Travellers Choice has welcomed two more Victorian members, both drawn to the group by recommendations from fellow independent advisors, following the addition of two new Victorian agencies in March 2026.
Tailored Travel & Cruise in the Melbourne suburb of Keilor East and Bucket List Travel and Cruise in Drysdale on the Bellarine Peninsula have both joined Travellers Choice, each brought into the fold primarily through peer endorsements from existing members.
Both agencies are run by former Flight Centre store managers who launched their own independent businesses in 2019, and both cited a growing need for support amid current global uncertainty as a factor in joining.
Who are the new members
Tailored Travel & Cruise was established in 2019 by Briony Thomas, who spent 15 years with Flight Centre, including 13 years as a store manager, before striking out on her own.
She said the move came after years of working solo left her wanting more backing.
“I decided to start my own company because I was ready for a change and wanted a bit more control over my life and business. I’m very independent, but it can be quite isolating working alone and more recently I felt that I needed better support,” Thomas said.
She was referred to the group by NSW member Michelle Barker of Embark travel, who joined Travellers Choice in January 2025.
“I trust her judgement, and sure enough, even before I officially came on board, it was apparent that there was a genuine care factor. Within a week of joining, I had enjoyed more support than I had in years,” Thomas said.
“It’s nice to know that I can now call on people who don’t just know who I am but are genuinely invested in my success.”
A referral chain across Victoria
Thomas in turn endorsed the group to Julie Edwards, owner of Bucket List Travel and Cruise in Drysdale, 90km southwest of Melbourne.
Edwards followed a similar path to Thomas, launching her agency in 2019 after a long career at Flight Centre that included 16 years as a store manager.
“Working as an independent, I’ve always been quite happy to run my own race. Even during COVID, I didn’t feel I needed a lot of support. But over the last few months, with the Middle East crisis, I have felt that need, and I became very conscious that it was lacking,” she said.
Edwards said a second existing member, Meral Murgoski of Melbourne’s Global Travel & Cruise, which joined Travellers Choice in March 2026 along Mildura Travel & Cruise, also vouched for the group.
“Since then, I’ve been in close contact with my local business development manager and I’ve also experienced the openness and friendliness of fellow members, who have gone out of their way to say ‘hi’. “I’ve had more support in the last two weeks than in the last six years,” Edwards said.
Travellers Choice’s community focus was on show recently when the network gathered more than 50 consultants in Melbourne for its first Frontliners expo and training event since COVID.
KARRYON UNPACKS: Member-to-member referral is one of the strongest recruitment signals a consortium can point to, and this cluster of Victorian sign-ups shows peer trust doing the heavy lifting. For independent advisors weighing whether to join a network, the recurring theme here is business support and community when global disruption bites.
