sales with Ardent Leisure Group’s theme park and attractions division, comprising Dreamworld, Whitewater World and the Skypoint brands.
Kathryn has also previously held the position of General Manager at both Creata, a global brand activation company working with McDonalds, Shell, Virgin and Kellogg’s, and Build-A-Bear Workshop Australia.
Neil Linwood joins with significant cruise industry experience including his most recent role as Managing Director of CLIA Australasia. With over 25 years of experience in a range of industries, previous roles include Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President Strategic Development at Carnival Australia as well as senior positions with Pepsi and Hilton International. His new portfolio includes responsibility for Port Operations and Customer Services.
Melinda Ryan has been promoted to Head of Revenue Management & Planning Asia Pacific, rounding out the new commercial team.
Mel established Royal Caribbean’s Australian revenue team when the office opened in 2009, and now steps into an expanded tri-branded role which includes Celebrity and Azamara, managing deployment, revenue planning and air planning. Before joining RCL, Mel worked in revenue management roles for a number of international hotels.
4. American Express Global Business Travel announces new CEO
American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) announced Doug Anderson joins the company as CEO, effective immediately.
With more than 30 years of global management experience, Doug takes the helm of GBT to accelerate the organisation’s strong growth trajectory.
“Now more than ever, GBT is an innovator in travel management and a company that is forging the way toward a new definition of business travel,” said Doug Anderson.
“With new technology offerings and the opportunity to continue to expand GBT’s footprint, the company is on a clear path toward unparalleled success. I am honoured to lead the organisation on this journey as we transform business travel.”
Spun from American Express just over two years ago, GBT has effectively leveraged a customer-centric approach while making new investments in technology, insights, and product.
5. Hawai’i’s first Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton names GM & Director of Sales
Aqua-Aston Hospitality and DeBartolo Development have announced Wade Gesteuyala as general manager and Leslie Cho as director of sales of Hawai‘i’s first Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton, which is currently under construction in the city of Kapolei on the island of O‘ahu.
The 175-room hotel is scheduled to open this fall and is owned by Ka Makana Ali‘i Hotel LLC and managed by Aqua-Aston Hospitality. The hotel will be the only focused-service hotel offering budget friendly, quality accommodations with Hilton Honors program benefits, free hot breakfast and free Wi-Fi in West O‘ahu.
Located within the new Ka Makana Ali’I shopping center, the hotel is one of the highlights of the 1.4 million-square-foot development that will include more than 150 exciting shopping, dining and entertainment offerings, and LEED-certified office space.
As general manager, Gesteuyala will lead all aspects of hotel operations, including guest services and satisfaction, hotel administration and overseeing marketing efforts. Previously, he served as the general manager of Hawai‘i Prince Hotel Waikiki and has two decades of industry experience.
Cho, as director of sales, will be responsible for the development and implementation of strategic sales plans for the hotel. Prior to this position, she was manager at Ala Moana Hotel and has accumulated more than 25 years of hospitality experience with various hotel brands.
6. VisitBritain appoints Australia country manager to drive tourism to UK
VisitBritain has appointed David Nye as its country manager in Australia.
In this new role Mr Nye will lead the consumer and business-to-business marketing strategy to grow outbound tourism from Australia to Britain.
Australia is a £1 billion market for Britain and its fourth most valuable, delivering more than one million visits annually. Earlier this year Australia was selected as one of Britain’s seven GREAT tourism markets.
VisitBritain’s marketing investment in Australia, including co-funded partnerships, has this year increased almost 60 per cent to more than A$2.7 million.
Mr Nye will also build VisitBritain’s commercial partnerships with the travel industry in Australia and international airlines to increase access to the UK’s regions. He will work closely with the travel industry on business-to-business marketing and to promote Britain’s tourism offer at national trade events.