Karryon has joined a wealth of Australian travel industry professionals for Express Travel Group’s (ETG) annual conference, Xchange, which is taking place this year in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Follow our live blog for all the updates.
Much like the host city, this year’s event is bustling – as hundreds of attendees reconnect, review, learn and look forward to all things travel… and Express Travel Group, of course.
The event also looks a little different this year, as it’s a co-branded conference with First Travel Group (FTG) – and the first since the buyout of Express Travel Group by Helloworld Travel Limited in 2023.
Xchange 2024 promises to be an exciting few days – and Karryon will be bringing you all the action – from the ground. So stay tuned for rolling updates from Vietnam.
Dinner, dancing & dropping the mic
After two big days of conferencing, delegates were able to finally let their hair down at the Gala Awards Dinner, where Express Travel Group and First Travel Group revealed and recognised all the top performers over the past 12 months.
Beyond the award winners, a tonne of other guests walked away with big prizes, thanks to sponsors including Delta Air Lines, Wendy Wu Tours and Viking, among many others.
Appearing on video, celebrity chef Luke Nguyen consulted on the evening’s menu, while a lively band got the dance floor going at the end of the formalities.
During the gala, Fiji was also announced as the host venue of the Xchange conference in 2025.
But enough said… check out some of our images from the gala (and tour) here.
See you in Fiji in 2025!
Exploring Ho Chi Minh
Following the formalities, Xchange 2024attendees took part in their choice of numerous local experiences including cooking lessons, cocktail classes, a river cruise, and a Vespa tour, among many other tours.
Karryon participated in a local ‘cyclo’ tour – think a bicycle rickshaw where the driver rides behind the passenger.
The ride with Xich Lo Sai Gon took guests on a wonderful (and eye-opening) journey through some of the local streets of Saigon, highlighted by a walk through of one of the city’s pretty flower markets and a stop at a Buddhist temple.
Perhaps most remarkable is the fitness of the cyclo drivers, how they’re able to navigate Ho Chi Minh’s incredibly busy roads by pedal, and squeeze into some pretty tight nooks and crannies. Highly recommended for any visitor to Saigon.
Panel of professionals
And what (good) travel agency conference is complete without a panel event with member advisors? This panel comprised Fortis Travel MD Blair Huston, API Travel MD Carmen Patterson, Lifestyle Travel Director Leonie Spencer, YOU Travel & Cruise Ferrymead MD Melissa Landrebe and Pay Later Travel Co-Founder Yannick Darmalingam, with Express Travel Group Sales and Marketing Manager Jason Aghan moderating.
The discussion highlighted the evolving customer preferences post-pandemic, emphasising high-quality experiences and an urgency to travel. The panel also talked about major challenges, including employee retention, as well as the importance of staff motivation, flexible work environments and the need for continuous improvement to adapt to market changes.
Key strategies included leveraging technology for efficiency, maintaining personalised customer service and fostering partnerships. Metrics like customer satisfaction were also crucial.
Free flights!
Xchange title sponsor Singapore Airlines was everywhere during the Express Travel Group conference – whether it was front and centre at the Product Xchange, during the Gala Dinner celebrations, or indeed giving away loads of prizes.
After Singapore Airlines National Agency Sales Manager Matthew Kershaw updated attendees on the carrier’s capacity increases – including brand new flights to London Gatwick and Brussels, increased Brisbane services, the deployment of SQ’s A350 to Cairns and more flights to Adelaide – the airline hosted a giveaway game, in which participants had to guess the port by asking yes/no questions (think celebrity head but with destinations). Simply, be the first to name the port and you’d win a flight there. The eventual winners won return tickets to Paris, Osaka and Phuket. The rest of us had a lot of fun watching. Thanks SQ!
Former Facebook exec inspires
DISRUPTOPIA. That was the name given to the keynote address at Xchange 2024, presented by former Facebook senior executive Stephen Scheeler. And Scheeler’s lived it.
Now founder of the Aussie company The Digital CEO, Scheeler told the audience he’s held some 27 jobs – from golf caddy to TV commentator.
But he’s most well-known for his time at Facebook, where he worked with Mark Zuckerberg (he gave the audience a few insights on the man himself) and led the Australian arm of the business.
Now a proud Australian resident, Scheeler is also the Co-founder and CEO of Omniscient, a “world leader” in using AI to decode the human brain.
With this in mind (pardon the pun), Stephen was well-positioned to give agents some insights into the impact of technology on various industries – including travel – as well as the importance of understanding customer needs.
