Travel suppliers gathered at the Datacom premises in Auckland last week to hear more about new travel distribution company, Travel Lab. Chief executive officer Simon Mckearney told the audience that Travel Lab needs product for its front end distribution but ‘would rather do it as a collective. ‘And we can bring our friends in the tech world to this community.’

• Simon Mckearney, CEO of Travel... Simon Mckearney, CEO of Travel...
• Mike Hogan, Hogan and Associates;... Mike Hogan, Hogan and Associates;...
• Mark Turner, the Travel Corporation;... Mark Turner, the Travel Corporation;...
• Marija Kapiteli, CTTravel; Amaan Khan,... Marija Kapiteli, CTTravel; Amaan Khan,...
• Anne Dromgool, Datacom; Chris d’Anvers,... Anne Dromgool, Datacom; Chris d’Anvers,...
• Vanessa Traille, Cathay Pacific; Preeya... Vanessa Traille, Cathay Pacific; Preeya...
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Reputational damage to the travel industry in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis is a major hurdle that will need to be overcome, according to respondents in a ‘strawpoll’ of New Zealand based suppliers last week.

In the lead up to a workshop on Thursday, Travel Lab asked members of the supplier community how severe they felt reputational damage has been to suppliers, with 20% saying extreme, 50% moderate and 30% unsure.

Travel Lab’s roll out of products and operations will begin in the next couple of weeks with the launch of a new guided tour business.

Chief executive Simon Mckearney gave travel suppliers a snapshot of Travel Lab’s plans at a roundtable workshop in the Datacom building, Auckland yesterday. He emphasises that a major focus is to form a front-end travel distribution platform, much of it designed for a seamless online-offline connection.

Travel suppliers and media at the Travel Lab Christmas get together in last week were introduced to TRUE Kiwi – a New Zealand-based consortia intended to have a voice around the government sector as New Zealand pushes forward for a relaunch of travel.

‘The public sector really doesn’t know who the travel community is, and they don’t understand the balance between outbound and inbound. Even the inbound sector does not know the connection,’ says Simon McKearney, Travel

Simon McKearney has finished up as executive general manager at Helloworld Travel. He left on 9 September, earlier than originally planned.

He says this is to enable him to fully move into a new work environment. Communicating with HLO franchise owners, associates and others by email, McKearney said he is making progress in his ‘desires to
re-imagine travel’ and shared this with HLO’s global CEO last week.

The Government will provide a consumer travel reimbursement scheme to assist the return of credits and refunds to New Zealand consumers via travel agents. In an announcement today, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi says the scheme will be funded to a maximum of $47.6 million.

Travel agencies will be paid 7.5% of the value of cash refunds and 5% of the value of credits successfully secured on behalf of customers.

Leaders in the travel industry have been encouraged to create an environment where no-one can hide when it comes to creating a diverse working place and giving equal and fair opportunities to all.

A travel industry event in Auckland that emphasises diversity in the workplace and progressive change, with a selection of high-powered speakers, is close to a sell-out about six months in advance.

Winners from the National Travel Industry Awards (NTIA) have been quick to thank others involved in their success – including teams, award sponsors and the Travel Agents Association of New Zealand (TAANZ) which organises the massive event.