Travellers Choice have announced that they have passed a major milestone this month with the signing of its 40th travel agency member in Queensland.
With almost a quarter of all Travellers Choice agencies, Queensland now accounts for the largest proportion of the national retail group’s 180 members.
It is followed closely by New South Wales (38 members), Western Australia (38) and Victoria (37), with the remaining agents distributed across South Australia, the ACT and Tasmania.
Five years ago the retail group had just one agency in Queensland, Global Travel Coolum, but today its network stretches from the fast-growing Gold Coast to the mining town of Weipa, the ‘capital’ of the Cape York Peninsula in the state’s far north.
Managing Director Gary Allomes said growth across Queensland had fuelled Travellers Choice’s steady expansion since 2002, with independent agents attracted by the fact that as sole shareholders they have full control of the group’s current and future strategy.
He also paid tribute to Travellers Choice’s Brisbane-based Business Development Manager Simon Lang, who took up the newly created position in mid 2002.
“The service and support Simon offers every agency has played a major role in helping Travellers Choice attract new members in Queensland and northern New South Wales,” Allomes said.
Lang, who entered the Australian travel industry in 1965 and spent more than three decades with P&O and Ansett Australia/Traveland before joining Travellers Choice, said he “left the best ‘til last”.
“When I first started, not many people in Queensland had even heard of Travellers Choice,” Lang said. “Five years later we have an exceptional network and enjoy the full support of key suppliers.
“Much of that is down to the personal, caring and interactive relationship between Travellers Choice and its members,” Lang said. “That culture, combined with an increasingly sophisticated array of support services and low membership fees, will continue to make the group attractive to smart, top-quality travel agents in all states.”
Report by The Mole