He also stressed the importance of energy, empathy, and problem-solving in leadership and the need for continuous learning and collaboration with AI.
Winners are grinners
The best of the best in the Express Travel Group family were celebrated at ETG’s Xchange 2024 conference last weekend – and there were a lot of winners.
During the Gala Awards Dinner, which was set in the beautiful ballroom of the Sheraton Saigon Grand Opera Hotel, top travel pros and agencies took home well-deserved awards after a jam-packed and productive conference. Congrats to all the winners.
Check out all the winners in our special report.
Winning and dining
Sponsored by The Travel Corporation, the Chao Mung (Welcome) Function took place at The Deck Restaurant and Cocktail Bar in District 2 of Ho Chi Minh – and after a big day of learning and networking, everyone was ready to unwind at the beautiful riverside venue.
During the 30-minute drive to our destination, the charming local guide on our bus, Nancy, offers a few fun facts about Ho Chi Minh:
- District 2 is where a lot of Vietnam’s celebrities reside.
- You can call the city Ho Chi Minh or Saigon interchangeably. Locals don’t mind and do it themselves.
- Saigon comprises only a small part of the actual greater city of Ho Chi Minh.
- While there are mopeds everywhere in the city, residents call them all Hondas due to it being the most common brand.
- Traffic police wear yellow – and many locals call them Pikachu (after the bright yellow and popular Japanese anime character).
Plenty of prizes
Prizes, prizes and more prizes courtesy of APT, Avalon Waterways, Bench Africa, International Rail, LATAM Airlines, nib, Norwegian Cruise Line, United Airlines and finally, VIVA Holidays and GO Holidays. And this was just round one. Phew… did anyone leave without a prize?
Even a couple of partners picked up awards, with the Supplier People’s Choice Awards giving gongs to the group’s favourite partners, as voted by members. The winners? APT for Express Travel Group’s Aussie agents and Viking for First Travel Group’s Kiwi agents.
Excellent PanelX
The Travel Corporation, Scenic Group and Genesys Creative Systems each gave talks about marketing for travel agencies, including a more personalised approach to client engagement, customer journey mapping and social media planning. They then joined together for a panel discussion diving deeper into the topics.
Scenic Director of Sales and Gency Programs Rob Kalemba said one path to success comes from creating shareable content.
“Shareable content amplifies your reach, turning your followers into brand advocates – and the best way to do that is through things like storytelling,” he said.
Kalemba also touched on user-generated content, which “is a powerful tool for building trust and authenticity… and your guests are doing it all the time”.
“It’s a way to get your clients constantly connecting and sharing their amazing stories with your live audience and really being advocates for your own brand.”
Genesys Creative Systems MD Matthew Spicer said his sole focus is on marketing and content. With that expertise, he had a word of advice for agents.
“If travel agents aren’t being the influencers and creating that influential content somewhere, these ‘Insta-famous’ kids will come along and fill that vacuum, and that’s what they’ve done. It’s a simple thing, so we can be done with all of it, if we just keep you guys doing well.”
Cruise control
To kick off his update on cruising, David Ninham, Sales Manager for wholesaler and ETG brand Creative Cruising, asked how many people in the room are selling holidays at sea. It turns out only one advisor isn’t selling cruises. That shows the power of the cruise market – and how ETG/FTG agents aren’t missing the boat.
Key points included:
- A resurgence of the Aussies cruise market, led by 1.25 million passengers last year – that’s more than the 1.24 million who sailed in 2019. Ninham said that’s particularly impressive considering the gloomy predictions for cruising during the pandemic.
- A 10 per cent capacity increase forecast from 2024 to 2028.
- 89,000 extra cruise ship berths in the next five years.
- An even sharper rise in luxury and expedition cruising.
- A surprising 10 per cent of all cruisers will take a cruise 3-5 times a year.
- The mean age of people who cruise has come down to 45 years. Of particular note, 32.5 per cent of cruisers are now under 35 years.
“I was on a cruise in March, and the number of young cruisers on there made me feel old,” Ninham said. While that’s not great for him personally (sorry, David), it’s good news for the future of cruising – and for those ETG/FTG agents who sell it. And that’s pretty much everyone.
Soaring higher
Express Travel Group GM Data and Analytics Quynh Giang, told attendees that air capacity growth hasn’t slowed in 2024, especially in markets that are still reaching maturity – particularly in Asia and China.
