They knew every GDS hack, had the best BDMs on speed dial, and could recite net rates from memory. And now many of them are walking away. Industry veterans are stepping back or retiring, making this cohort the largest generation of retirees in our industry’s history. Karryon is stepping up to preserve and share the insight that risks being lost.
Retirement is reshaping the trade. It is creating gaps in knowledge, networks, and culture. These gaps can’t be filled overnight.
And it couldn’t come at a worse time. Global uncertainty is growing: conflict, climate, AI disruption, mounting economic instability, and global market volatility. As the world wobbles, so too does the industry that connects it.
So where is the wisdom now?
The answer is here: in the community we’ve built, the network we’re part of, and the leaders we listen to every day. The stories we tell at Karryon are shaped by the voices that trust us to get it right and the connections that keep the industry moving forward.
“I started Karryon 13 years ago because I believed the travel industry deserved more than headlines; it needed a media platform that captured the true spirit of why we work in travel,” Karryon founder Matt Leedham says.
“After years working in both travel and communications, I saw a gap for something more human and a space that celebrated creativity, community, and connection while also holding the industry to account.
“Karryon was born from a desire to tell better stories, spark meaningful change, and build something that felt not only different but genuinely needed.”
Across airlines, cruising, retail, wholesale, marketing, media and tourism boards, the Karryon team brings nearly 200 years of collective industry experience. It’s this deep well of knowledge that grounds everything we do. Experience shapes how we report, who we talk to, and when we know a story needs to be told.
And despite that experience, we never assume. We stay future-focused, with our finger firmly on the pulse, because we’re connected to our readers, our industry partners, and the conversations that matter most.
In a period of flux, having a source that cuts through the noise, connects the dots, and helps keep the industry aligned is critical.
For 13 years, Karryon has been the place the travel trade turns to for clarity and connection. We support, inform, and connect the travel trade through meaningful stories, purposeful events, and a community that understands what it means to work in travel.
Australia’s most-read travel trade publication, powered by connection
Our commitment to accurate, independent journalism remains the same.
We don’t often talk about being the most-read or highest-ranked, even though we are. Because what matters more is the community we serve. We’re here to listen, to respond, and to reflect the reality of what it means to work in travel today.
There’s a rare opportunity in front of us. The industry is shifting rapidly, and with that comes the chance to rethink how we support one another, how we share knowledge, and how we build something more connected and future-fit. When we collaborate with purpose, the impact ripples far beyond individual roles. That’s the power of working together.
Meet the Karryon team
Matt Leedham
Falling into the travel industry by accident 25 years ago was one of the most serendipitous and rewarding moments of my life. Over the years, this incredible global community has gifted me unforgettable experiences, profound personal growth, and friendships that feel like family.
I truly believe that travel has the power to connect us, to heal us, and to inspire real change, and that’s exactly the kind of purpose that fuels me to proudly represent Karryon every single day.
Dani Tuffield
I’ve spent 30 years in the travel industry and I still get that same spark I felt at the beginning. Travel is life changing, it truly is a slice of magic that provides you with wonder, memories and connections. It can change your mind, your perspective and your path in life. Being a part of this community has given me some of the most unforgettable memories and not just of the places I’ve been but the people I’ve met and the way it’s opened my mind over and over again. What other industry could possibly compare or compete with that?
Carolyn Nightingale
After doing the standard rite of passage at 18, travelling to the UK, working briefly to save money and travelling the continent, my next major trip was an eight-month road trip around the US when I was 25. That trip absolutely sparked my passion for travel.
When I returned home and looked for a job my goal was twofold: get a job in travel and a job with a company car (because I couldn’t afford to buy one). I snagged a job working as a rep with the freight division of Ansett (with a car and travel benefits) and thus started my journey into the airline world. My love of airlines continued by moving across to the passenger side of Ansett (with less money I might add and no car) but it was where my passion was and the industry I loved.
I’ve been in the industry 30+ years (ssshhh) with the benefit of travelling to amazing places around the world. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing!!
Mark Harada
I’ve spent 21 years in travel, six on the ground with Aussie DMCs, and 15 covering the stories that matter to the trade.
I love that this industry is packed with curious, passionate humans who’ll trade tips faster than business cards. The kind who’ll share their favourite backstreet bar or bus route like it’s classified info. They’re generous, they’re joyful, and I love being around them.
I love everything about travel. But mostly, I love the way it sneaks up on you: a stranger who becomes a lifelong friend, a meal you can’t describe but will always remember, a street corner you didn’t mean to find. The human, the animal, the cultural chaos, it all sticks. It all becomes part of your rhythm.
