A Tantalising Taste of Asia for Melbourne PTMs
Featured photo: Not quite an evening in Vietnam, but possibly the next best thing. TravelManagers recently partnered with Vietnam Travel & Cruise and Travel Sapphire to hold an information evening and banquet dinner for Melbourne-based PTMs, one of a series of training events taking place around Australia as the post-COVID demand for international travel picks up pace. (L-R) Kellie Browning, Carolyn Pitt, Huyen Thanh (Director Vietnam Travel & Cruise), Melanie Carter, Tanya Patterson, Kate Bevan, Debbie Tripp, Nicole Edgar, Justin Smythe (NSW Business Development Manager Vietnam Travel & Cruise), KJ Slater (Business Development Manager Travel Sapphire), Despina Madden, Sharon Wright, Sandii Pink, Theresa Kwong, Jessica Krammer, Karen Doyle, Lyn Watkins and Allen Suss.
A mouth-watering Vietnamese banquet dinner at Melbourne’s Tran Tran restaurant provided an inspiring finale to a product training session organised by TravelManagers in conjunction with Vietnam Travel & Cruise and Travel Sapphire last week.
Thirteen Victoria-based personal travel managers (PTMs) and two Business Partnership Managers (BPMs) attended the event, eager to refresh their knowledge of the various south and south-east Asian destinations represented, as demand for holiday travel in these regions continues to accelerate post-COVID.
TravelManagers’ Executive General Manager, Michael Gazal, says destinations such as Cambodia, Vietnam, India and the Maldives are already firmly in the sights of Australian travellers who have been grounded since early 2020.
“This training session was one in a broader series of training activities we have planned around the country, all of which are designed to ensure that PTMs are up-to-date on the latest product information and tourism offerings in a range of destinations.”
PTM Sandii Pink, who is TravelManagers’ representative for Melbourne’s Albert Park, says she found the evening well worthwhile – for both the fabulous food and the chance to reconnect with two valued suppliers.
“We had a wonderful night of fabulous food and company, catching up with Huyen Thanh and Justin Smythe from Vietnam Travel & Cruise, as well as KJ Slater from Travel Sapphire. It was so great to reconnect with the destinations and to know that such great suppliers are still going strong.”
Fellow PTM Lyn Watkins agrees: “we’re seeing a lot of positivity and excitement about the resumption of international travel, so it’s important for me to ensure that I have the latest information about the destinations that are already receiving significant interest from would-be travellers.”
