Fuzion Travel is marking 10 years of business this year.

Co-Founders Stu McKay and Andrew Parke started the company back in 2013 when they decided to set up an independent travel broker business to allow travel consultants to start their own travel business.

A rebrand for a Dunedin-based The Travel Brokers company has signified a fresh start after the Covid disruptions and cleared up any potential brand confusion from the past, says owner-operator Janine Mallon.

Previously known as  The Travel Brokers – Tasty Tours, the company has now taken on the Zest4Travel branding, which had a soft launch in the middle of last year but has had a boost of profile and website launch this year.

Beyond Holidays in Auckland may be a new name on the New Zealand independent travel retail scene, but the people behind it have plenty of experience in the trade.

The company is managed by Hemal Jani and Brijesh Sethi, the latter having had more than 15 years in the travel industry and currently holding the position of chair at Quality Tertiary Institute (QTI).

Opening a new travel store in a new location soon after the borders have opened sometimes seems ‘a bit daft’, even to owners Sue and Paul Robinson.

Nevertheless, World Travellers Merivale officially joined the Robinsons’ portfolio and opened with a celebration last Friday.

Being open and letting people know they were open was the key to survival during Covid lockdowns for Dennis and Pearl Day of YOU Travel in Blair Street, Wellington.

‘Even if clients couldn’t come in they might knock on the window and wave, or they might stand at the bottom of the steps with us at the top and we’d talk to each other,’ says Dennis. ‘We’d make sure we were here and that’s how we got through.  We felt that we couldn’t just let Covid make us call it a day – we were going to survive no matter what.’

Viva Expeditions has welcomed back Daniela Wards into its reservations team after stepping back during Covid.

Hailing from Chile and with a depth of experience in travel to Latin America, Wards is an expert on South America and Central America. 

YOU Ferrymead’s move into a new shop recently is more than a change of bricks and mortar – it is also a tangible sign of a new beginning for the business.

‘It is the next stage in leaving behind what we have been through,’ says managing director Melissa Landrebe.

For the Ferrymead agency, the upheaval began long before Covid.

Queenstown’s xtravel continues to grow its broker division with the addition of 2018 TAANZ travel consultant of the year, Billy Ballantine.

Invercargill-based Ballantine will join the team to help grow its presence in the lower South Island in the wake of increased enquiry, alongside existing xtravel brokers Laura Todd of Hokonui and Sarah van der Voort of Mosgiel.

Travel has bounced back quicker than expected in New Zealand, says Flight Centre Travel Group’s New Zealand managing director, David Coombes, with the company already trading at over 60% of what they were selling pre-Covid, but with only 25% of the staff. 

Gaining a place as a mentee in the Travel Industry Mentor Experience (TIME) programme and picking up a gig as a regular travel columnist in her local newspaper have helped keep Dunedin agent Alexandra Hannagan focused and busy during the demanding times of the Covid pandemic.

Now the owner of Hannagan and Greive Travel Associates, just off the Octagon, has a new challenge – working out how to manage her time and effectively service valuable clients as the whole industry battles with staff shortages.

The Travel Corporation’s (TTC) combined Australia and New Zealand entity will be led by newly appointed managing director, Toni Ambler, who comes with a decade of tenure within TTC.

The new structure serves as a single source for sales, marketing and operations of the individual brands (Trafalgar, Insight Vacations, Luxury Gold, Costsaver and Contiki).

The Travel Agents’ Association of New Zealand (TAANZ) has appointed Greg Hamilton as chief executive officer.

Hamilton brings to the organisation 35 years of experience in leadership positions across the travel, not-for profit, membership and political sectors, and comes to his new role having spent the past 11 years as general manager and general secretary of the National Party.

Kiwi travel agent Peter Manase of Manase Travel Studio has been awarded top stepper in Norwegian Cruise Line’s (NCL’s) second annual Walk for Wellness. He accumulated the highest total number of steps (1,122,286) and is now the new owner of an Apple Watch Series 7.

The collective walking distance of all participants was 139,435km – smashing the initial target of 100,000km by almost 40% and increasing by 70%, year on year.

Island Hotels Group has appointed Heather Gordon to the new position of director of sales and marketing for its Cook Island properties Edgewater Resort & Spa and Club Raro.

