Evolution Travel Collective (ETC) has strengthened its long-standing partnership with International Rail (IR), announcing an expanded support structure that will see a greater focus on strategic account management across Australia.
Peter Topping from ETC’s account management team will now extend his support to work directly with International Rail’s senior leadership and head office operations. The initiative aims to enhance collaboration between ETC and IR’s management teams and identify new opportunities to improve retail engagement, streamline communication, and better align IR’s specialist rail offering with the needs of frontline consultants.
ETC’s Business Development Managers will continue to work with travel agents at store level, delivering training, education and sales support across retail networks. The new account management tier complements this by ensuring insights from the field are shared strategically, with outcomes that benefit agencies nationwide.
“This is about strengthening the bridge between head office strategy and what consultants need on the ground,” said ETC CEO Ingrid Berthelsen. “Our BDMs remain focused on retail engagement, while the account management support allows us to work alongside International Rail on broader planning, feedback loops and support structures that ultimately enhance the agency experience.”
International Rail CEO Jonathan Hume said the move reflects the continued evolution of the partnership and a shared ambition to empower agents to confidently include rail in complex, experience-led itineraries.
“Rail is increasingly being integrated into longer, more bespoke journeys,” Hume said. “Having ETC provide additional account management support enables us to better understand agency needs at both a strategic and operational level, and ensure our teams and tools are aligned to support consultants effectively.”
The enhanced framework reinforces ETC’s role as an extension of its partners’ internal teams, providing flexible, multi-layered support that connects strategy, sales and retail execution.
For more about Evolution Travel Collective, visit www.evolutiontc.com.au.
