Speaking at the group’s 2026 conference in the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, Beecher said staying relevant and being in front of members is a foundation principal for GTN.
‘We have regular one-on-one meetings with members to go through their business with them, whether they are based in Tonga or Invercargill or Papatoetoe. We also have manager meetings, an annual conference, a Christmas function and other points of contact,’ he adds. ‘Being transparent means our members are all rowing in the same direction and, importantly, they know what that direction is.’
He says that GTN is widely regarded as the ‘United Nations of the travel industry’ but that the diversity of the group goes beyond that.
‘This is a true independent network with a lot of different client bases – VFR, TMCs (corporate), Kiwi retail, agents based in the Pacific or Australia, tour operators, special group operators, OTAs we deal with around the globe and niche wholesale. That diversity is our strength.’
Beecher notes the generous support of Malaysia Airlines in offering special conference fares to Kuala Lumpur. ‘We’ve got 200 people at a long-haul conference and 141 of them flew with MH.’
The Malaysia Airlines street food night at JP Teres officially kicked off the conference.
GTN members at the conference were positive about the future despite current challenges around the Middle East conflict and fuel prices. (See also earlier story page 1 TRAVELinc Memo Tuesday 8 September)
Chris Hammonds of Mondo Travel Mt Eden says he is confident people that people who were put off travel this year will be prepared to pack their suitcases in 2027.
‘Even with everything going on we’re still ahead of last year so I think 2027 will be big. Kiwis are resilient, they may have been hesitant for a while but I think they will just get on with it.’
He says the Sporting Tours side of the operation is performing particularly well and Mondo Cook Islands is also having a strong year.
‘We’ve picked up the OTA (contract) for the Netball World Cup in Sydney and also State of Origin at Eden Park,’ adds Hammonds. ‘There is a lot of focus on sports tourism in the media at the moment and I think that’s helping us to get good results.’
At the suppliers session in Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur…Jill Milne, Jetabroad; Carla Jordan, CJ& Travel Brokers (Wanderlust Travel Experts); Sijo Abraham, Sehion Tours & Travels; Wilson Yong, Singapore Airlines
Chris Hammonds, Tamsin Hammonds, both Mondo Travel; Alison Hopkirk, Delta Air Lines; Darren Driver, Mondo Travel
Vyom Sikri, Flights N Trips; Reema Patel, Flight Experts; Paul Dymond, Wendy Wu; Alice Yeong-Saw, Aspire Travel Group
Eboni Lowe, Explore the World, Rahul Sharma, Exotic Holidays
