wyse exchange australia handbook · 2017-03-28 · on the industry, with a clear focus on engaging...

@wysetravelconfederation

exchange.wysetc.org

@WYSETC

WYSE EXCHANGE AUSTRALIA

HANDBOOKMarch 30, 2017

SPONSORS AND PARTNERS

SPONSORS AND PARTNERS

CONTENTS

1 Welcome

2 Venue

3 Programme

10 Biographies

1

WELCOME TO WEA 2017

Dear Delegate,On behalf of the World Youth Student and Educational (WYSE) Travel Confederation, it is my pleasure to welcome you to Sydney and the second WYSE Exchange Australia Youth Tourism Conference. We have partnered with Backpacker Operators Association NSW (BOA NSW) and Adventure Queensland (AQ), with support from Tourism Australia, to bring together operators from across Australia who are focused on the international inbound youth travel sector.

Today a range of speakers and panelists will share and debate trends and analysis on the industry, with a clear focus on engaging Gen Z and Millennial travellers. With youth and student travel constantly growing and now accounting for 23% of international arrivals, we see this topic as crucial to Australia remaining at the forefront of innovating and developing the travel industry for today’s and tomorrow’s youth travellers.

I would like to extend a special welcome and thank you to our Master of Ceremonies, Meg Allen-Armistead, and to all the speakers and panelists who have committed their time and energy to make this happen. We would not be here without the support of all our event sponsors and partners: Tourism Australia, BOA NSW, Adventure Queensland, and The BYTE.

Yours sincerely,

David ChapmanDirector General

WYSE Travel Confederation

2

VENUE

Doltone House, Darling Island Wharf

WYSE Exchange Australia Youth Tourism Conference will be held at Doltone House, Darling Island Wharf. Situated directly across the road from The Star, this spectacular waterfront venue on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, with views of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and magical city skyline, will host the conference.

Doltone House is a short stroll to Darling Harbour, a number of hotels and an abundance of restaurants and shops.

ParkingTHE STAR CASINO PARKING STATION Located on Pyrmont St, Pyrmont. For further information call (02) 9777 9000.

WILSON JONES BAY WHARF CARPARK Located on 19-21 Pirrama Rd Pyrmont (opposite Doltone House)

All day $18* Wilson Carpark Ticket Validation available at our Pyrmont venues, please see staff for more information.

All day $16* (+$0.50 booking fee) Wilson Carpark via pre-book parking at www.bookabay.com with promotional code ‘Doltone’.

Parking THE STAR CASINO PARKING STATION Located on Pyrmont St, Pyrmont. For further information call (02) 9777 9000

WILSON JONES BAY WHARF CARPARK Located on 19-21 Pirrama Rd Pyrmont (opposite Doltone House)

All day $18* Wilson Carpark Ticket Validation available at our Pyrmont venues, please see staff for more information.

All day $16* (+$0.50 booking fee) Wilson Carpark via pre-book parking at www.bookabay.com with promotional code ‘Doltone’. Walking Distance From Town Hall, take a short walk over the Pyrmont Bridge at Darling Harbour and Darling Island Wharf is located opposite The Star Casino. Taxi Average cost of $10* from the CBD Water Taxi. For further information call Water Taxis Combined 1300 666 484 Train Departs from Central Station to St James Station regularly and operates 24 hrs per day, 7 days a week. 1.7km from Central Station. Light Rail Departs from Central Station to The Star Casino Station every 10 to 15 minutes and operates 24 hrs per day, 7 days a week. For further information call (02) 8584 5288 or visit www.transport.nsw.gov.au/customers/lightrail

Park at the Entertainment Centre or Harbourside Car Parks and catch the light rail to The Star Casino. Bus The State Transit Bus Route 389 regularly departs from City - Town Hall Park Street (Stand J) to Pirrama Rd. For route and timetable information, call 13 15 00 or visit www.sydneybuses.info Ferry Operates 7 days a week from Wharf No. 5 at Circular Quay and stops at Pyrmont Bay. For route and timetable information on State Transit’s “Darling Harbour” ferry to Pyrmont Bay call 13 15 00 or visit www.sydneyferries.info Bicycle The area is easily accessible by a bicycle, with several on and off road cycle paths and bike racks nearby.

*SUBJECT TO VARIATION.