“There’s also more capacity in Europe and North America, mature markets that continue to show year-on-year, consumer growth,” he said.
On airfares, Giang said that prices had fallen in 2024, especially in the first quarter. Year-on-year, the market has seen a nearly five per cent drop in fares, Giang remarked. With Bali booming, Indonesia leads the decrease with a large 21 per cent drop.
Giang also talked tech. The Express ticketing platform, for instance, has become “more complex”, which ultimately results in better outcomes for clients (and makes it easier for members).
In addition, there has been a rise in private fares, net fares and additional commission thanks to the work Express Travel Group has been doing with its more than 50 airline partners. Elsewhere, the group has enhanced its incentive model to drive sales growth.
Representing you
Addressing attendees, the Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) CEO Dean Long spoke about how ATIA went to bat for members and the sector – from “very in-your-face advocacy” to more “soft diplomacy”.
This was led by its push for fairer air travel competition in Australia. Among other initiatives, Long highlighted working closely with Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia on their Trans-Tasman codeshare, which was greenlit on Friday.
Long also spoke of the success of NTIA 2024 – with a record 8,200 votes cast – and the upcoming inaugural Beyond Borders Summit.
Elsewhere, the ATIA boss praised the strength of ATAS membership.
“We reject 25% of businesses who seek to be ATAS-accredited,” he remarked, excluding those who were deterred by application fees.
“So the old saying goes, it’s the fish that John West rejects, that makes them the best. So if you are part of ATAS, be proud.”
Long also flagged how ATIA last year solved 438 complaints for members.
“So make sure when something does go wrong, give us a call.”
Food pho thought
“This is the best buffet I’ve ever seen at a conference,” one Xchange participant – with a lot of conference experience – tells me during lunch at Xchange 2024.
Food is one of the big drivers of travel (as pointed out earlier in the day – see below!) and Vietnamese food – be it pho, banh mi or rice paper rolls – is high on many Aussies’ radars.
It’s no different here, where fuel for the conference has gone down like a Dừa Tươi (fresh coconut) or Nước Mía (sugar cane juice).
I think everyone’s already looking forward to breakfast. Thanks ETG and bravo Saigon Cafe at the Sheraton Grand Opera Hotel.
Product playground
After Express Travel Group CEO Tom Manwaring and Helloworld Managing Director Andrew Burnes AO welcomed guests and gave business updates (to which media did not have access), agents and suppliers met for the conference’s Product Xchange.
Preferred partners were spread across multiple rooms, but that didn’t stop plenty of networking from taking place. There were no appointments. Just high-quality meetings.
Partners comprised airlines (including Air New Zealand, Qantas, Delta Air Lines and Singapore Airlines), cruise companies (like Norwegian Cruise Line, Viking, Royal Caribbean and Scenic), tour operators (including Collette, Wendy Wu, TTC and Globus), travel technology firms and travel insurance companies, to name but a few.
A gold medal start
Kicking off proceedings at this year’s conference is MC and Olympic gold medallist Brooke Hanson OAM – apt given the recent Paris Games as well as Express Travel Group’s own lofty ambitions.
“I want you to look at the person next to you. Give them a big smile. Now, I want you to say – what is that number one thing that you love about travel?” she said, opening the event.
Among the shared responses were the food, the people and the culture. I’d dare add that ETG itself was among the replies.
“We know that we’ve been through so much, and I think that’s why I was excited about hosting this conference – that it is about ‘simplify and thrive’,” Hanson added.
“If you love this industry, and you all do, just continue to do it; continue to shine every single day.”
Opening night
Before the ‘Welcome’ function on Friday night, there was the ‘Hello’ function. Confused? Don’t be. There’s simply too much warmth and excitement here to cover in just one opening event.
Sponsored by Air New Zealand, the Xin Chao (Hello) Function brought together members, partners and the ETG/FTG teams in a warm and relaxed atmosphere, taking over the entire level 23 of the Sheraton Grand Opera Hotel, the venue for this year’s conference.
Speaking to Karryon after addressing the crowd, Air New Zealand BDM Nick Lewis (winner of Most Outstanding Sales Executive – Air at NTIA 2023) said the carrier was thrilled to be involved in the event.
Given many of the participants haven’t seen each other for a year, I’d say there are plenty of others equally pumped for Xchange 2024.
Karryon is a guest of Express Travel Group. For more information on ETG, click here.
All images Mark Harada / Karryon.
