Virtuoso has announced the appointment of travel industry leader and mentor Fiona Dalton to the role of General Manager, Australia-New Zealand. The move comes after Dalton stepped in to offer resourcing support to the regional operations team over the last 12 months.
Virtuoso said Dalton’s elevation to general manager comes as the industry is looking to rebuild itself in the wake of the global pandemic.
Ms Dalton will be tapping into her business acumen and expansive skillset covering general and financial management, sales generation, and marketing as she now turns her attention toward strategic partnerships.
Her objective will be to expand Virtuoso’s global network of travel agency members and preferred travel providers while elevating the group’s brand awareness and preference amongst affluent consumers.
The appointment represents the latest in targeted global hires for Virtuoso, which last year announced new general managers in Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean as well as Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“As we prepare for travel to recover, Virtuoso is continuing to invest in our international markets,” said Virtuoso Senior Vice President of Global Operations Michael Londregan.
“The appointment of Fiona Dalton to the General Manager, Australia-New Zealand role is fundamental to ensuring that we have experts in each market to tailor our Virtuoso value proposition to our market for the benefit of our agency members and supply partners. Fiona brings a wealth of market experience to the role and has an extensive understanding of the Virtuoso community, has been a preferred partner in previous roles.”
Dalton brings deep market knowledge and over 30 years of industry experience across corporate and leisure travel sectors.
Her previous executive positions included CEO of The Travel Corporation Australia, managing director at Uniworld Boutique River Cruises in Australia, general manager, sales for Qantas Holidays and its associated brands in helloworld, and associate director, Global Travel and Supplier Relations for Macquarie Group.
She has led large-scale business transformations and strategic sourcing projects, positioned businesses for turnaround and sustained growth, and developed and re-engineered business processes to support change management in the tourism sector.
Most recently, Ms Dalton served as a strategic business consultant to tourism businesses, with a key focus on luxury.
As part of Virtuoso’s global team, Dalton will continue reporting to Londregan, who remains based in Sydney.