MAP LEGENDDoltone House Darling Island Harbourside car park

Doltone House Parkview Rooms Tram Line

Signorelli Gastronomia Bus stops

Biaggio Cafe Seperate dedicated cycleways

Doltone House Jones Bay Wharf Dedicated cycling lanes

Jones Bay Wharf car park Bicycle-friendly roads

The Star car parkP

P

P

SG

P

P

P

SG

48 PIRRAMA ROAD, PYRMONT NSW 2009 ACCENTURE BUILDING (OPP THE STAR), WATERFRONT PROMENADE ENTRANCE,

DIRECTIONS · PARKING · MAP

Darling IslandPYRMONT - SYDNEY CITY

doltonehouse.com.au | [email protected] | 02 8571 0622* Prices subject to variation

3

PROGRAMME

Thursday, 30 March 2017

8:00 – 8:30 Registration

8:35 – 8:45 Conference opening

MC: Meg Allen-Armistead Melbourne Operations Manager Nomads Network GM

8:45 – 8:50 WYSE welcome

Speaker: David Chapman Director General WYSE Travel Confederation

8:50 – 9:00 Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment: The Hon Steven Ciobo, MP – video address

9:00 – 10:00 Opening keynote: The VICE Guide to Millennials

Speaker: Alex Light General Manager Brand Partnerships – VICE Australia

4

PROGRAMME

10:00 – 10:20 Australia’s Working Holiday Maker program: The battle of the four C’sAustralia’s Working Holiday Maker (WHM) program took a big hit in 2016 with the proposed introduction of the ‘backpacker tax’. Government and industry went head to head in a heated debate which resulted in a back down from an initial tax rate of 32.5% to 15%. The government also made some positive changes to the program, including the opportunity for WHM’s to work with one employer for up to 12 months in two locations. With this roller coaster of a year and the tremendous news of Tourism Australia’s $10M youth marketing campaign, the industry is now faced with the challenge of repairing the damage, and focusing on the “four C’s” – the battlegrounds of visa cost, criteria, caps and conditions.

Speaker: Silke Kerwick Public Affairs Manager YHA Australia

10:20 – 10:30 Life Project CambodiaThe Life Project charity empowers disadvantaged Cambodian children and youth to create their own solutions to poverty by providing access to education, family assistance and community outreach so they can build a stronger, brighter future for themselves and their community. Hear about how you can make a positive contribution and help Life Project Cambodia grow and further support young Cambodians.

Speaker: Vin Kebblewhite Founder & Director Life Project Cambodia

10:30 – 10:50 Morning tea

5

PROGRAMME

10:50 – 11:30 Convincing the youth of the world to escape to OzClemenger BBDO are Tourism Australia’s lead creative agency and were responsible for the development of International campaigns including Restaurant Australia and the It’s a place you feel Aquatic & Coastal campaign. They are experts at developing effective and engaging campaigns with the youth market and were behind both ‘Pinky’ No one thinks big of you for the RTA and V skills for Frucor. This presentation will take us through the creative brief that defines how Tourism Australia intend to give the leaders of tomorrow an Australian outlook on life via a visit to this great land.

Speakers: Leanne Paige Industry Relations Manager Tourism Australia

Rob Dougan Lead Planning Director on Tourism Australia Clemenger BBDO Sydney

11:30 – 12:30 Booking via mobile: What have we learned so far and what’s next?Mobile booking capacity has been touted as make-it-or-break-it for travel brands as the shift away from desktop and multi-screen search starts to consolidate towards the smartphone. Millennials and Generation Z expect to conduct their lives via one device and so mainstream tourism moves to future-proof.

Accommodation, flights, and now bus and rail have made solid advances in bringing consumers user-friendly mobile booking capacity and other functionality, but has the move to mobile booking all it’s been hyped up to be? What lessons have been learned in development of apps, websites and new marketing strategies?

During this session Vanessa will review the current state of play in mobile booking and discuss the myths and realities that travel suppliers should keep in mind for mobile now and in the near future.

Speaker: Vanessa Stavrou Head of Marketing Contiki

6

PROGRAMME

12:30 – 13:30 Lunch

13:30 – 15:00 The wrong side of the bed: Branding, pricing and the dangers of discounting for hostels (concurrent session)

Young travellers have never had such an array of choice in hostels offering convenient and competitively-priced accommodation. With well-designed atmospheres, menus, and local culture to attract travellers and even the most discerning globetrotters, the price of a bed is no longer the main concern for the consumer.

