The Mole forgets the Kiwis at ATE!

In the frantic pace of Tourism Australia’s ATE in Adelaide recently, The Mole was very fortunate to be able to catch up over lunch with some Kiwi Aussie Specialist Agents and it was only over this last weekend that the realisation dawned that their story had not actually appeared on TravelMole.

Sincerest apologies to the Kiwis and I promise that it has nothing to do with the All Blacks or the Bledisloe Cup!

The agents in question were Geoff Glover (left) Evelyn Huey-Ling Lee and John Sumner (right) and they had high praise of the Tourism Australia programme and were delighted to be in Adelaide where they could learn so much.

They all said that being an Aussie Specialist Agent gave them increased point of difference to their competitors and being at ATE gave them vastly increased points of contact with Aussie operators so that they could satisfy the increasing demand for new Australian products from New Zealand travellers.

They were all very keen to push the smaller niche and upper end product because there was demand for them and they increased their income because commission cuts had affected their income, but their new business model meant specialising and it made sense to specialise in their nearest destination, Australia.  It also meant that they could sell tours and attractions and other added value which some of their clients like to book before leaving NZ.

Geoff and John said though that being an Aussie Specialist had not clicked in quite yet, but they were confident it would and signs were excellent. 

Evelyn on the other hand specialises in Mandarin speaking New Zealanders and thinks she is the only Mandarin speaking agent in the system in New Zealand. 

She said that some know what they want as Australia is a tried destination, but others want to go to lesser known locations in Australia and want her skills and expertise in getting them the right information and booking the right holiday that she knows they will be comfortable with and which satisfies their aspirations. 

Evelyn added that some of the Chinese in New Zealand are tired of city life type holidays and want to try some rural product, perhaps a little soft adventure with 4WD tours, but want to be safe and not too far outside their comfort zone and she had found some really good product at ATE.

Since joining the Aussie Specialist programme, Evelyn has had 108 enquiries and has managed to convert 80% of those into travel and business for her.

Report by The Mole