Based in Auckland, Gordon will oversee the resorts’ sales and marketing activities including conference and incentive, special interest groups, wholesale and leisure.

House of Travel Dunedin City has been acquired by Antony (Tony) Boomer. The purchase of the outlet is a testament to the faith Boomer has in both the industry and House of Travel as a brand.

‘Travel has always been really important to Kiwis,’ says Boomer. ‘As confidence grows with vaccination rates, I have no doubt that trade will come roaring back, and when it does, people will be looking for experienced agents with in-depth knowledge of both destinations and travel systems to help them plan their journey – and who will be there if anything goes wrong.’

SHOWPONI, a new marketing, PR, media and event agency that has delivering Māori, Pasifika and Indigenous storytelling at its core, will be exploring various ways to work with the travel trade among other sectors, says founder Gordon Bayne.

‘We certainly envisage opportunities to support any of the brands or individual agents and brokers on specific projects. We will also be looking to curate our own events and these are likely to provide experiences for the trade to sell into and gain commission from.’

He sees potential to work with destination marketing organisations (DMOs) such as visitor and convention bureaux and regional tourist offices, plus a range of associations, and not for profits.

Covid has been a prime example of something that brings a community – in this case the travel industry – together in adversity.

Rotorua agent Joanna Corbett, owner of Galaxy World Travellers, says people have always been key to the success of the World Travellers group. The sharing and support of each other has only increased through these tough times.

On top of that there has also been a noticeable bonding between agents of different brands in the city.

Lisa Johansen, previously at GO Holidays, joined the MoaTrek this month as part of the supplier team.

She has 20 years of experience in the industry.

MoaTrek director, Miles Clark says supplier management is a crucial position with 27 different tours and more than 120 departures booked for the 2021-22 season alone.

By Paul Davies, Partner, OneTeam Chartered Accountants

At OneTeam CA we are breathing a sigh of relief as we have just finished sending in most of our 31 March travel industry accounts to TAANZ Bonding for review.

As you can imagine the results were not great – most travel businesses had negative sales for the 2021 year. Most had a positive gross margin as they had received cancellation fees and credit support from the government.

xtravel Queenstown has welcomed Laura Todd of the Hokonui District in Southland to its team.

‘As xtravel continues to work on our repatriation charter flights between South America and the Antipodes we find ourselves in a position where we can offer mutually beneficial opportunities to reduce the drain of and retain experienced and renowned industry experts,’ company director and owner Niki Davies says. ‘Our sub brokers can enjoy a `soft’ return to the industry, assisting xtravel with bubble related business without the need to fully immerse themselves into the Covid circus that international travel has become.’ 

When the Covid pandemic hit in early 2020, YOUR Travel in Paraparaumu Beach was already looking at developing a domestic tour series.

The crisis pushed those plans forward by about 18 months and has provided the business with a lifeline.

‘A domestic New Zealand programme was already part of our long term strategy and because we were working on an outline, we were not starting from scratch,’ says managing director Tanya Roddam.

Proactive Nelson-based travel broker Kelly Bowater has welcomed the latest campaign from Tourism New Zealand, saying initiatives such as the It’s Recharge Season gives the trade a new take on domestic product.

‘I love anything that’s exciting and different, and this gives a chance to support operators who are engaging in the campaign.’

Bowater sent out a newsletter on Wednesday (the day the campaign was launched) highlighting the ‘recharge’message to clients.

Getting product back in front of agents, brokers and consumers continues to be a challenge for suppliers, particularly as the pandemic has forced companies to downsize and cut back on staffing numbers.

However a well-known ‘multi-rep’ in the New Zealand travel market says now is the right time to be looking at solutions for representation in the market.

By Paul Davies, Partner, OneTeam Chartered Accountants Ltd

The good news is that consumers’ desire to travel is strong – something you probably already know from your own clients. Tony Alexander (ex BNZ economist) released the results of his recent survey in his report on Thursday 18 February.

An often asked question in the travel industry is ‘what has been your favourite famil?’ For many in the travel industry during the 1980s and early 90s the answer was likely to be ‘a trip to Hong Kong and Macau with Barb Shand.’

Barbara (Barb) Shand (born 1924) passed away early January in Auckland but is still well remembered by many agents for her work alongside daughter Pip Ashford with the Hong Kong Tourist