Hostels in many regions of the world must up the ante to stay in the game, yet accommodation providers in Australia are discounting and eroding the hard-won brand equity of not only independent operators, but the hostel sector as a whole and maybe even the Australian tourism offering in general. A panel of youth travel accommodation experts will discuss the dilemmas that lead to discounting, the effect discounting is having on the industry as a whole, and what they’d like to see done about it.

Moderator: Meg Allen-Armistead Melbourne Operations Manager Nomads Network GM

Panellists: Kristy Carstairs Marketing Manager Oceania Hostelworld

Vanessa Schap Managing Director MAXIMUM exposure

Mark Baldwin General Manager Bounce Sydney

David Chapman Director General WYSE Travel Confederation

7

PROGRAMME

13:30 – 15:00 Real-time distribution: The race to improve booking conversion (concurrent session)

In a culture of instant gratification, expectations of immediacy abound and booking travel is no exception. In fact, for the traveller it can be the difference between a good and bad experience. For the Millennial traveller, expectations are even higher. Enter ‘book now’ relationships – essential for your business and the industry’s future. Technology has revolutionised real-time booking so that seamless, convenient and connected services can be provided to your customers. Whilst accommodation providers are well into this game, some tour operators are lagging, failing to realise that the battle for bookings will not be won by merely having a great product, some creative content and lots of data. During this session, tour operators will share their experiences, you will find out how aggregators can help bookings, and hear an OTA’s perspective on why real-time is your time.

Moderator: Brett Eldershaw Director Colourful Trips

Panellists: Renee Welsh CEO & Founder Booking Boss

Stephanie Hubner Area Manager Australia & New Zealand Get Your Guide

David Thomson Brand Leader Adventure Tours & Intrepid

Steve Martinez Co-Founder Livn

15:00 – 15:15 Afternoon tea

8

PROGRAMME

15:15 – 16:00 Payment automation: What’s the true cost of industry payment practises?The travel industry is a complex network of relationships, and as your network grows, so does the cost of supporting those relationships. Technology has supported growth by allowing us to communicate easily, access new sales channels, better customer engagement, and harness powerful management tools. However, the gains in efficiency can be quickly erased when it comes to settling up accounts.

The standard practices for processing invoices and settling accounts are fraught with inefficiencies, creating a substantial cost base throughout the industry. With no standardised payment terms and no regulatory oversight, payments can become a powder keg for some businesses. Estimates have the cost to the industry in the billions of dollars, money that could be much better used building a stronger industry.

This panel will discuss existing pain points and their effect on the industry: cash flow crunch, bad debt, missed opportunity, back office costs, and the headaches associated with payments. What is needed to solve the pain points? The panel will discuss emerging technologies, trust with transparency, and shifting the payment paradigm as ways to gain efficiencies that lead to stronger businesses and ultimately a stronger destination Australia.

Moderator: Alanna Stevens General Manager Colourful Trips

President BOA NSW

Panellists: Moira Scerri Managing Director SEPIA Consulting

Matthew Cheers Chairperson and Director Split Payments

Selina Kelly General Manager Website Travel

9

PROGRAMME

16:00 – 16:50 Life beyond fear Mark MathewsLife beyond fear is an inspirational presentation by one of the world’s premier big wave surfers. In the last 10 years Mark has taken himself from a penniless want-to-be surfer to an international brand name, part time philosopher, storyteller, big wave surfing legend and all-round good guy.

His story is one of commitment, leadership, hard work, innovation, struggle and maximising available talent.

Winner of an unprecedented three back-to-back Oakley Big Wave Awards, Mark has proven himself as one of the best big wave surfers in the world. His passion is giving people the tools and drive to step outside their comfort zones so they can access their true potential.

16:50 – 17:00 Closing remarks

Master of Ceremonies: Meg Allen-Armistead Melbourne Operations Manager Nomads Network GM

17:00 – 19:00 Networking drinks Doltone House, Darling Island

10

BIOGRAPHIES

Master of Ceremonies &

Moderator

Megan Allen-Armistead Melbourne Operations Manager Nomads and Base Backpackers Currently Meg is part of the management team at Nomads World Hotels and RTG (Recreational Tourism Group), working in an operational role for the brands of Nomads, Base and most recently United Backpackers. The business has more than doubled with acquisitions over the last two years and the challenge of building upon existing and distinguishing three strong bands has been a focus for the company.