And the beat keeps shifting. Travel’s growing more conscious. Tech is changing how we move. And across the industry, people are adapting, creating, showing up. That’s the story I get to tell every day at Karryon. And honestly, I couldn’t ask for a better soundtrack.
Brooke McRae
I’ve been in the travel industry since 2002, so nearly 25 years of being paid to be an armchair traveller. My first ‘dream’ job was with Scenic, as a graphic designer in the art department, working on brochures and obsessing over maps, itineraries, and cover images. They even let me manage the print budget, trusting me not to blow it all on glossy finishes and spot UV (ah, the nostalgic days of print).
The industry can be chaotic, in the best way. Like the time a colleague answered the phone with, “Hello, Singapore Airlines”, while the Scenic owners were in earshot. In travel, we all move around so much that it’s easy to forget where we work.
Then there was the designer who photoshopped a whale into Lake Louise. Being half-Canadian, I’m still recovering.
A crash course in print at a creative agency in Enmore led me to Leedham Creative, where I worked with Matt as a designer and producer. Qantas Holidays, Travel Indochina, Adventure World… if it was a travel brochure, I probably worked on it.
When Matt launched Karryon, I was lucky enough to be part of the foundation team. And after all these years, I still pinch myself. Creating visually beautiful travel content for the trade is still my dream job.
Elisa Riggio
I’ve been in the travel industry for 19 years. And while travel was the most appealing VET course that went towards my HSC, it wasn’t at all where I thought I’d end up working for so long! My travel plans consisted of visiting family in Italy – that was pretty much it, until I started working in the industry. Now I’ve been to more cities, visited historical landmarks and experienced so many cultures beyond anything I thought I’d ever get to.
I’ve always loved exploring new places and working in travel has since expanded my holiday ‘comfort zone’ in the same way a too-full suitcase pops open!
Kirstie Bedford
I started in the travel industry in 2000, working for Tourism New Zealand – so 25 years ago.
My first taste of travel was bouncing around the backseat of a Holden as a child on the unsealed roads of the Waikato in New Zealand’s North Island, long before wearing seatbelts was compulsory. I still recall the adventure of seeing a new place, and that only grew when I had my first international flight as a six-year-old, courtesy of the generosity of my grandfather, who shouted the family a trip to the USA.
In my 20s, I worked for Tourism New Zealand and traversed the country, managing events like the world premiere of The Lord of The Rings. It was then I started writing travel too, for inflight magazines to start with, and later the country’s national newspaper. A move to Australia led me to editing seven travel magazines, including founding editor of Luxury Escapes magazine, TTC’s magazine Arrived and Tourism Australia’s Connect to Country magazine.
I love to write, but at its core, working in travel has been so much more – it’s been deeply transformational. My richest experiences haven’t been cycling along the French Riviera and zipping around Tuscany on a scooter – although I loved those – but the experiences closest to my heart have been biking with locals on Vietnam’s Cam Kim Island; cooking traditional Sri Lankan dishes in Colombo; drinking sake with a Japanese family in Shikoku; and a Welcome to Country ceremony with Indigenous elders in Broome. Stepping out of my comfort zone, experiencing new cultures, and the way that has opened up my heart and mind to the world are the reasons why I could never leave travel.
Gaya Avery
I didn’t plan on working in travel (especially for over 20 years). But I should have known it was coming for me.
My mum worked in the industry, so travel shaped everything: our calendar, our conversations, even my vocabulary. I learned the phonetic alphabet before I knew what a ‘Quebec’ was. I went on my first famil at seven. I stayed in so many hotels as a kid I’d fold the toilet paper into triangles at home. Once, we even had a coachload of Swedish tourists over for a swim and a sausage sizzle. And back when parking at Sydney Airport was affordable, I’d spend hours collecting trolleys for the 20-cent rebate.
Still, I thought I’d go a different way. I was chasing stories. I didn’t realise the best ones were travelling with me. Some of the most honest writing I’ve ever done was in emails home, trying to make sense of the mess and the magic of the world. Travel scrambles your coordinates. It unteaches you certainty, rewires how you notice things, and makes you question the story you’ve been telling yourself.
Having come from working in NGOs and NFPs, I believed travel was indulgent. Then I lived in places where movement wasn’t guaranteed. And then came COVID, and borders became walls.
That’s when it clicked: travel isn’t a luxury. It’s connection. It bridges the space between cultures, between people, between who we are and who we might become.
And the people in this industry? They’re some of the most open I’ve met. Curious. Humble. Brave enough to keep learning. That openness matters. It’s how we meet the world. And how we let it meet us.
So now you know who we are and what drives us. Like you, we love travel. Because when travel is done with care, connection, and credibility, it does more than move people. It moves the world forward. That’s why we’re here: to help lead that shift. Together in travel.
