While half the Topdeck team was partying away at the Asia Pacific staff conference, the other half was back in Sydney having their own little celebratory moment after being named the ‘Best Tour Operator – International’.
The tour operator received the honour at the NTIA Gala Dinner where Regional Manager of APAC, Ben Ittensohn, admits things “got a little bit crazy”.
“It was such a great atmosphere and it meant something to each and every person in that room, regardless of the department that they work in,” he explained.
Read more of what Ittensohn had to say below:
What does winning this award mean to you and the business?
Thank you AFTA for awarding Topdeck as the Best Tour Operator – International! Funnily enough, most of the Topdeck team were together at our annual Asia Pacific staff conference being held on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday when we won. We were all dressed up representing the countries we visit all over the globe, so it was very fitting to win the international category! Everyone was buzzing and needless to say things got a little bit crazy when we found out about the win. It was such a great atmosphere and it meant something to each and every person in that room, regardless of the department that they work in.
From our Trip Leaders and Crew on the road to our Customer Service Team making the bookings, this award has been celebrated in the team and every single person matters in delivering amazing travel experiences to our customers. It is great to be recognised in this category, as we are often touching the lives of first time travellers. We take so much pride in what we do and how we deliver our product to our customers every day. The award is an incredible acknowledgment of the combined efforts of the team and solidifies why we do what we do.
We are also so delighted to the recognised as winners in a category with some really phenomenal brands and I think it really shows that Topdeck is here as a key player in the tour operator space. We have been finalists in this category for the last two years, and finalists in the Best Tour Operator – Domestic for the last four years and are truly grateful to take a win home this year! Congratulations to all other finalists, it was such a pleasure for Topdeck to be recognised amongst such highly regarded businesses.
What was it do you think that helped you win this year?
Growth has been a really key element in our success over the last year. We have seen some amazing growth in our international programs with stands out like Asia having 149% growth YOY. Destinations such as the Middle East and Africa saw double-digit growth, as well as our largest product Europe seeing significant growth which we are incredibly proud of here at Topdeck.
Our people in the business have also seen massive investment this year with the business focusing on people, teams and professional development. We have also seen a lot of really great social investment with Topdeck’s involvement in programs such as CareerTrackers which involves bringing indigenous students into the workplace and preparing them for their professional careers. We have also been involved in initiatives such as the ‘Polished Man’ campaign which has been extremely rewarding for our staff.
Our customer has also been something that we have focused on tremendously over the last year, and we’ve been seeing incredibly high Net Promoter Scores. From investment in research and conducting focus groups we are certainly taking on the feedback of our customers to make sure we are delivering life-changing travel experiences. Check out our new North America brochure which has been re-designed off the back of agent and customer feedback.
Investment with our trade partners from marketing campaigns to tailoring programs designed to increase share of the youth market has been a pivotal focus for our business. We have also placed an emphasis on implementing true business partnerships with our trade partners and having our BDMs focus on having business plans for individual stores.
How do you think the year ahead is looking so far?
This year has started out incredibly strong. Our forward sales for Europe at the time of the year have never looked so good, and pre-release sales for next year’s season are at a record high. We will also be launching an unbelievably hot deal for last minute 2017 Europe departures next week – watch this space!
We have also launched a digital and Out of Home brand campaign called “Topdeck Took Me” which is currently taking over metro billboards and buses in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney over the coming months. The campaign features imagery from travellers showcasing where Topdeck has taken them all over the globe. We are aiming to demonstrate the voice of our passengers with this fun and inspiring campaign. By making use of user-generated content, we actually get to showcase the real-life, amazing travel experiences that we provide to our customers every day.
Do you have any award-winning tips you’d like to share to inspire other businesses to greatness?
Something that I found paramount before presenting our case study to AFTA was to engage every single department and key people within our business to make sure absolutely everything for the qualifying period was being captured. Every single person in our business is pivotal to our success and how we deliver life-changing travel experiences all over the globe every single day of the year.
Showcasing our innovative campaigns with trade partners and as a brand, as well as outlining our five-year business plan to AFTA was a great way to highlight the avenues our business is taking.
It is also really important to stick to the format which AFTA provide to make sure you address all of the questions.
The most important thing was to have fun with it and it was an awesome opportunity for our business to look back at the year we’ve had and celebrate our success!