With 22 years experience working in the backpacking industry in Australasia Meg has been witness to the growth, maturity and expansion of this tourism sector. Meg was cutting her teeth at a time when the backpacking industry in Australia was doing the same. The wealth of knowledge gained from a career of developing, opening and working in all facets of the accommodation business has proven invaluable. Her ability to adapt to change coupled with a genuine love for this industry is why she is still as passionate today as she was when she first started.

Through years of representing Australian backpacking product overseas at trade missions, conferences/trade shows Meg has gained a solid understanding of how the Australian Backpacking Industry is recognised, viewed and sold internationally. Meg has been a conference speaker, invited on numerous panels and MC’d various industry conference events. She has worked internationally for backpacking brands such as Banana Bungalows in the USA, however calls Melbourne her home.

8:35 – 8:45 Conference opening

13:30 – 15:00 The wrong side of the bed: Branding, pricing and the dangers of discounting for hostels

16:50 – 17:00 Closing remarks

11

BIOGRAPHIES

WYSE Welcome

David Chapman Director General WYSE Travel ConfederationHaving trained with a top London and International hotel group, David worked at some of the best hotels in Europe including Grosvenor House, The Waldorf and the George V in Paris before becoming General Manager of a number of the UK’s top country house hotels.

In 2007, David was appointed Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Director of International Students House in London. ISH is a self-funding charity that runs a large social centre with accommodation for students studying in London. During his time at ISH, David was an active board member of STAY WYSE. In January 2013, David was appointed as WYSE Travel Confederation’s Director General.

David is also a Chartered Manager and Fellow of the Chartered Managers Institute as well as a Member of the Institute of Hospitality.

8:45 – 8:50 WYSE Welcome


Speaker Alex Light VICE Australia General Manager, Brand PartnershipsAlex’s role is leading the development of content partnerships with brands and media organisations, as well as the creation of branded content marketing projects. Working within VICE’s in-house marketing agency, Alex leads client partnerships and strategic content planning for brands including Google, Bacardi, Air New Zealand, American Express, and more.

9:00 – 10:00 Opening Keynote: The VICE Guide to Millennials

12

BIOGRAPHIES

Speaker Silke Kerwick YHA Australia Public Affairs ManagerSilke has many years’ experience in the fields of youth tourism and educational & cultural exchanges, gained in the UK, USA and Australia.

Since 2000 she has worked for YHA in marketing and communications, promoting a network of 85 youth hostels across Australia.

Prior to this, Silke was Media, PR & Education Manager for The British Council in Australia, developing bi-lateral cultural and educational exchanges.

She has also worked for USIT in Europe; for CIEE in New York; for Rough Guides as a travel writer, and has travelled to over fifty countries.

Along the way she has learnt Spanish and Greek, and picked up a Masters in American Studies.

Silke is passionate about the benefits that cultural exchanges can bring to the lives of young people, and to their host countries.

In an era of increasing isolationism, schemes such as Australia’s Working Holiday Maker program are more important than ever, and need to be protected.

10:00 – 10:20 Australia’s Working Holiday Maker program: The battle of the four C’s

10:20 – 10:30 Life Project Cambodia

13

BIOGRAPHIES

Speaker Leanne Paige Industry Relations Manager Tourism Australia Leanne Paige is Industry Relations Manager for Tourism Australia, connecting the tourism industry with Tourism Australia. Leanne joined Tourism Australia in October 2015 after working at Destination NSW as Youth Specialist, driving projects such NSW’s role in Tourism Australia’s Best Jobs in the World campaign and partnerships with global youth brands. She has also worked across the accommodation, attraction, tour/transport and business events sectors, commencing her career in the backpacker sector.

10:50 – 11:30 Tourism Australia’s $10M youth marketing campaign

Speaker Vanessa Stavrou Head of Marketing Contiki Vanessa has been part of the Contiki family for almost three years. She and an exceptional team of multi-disciplinary marketers are responsible for ensuring Contiki remains relevant with the youth of today and is the preferred choice for group travel. During her time at Contiki she has have delivered award winning campaigns, collaborated with some of Australia’s leading influencers, and driven growth in online sales through improved pathways on mobile and desktop. Prior to joining Contiki, Vanessa spent seven years with the Westpac Group working in both their Digital and Marketing teams where she was responsible for online marketing, website design, and optimisation of the customer experience. She loves to travel, squeezing in, on average, three personal trips a year (annual leave permitting!).

