The session united executives from touring, cruising and wholesale travel and offered a masterclass in what it takes to excel in today’s competitive landscape.
Moderated by Traveltalk Managing Editor Jon Underwood, the panel discussion took place at the 2025 Travellers Choice conference in Melbourne, staged until the title “Nailing It”.
The panel included Dennis Bunnik, co-founder of Bunnik Tours, Elsa McLean, Head of Sales at Adventure World, Angela Middleton, NCL Director of Sales Australia New Zealand, and Rob Kalemba, Sales Director, Scenic Group.
Back to Basics: Customer Focus And Loyalty
“For us, it really comes down to basics and it’s all about customer focus,” said Dennis Bunnik.
“We’ve got a really close connection between what happens in head office and what happens on the road. Everything is designed around the customer experience.”
He emphasised the importance of agents understanding their clients and broadening their touring portfolios.
“The travel consultants that are doing it right for us, they understand their customers and they understand that it’s not just selling one tour, it’s selling multiple tours.
“We don’t want you to just sell Bunnik tours. We want you to grow your entire touring portfolio because ultimately, touring still makes a lot of commission. And touring customers are very, very loyal – they keep coming back to you.”
Cruising Ahead: NCL’s Agent Empowerment
Angela Middleton spotlighted NCL’s drive to innovate while putting agents and customers at the heart of the business.
“We’re really focused on how we succeed and how we’re “nailing it” across our business.
“We always know that there’s opportunities to improve and we’re always challenging ourselves to refine and how we’re engaging from a trade perspective.”
To this end Angela highlighted the company’s Australia-based call centre and new initiatives, including “bite-sized” training programs.
From a customer perspective, Angela said NCL had worked hard to convince cruisers that they weren’t just about Hawaii, with Europe, Australasia and the South Pacific proving popular.
“Over the years, we’ve really developed our itineraries and our marketing strategy to expand what we’re selling out of this market.
“Our business has evolved this year by having itineraries that you’ve been able to sell close to home, including the South Pacific.”
Angela also encouraged agents to focus on group bookings, which might not be as daunting as they might assume.
“It’s not about hosting the group. It’s not about sending the group away as a group. It’s about securing a price so that you can put together a package and build a campaign around it. We see great success when that happens.”
Keeping It Simple & Holistic Travel
Adventure World’s Elsa McLean had a clear message for agents who want to succeed…keep it simple.
“Sales, after all, is just a transfer of enthusiasm,” she said. “You all have amazing storytelling ability, you all get to go on these beautiful trips and you’re all in this industry because you’re passionate about travel, so inspire your clients.”
Elsa said her company used data to keep ahead of current trends so they were always ready to respond to a changing or developing market.
“One that we’re seeing at Adventure World is the rise of the holistic traveller,” she added.
“These are clients that are seeking transformative experiences, things that are going to change them on the inside. They don’t want to just tick off a list of cities or countries. They want to come back a renewed version of themselves.”
Elsa also recommended that agents take note of their client’s milestone celebrations and offer them enticing travel packages around those events.
“A couple might speak fondly of their Irish family heritage and have a 50th wedding anniversary coming up. A perfect opportunity to add a private chauffeur trip and overnight castle stay with Brendan Vacations to capture the romance of the celebration.”
Getting Onboard With Scenic
With their tours selling out year-on-year it’s often difficult for agents to experience a Scenic voyage for themselves. Sales Director Rob Kalemba says there is a solution.
“The agents that are really nailing it are those that are investing in some of the most competitive self famil rates that we have out in the market. I urge every single one of you to take that opportunity as it’s a great discount.
“But more importantly than that, it’s the investment in your own education – that first hand education that AI will never do – and to be able to invest in it now is a great opportunity for growth into the future.”
Rob also highlighted Scenic’s countrywide team of 12 BDMs, Australia-based call centre and investment in agent training as their commitment to helping consultants be successful.
“Our Scenic Academy represents a great opportunity for you to pretty much access up to date training 24/7,” he added.
“With so much new product rolling out, it’s not always possible to get training access face to face, but by being able to access that on Scenic Academy, that module style learning is great for you to interface.”
Pictures by Melissa Hobbs
