Travellers Choice has wrapped a successful conference, its first in Sydney for 25 years. And Karryon was there, offering the only updates from start to finish.
The 2024 conference was themed ‘Travelution’ – but was that a play on evolution or revolution? Why not both?
“Because business, like life itself, is a journey made richer through finding new viewpoints and new methods,” Travellers Choice Chairman Trent Bartlett stated in the lead-up to the event.
17 reasons to smile
Managing Director Christian Hunter gave a positive report on the state of Travellers Choice during his conference address. Probably the most significant result is that the network achieved its biggest profit in its 48-year history in FY24, exceeding the board’s forecasts and expectations.
It was also a result Hunter said “was achieved with 20 per cent fewer people across members’ respective businesses”.
“This is a testament to the resilience, tenacity and creativity of our members in securing incredible volumes of business to ensure that Travellers Choice continues to punch above its weight, even under challenging circumstances, particularly in relation to staffing,” Hunter told delegates at the event, held at the Hilton Sydney.
Equally importantly, Hunter reported that the average financial distribution received by TC members represented almost 10 times the amount invested in membership fees – and a whopping 17 times when broader financial value members receive is included.
“Yes, you heard that right – a seventeen times return on investment. If only my superannuation would perform like that!” he joked.
“As you can imagine, a result like this is exceptional for the group and certainly one of the key measures that we use to assess business performance.”
In addition, Travellers Choice predicts that members onboarded over the last 12 months will increase group Total Transaction Value (TTV) by around 10 per cent, “and this is just the beginning of an exciting growth phase for the group”, the TC boss said.
Fresh talent
Despite the positivity, Travellers Choice members continue to struggle with recruitment issues – a common thread in the travel industry.
According to Hunter, the total number of employees across members’ businesses is still 20 per cent down on 2019 levels, “and the challenge for all businesses has been finding new people”.
“Everyone is looking for experienced staff that simply don’t exist in the numbers needed, and this is where I think we will see a complete reset with a new generation of people joining the sector,” Hunter remarked.
The Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) is going some way to address this with its recently announced gap year initiative for school leavers called the ‘Travel Career Kickstart Training Program’.
Now, Travellers Choice is doing its part. During the conference, Hunter unveiled details of a new scheme called TC ProStart, which is “an extension of our existing TC Pro training programs”.
“TC ProStart is a scheme specifically targeted at new-to-industry consultants – supporting members in bringing new talent into their business but relieving them of some of the training requirements,” he explained.
“TC ProStart operates for a 3-month period and covers travel industry basics, destination training and Travellers Choice specific elements such as TC Hub and our internal preferred supplier partners.”
The aim of TC ProStart is to encourage members to engage new staff, ensure recruits feel supported and motivated, make sure employers want to retain new starters after three months, and to create an environment that can lead to formal qualifications.
And one of the best things about the program? It’s absolutely free of charge for members.
“If the student completes the program, the cost is zero and the program is fully funded by Travellers Choice,” Hunter added.
A greener future
The TC boss also called on members to capitalise on consumers’ growing interest in sustainable and responsible travel.
“The position of independent travel agents in relation to sustainability is an interesting one. The direct carbon footprint of a travel agency business is tiny, yet we are part of a global industry that is responsible for significant carbon emissions,” he said.
“So, my question to members is how conscious are you of your own sustainability practices, or those of our preferred partners, and how are you incorporating them into your sales conversations?”
Hunter says that having insights into these perspectives allows members to help meet customer’s needs “from not just a product, but from a sustainability perspective”.
“There will be actions that you can undertake to enhance your own environmental footprint and support the conversation. That could be planting trees, encouraging electronic documentation, partnering with appropriate causes, or prioritising product that is conducted more sustainably.”
“It could be a new approach to animal welfare where you don’t support animal exploitation – elephant rides, marine parks and so on.”
Big night out
Following the group’s Annual General Meeting on Friday, Chairman’s Address and Members’ Forum, delegates headed over to the beautiful The Calyx in Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden for the official welcome evening event.
If you’ve never seen the Calyx, check it out here. It really is a stunning spot and even has one of the southern hemisphere’s largest green walls!
With plenty of refreshments flowing, guests enjoyed reconnecting with friends and partners, while some even hit the dance floor.
“Welcome to our Travelution conference,” Hunter said at the event, which was sponsored by Singapore Airlines.
“The conference is a great opportunity for networking – and I always say with conferences, there are no strangers, just friends that you get to meet.
“So there’s a great opportunity to connect with people that you don’t know, people that you do know, and it really brings a great vibe to the event.”
Check out more of our images from the welcome event here.
And read our wrap of the Travellers Choice National Awards Gala Dinner at Sydney Town Hall to find out who took home all of the group’s gongs.
2025 venue
Hunter also revealed that the 2025 Travellers Choice conference will be held in Melbourne on 21-23 November.
“We’ll be using the CENTREPIECE Convention Centre, which is sandwiched in between the MCG and Rod Laver Arena, a fantastic venue, and somewhere we haven’t been before… it’s always great to have new menus and new experiences. I think it will be a fabulous event.”
Find out why the Travellers Choice conference showed why it’s cool (and profitable) to be kind.
Travellers Choice recently took home, for the fourth straight year, the award for the Most Outstanding Travel Agency Network at the National Travel Industry Awards (NTIA). In a chat with Karryon, Hunter shares what the win means for the group.