11:30 – 12:30 Booking via mobile: What have we learned so far and what’s next?

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Panellists Kristy Carstairs Marketing Manager Oceania HostelworldAfter growing up and finishing high school in small town Victoria, Kristy was quick to move to Melbourne work in a bar and buy a one way ticket to London Heathrow in search of adventure, travel and the unknown. During her six years in Europe she worked as a resort rep in both Austria and Greece and as a tour guide to European festivals and events. Eventually Kristy ended up in Dublin, where she started her career with hostelworld.com in their HQ.

When she moved home to Australia in 2006 she worked for Oz Experience for a short time before returning to hostelworld to run their Oceania operation from mid 2007 in the position of Regional Manager South East Pacific, and until recently was sole southern hemisphere employee. She is now responsible for all of Hostelworld Group brands in this region in the position of Marketing Manager Oceania.

Kristy served the six years on the committee of the Backpacker Operators Association of NSW with the last three in the position of President till 2015. She also served her three years on the Backpacker Youth Tourism Advisory Panel as Vice Chair where she is committed to encouraging integrity and ethics in the youth and adventure travel industry and promoting travel to the ‘best country in the world’.

Kristy is presently completing a Bachelor of Business in Tourism Management and Marketing via Open Universities Australia as well as her PADI Divemaster course. She is a keen follower of Australian Rules Football & has travelled extensively throughout Europe, South America, Africa, Asia & the Pacific.


BIOGRAPHIES

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Panellists Vanessa Schap Managing Director MAXIMUM exposureThe Founding Director of MAXIMUM exposure, Vanessa Schap, is a key member of the tourism industry and has over twenty years of knowledge and experience in business and tourism.

Vanessa personally holds many achievements in and outside of the industry. Strong relationships and contacts have been solidified domestically and internationally throughout Vanessa’s career. Great results have been achieved for the companies and products Vanessa has been involved with prior and post to the inception of MAXIMUM exposure in 2006. With an in-depth knowledge of Australia’s backpacker accommodation sector, Vanessa’s reputation precedes her as she is self-motivated, driven and professional.

She prides herself on maintaining integrity and loyalty with friends and colleagues alike. Vanessa’s passions are not limited to the tourism industry. Equally strong is her love of real estate, her beautiful family and let’s not forget her beloved dogs.


Panellists Mark Baldwin General Manager Bounce SydneyMark is the General Manager of Bounce Sydney and the co-founder of Hostels Australia. He starting working in the backpacking industry 12 years ago where he managed two hostels in Bath and Oxford in the UK. This continued on to a few management roles in London before travelling back down under to settle in Sydney in 2010.

Mark has been involved in BOA NSW for the last five years and also joined the BYTAP panel in 2016.


BIOGRAPHIES

16

Moderator Brett Eldershaw Founder & Director Colourful TripsWith a degree in Business / Marketing and a guiding career based on extensive travel throughout South America – formalised with a TAFE certificate in guiding and working in the start-up of Bridgeclimb – Brett established his tour operation business, Colourful Trips, in 1998.

Almost 20 years on Colourful Trips is now the major provider of tours from Sydney for the international youth market, with their portfolio of tour products distributed and sold globally. Brett takes an active interest in the tourism industry through his positions on the NSW ATEC committee and the NSW Chamber of Business Tourism Advisory Council.

13:30 – 15:00 Real-time distribution: The race to improve booking conversion

Panellists Renee Welsh CEO & Founder Booking BossRenee has always been at home in the world of travel tech. Over the past 17 years she’s held senior roles at Lastminute.com, RedBalloon and Wotif. Utilising her experience, she was appointed by the World Bank to develop a three-day training program on embracing digital change for hotel and attractions across the APAC region. Renee is considered a thought leader in the travel tech industry and has spoken at key travel technology events globally.

In 2013 Renee launched Booking Boss and has helped hundreds of attractions and tour operators streamline and grow their business. Since launching Booking Boss has been awarded Best Software Product at the Australian Business Awards 2014, recognised as a global innovator at the Phocuswright Travel Innovation Summit and won Silver at the NSW Tourism Awards for Specialised Tourism Services 2016. Renee was also personally awarded Entrepreneur of the Year at the Women in Travel Awards 2016.


BIOGRAPHIES

17

BIOGRAPHIES

Panellists Stephanie Hubner Area Manager Australia & New Zealand Get Your GuideFor the last 10 years Stephanie has had a keen interest in tourism and been connected to the industry in some shape or form. Starting off whilst at University working for Travel Plan Ski Holidays as their office manager, Stephanie got a glimpse of how passionate the industry is.

As of today, she has been working for Get Your Guide for over four years and has literally been around the world for them! The journey started off in Berlin in 2012 managing Asia, Africa and South Africa, then in late 2013 she started growing business in Amsterdam and the Nordics, securing the position of Manager of Australia & New Zealand in early 2016.

Get Your Guide is the leading independent online marketplace for discovering and booking travel activities, tours and attractions worldwide to have come out of Europe. They don’t deal with flights or hotels, just focus on the amazing experiences the customer can have in the destination. To date, they have over 25,000 products in over 2,500 destinations and as of 2016, 10 offices around the globe supporting this growth.


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Panellists David Thomson Brand Leader Adventure Tours & IntrepidDavid Thomson has been heavily involved in the Australian youth tourism industry for the past 17 years. Cutting his teeth as a guide with a smaller regional operator ‘Thommo’ as he was known to his passengers on the road, transitioned to a national touring operator, Adventure Tours Australia in 2004. Progressing through a variety of roles within ATA including Victorian, National and then the Global Sales Manager role, he experienced the vast changes from private ownership to a publicly listed company. With ATA once again in the hands of private Aussie ownership with the Intrepid Group, this has brought about exciting opportunities and greater flexibility to re-structure and scale the ATA and Intrepid business. Thommo’s current role within the Intrepid Group has a heavier focus on brand and operations for the Intrepid Group’s Australasian region, and driving customer focus and sustainable experience-rich travel solutions for the Group.


BIOGRAPHIES

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Panellists Steve Martinez Co-Founder LivnBack in the year 2000 Steve cut his teeth at the coal face of the sector working for Oz, Kiwi & Feejee Experience. Steve traded Pizza, cheap cask wine and an old slide machine in exchange for 30 minutes of presentation time to newly arrived bright eyed travelers.

Not long after, he was directed to look after all major agent accounts such as STA Travel, Flight Centre, Backpackers World, BTC & Student Uni Travel which at the time were handshake deals with no formal agreements.

He then moved to Raging Thunder Adventures. It was during his tenure here that he realized there was an opportunity for a real change in the industry. Outside of the discount bucket travel retail shops there was no real structured or organized way for great tour suppliers to distribute their products using existing technology. It was here that Livn was born.

In 2012 Steve created Livn Holidays, a niche travel company that used the latest technology available to connect via API integration live and in real-time to all tour operator reservation systems. As a result, Livn has grown to be the largest real-time aggregator of tours and activities with over 30,000 bookable offerings.

In late 2015 Livn secured private equity funding to build out its groundbreaking technology internationally. This month, Livn announces the first of many exciting technology rollouts. For the first time, live bookable Tour and Activity offerings will be integrated directly into Airline GDS systems with both Travelport & Amadeus, exposing Livn connected tour operator partners to more than 150,000 travel agents globally.

Livn has been at the forefront of Real-Time distribution and API technology for the last five years and is no stranger to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.


BIOGRAPHIES

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Moderator Alanna Stevens General Manager, Colourful Trips President, BOA NSWAlanna started out in the tourism industry in 2002 in a junior role at APT in the Sydney Day Tour department. After working her way through the ranks and truly emerging herself in the day tour business, in 2011 Alanna created the brand Downunder Adventures for the Backpacking industry.

Learning about the Backpacking industry the hard way, Alanna travelled around Australia promoting Sydney day tours and building the brand through agencies and partnerships.

In 2012 APT was bought by AAT Kings and the brand was merged with Aussie Adventures, an established brand now offering Sydney and Darwin day tour and short breaks.

A new opportunity presented itself and in 2015 which saw Alanna join the team at Colourful Trips as General Manager. Business growth was big on the agenda and over the last 18 months many goals have achieved including increased departures, passenger growth, new destinations introduced, stronger brand awareness and the purchase of Zepher Tours.

Alanna now juggles her career alongside her other passion as a director at Life Project Cambodia. A NGO formed in 2013, LPC supports students and their families in Cambodia with funds raised with help from the backpacking industry.

In 2014 Alanna became a committee member for BOA NSW and is currently the President. Working alongside Adventure Queensland and with support from the WYSE Travel Confederation in 2016, Alanna and the BOA committee held the first Australian Youth Tourism Week in Sydney and created an Australian Village at WYSTC Belgrade that saw 18 youth tourism business attend the international event.

15:15 – 16:00 Payment automation: What’s the true cost of industry payment practises?

BIOGRAPHIES

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Panellists Moira Scerri Managing Director SEPIA ConsultingDr Scerri has over 30 years experience in the travel and tourism industry working with information technology, and electronic payment systems. Moira headed up the Moneydirect business unit in Australia from 2001 to 2009 before Moneydirect was sold to the Amadeus IT Group and Sabre Inc. She is known in the industry for introducing electronic payment processing to the backpacker sector, visitor information centres and small to medium sized regional tourism operators. Moira also introduced innovative payment processing methods such as integrating payments with online booking systems, electronic funds transfers on request (EoR) and an international payment module, all of which significantly reduced the cost of payment processing in the industry. Her doctoral research used payment processing data from the travel and tourism industry to gain insights into business networks and efficiency drivers. She is currently examining the impact of block chain technologies and bitcoin on global supply chains.


BIOGRAPHIES

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Panellists Matthew Cheers Chairperson and Director Split PaymentsMatthew has been in the travel/tourism industry for over 22 years. He was introduced to the industry in 1995 while working in hotels and bars. In 1999, he purchased his first hotel, The Royal Darby Hotel in Melbourne’s CBD, making him the youngest publican in Australia’s history. On converting the Hotel into a hostel he fell in love with the youth travel and adventure industry. In 2001, he completed a Bachelor of Business degree at Victoria University of Technology. In 2002, his love of flying and adventure led him to create Skydive Australia. At the time of sale, to a public listed company in 2015, it was providing over 100,000 people a year a thrill of a lifetime. Through growing and managing Skydive Australia for 15 years, I experienced firsthand the complex and at times crippling effects inefficient payment systems can have on business. That led him to co-found Split Payments, where he is currently the Chairperson and Director.


BIOGRAPHIES

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Panellists Selina Kelly General Manager Website TravelIt has been a dynamic, exciting and progressive 10 years that Selina Kelly has helped develop and lead Website Travel to success within the tourism industry. From its early years as the successful retail business solution to what is now a powerful and competitive platform offering a diverse range of application within their global community of tour operators, retail agents, wholesalers and ecommerce web services.

The growth and development that Selina has facilitated in building such a complex technological benchmark for adventure travel agents and operators certainly has not gone un-noticed.

Maybe Selina’s success could be attributed to her invested knowledge over the years spent in Adventure Travel. In her personal life she has been intrinsically involved in the operations behind a popular Byron Bay tour company, as well spent her time managing travel stores and teams on the retail front.

One of the values very much driven from the core of Selina’s leadership style is the idea of minimizing the work load, and maximizing the result. This cannot be more obvious in the ability for Website Travel to grow year on year yet continue to administer tour operator payments in what could be considered, a work of art. Streamlining this process within the Asia Pacific and now further abroad has seen the Website Travel portfolio increase significantly.

In and around her responsibilities at Website Travel, she is a mother to beautiful Billy, an avid drummer and spends her time enjoying a relaxed Byron Bay lifestyle. Selina is proud to work for a company that is a member of many industry organisations including BOA, ATEC, BYATA and AQ and believes in the growth and future prosperity travel technology continues to provide our fabulous industry.


BIOGRAPHIES

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Keynote Mark MathewsIn the last 10 years Mark has taken himself from a penniless want-to-be surfer, to an international brand name, part time philosopher, storyteller, big wave surfing legend and all-round good guy.

His story is one of commitment, leadership, hardwork, innovation, struggle and maximizing available talent. He has also learned a lot about sustaining peak performance over an extended period.

Winner of an unprecedented three back-to-back Oakley Big Wave Awards, Mark has proven himself as one of the best big wave surfers in the world. His passion is motivating people to step outside their comfort zones so they can access their true potential.

He uses a compelling mix of spectacular video footage and personal stories to engage and inspire audiences around the world.

Mark Mathews in the barrel at Shipstern Bluff

16:00 – 16:50 Life beyond fear

BIOGRAPHIES

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www.wysetc.orgfor more information on our upcoming events.

wyse exchange australia handbook · 2017-03-28 · on the industry, with a clear focus on engaging...

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