Don’t forget to give a toast to these fresh faces when you’re down the pub this arvo. If you’re not a drinker, tea will suffice.

Tourism Australia confirms key UK appointment 

Tourism Australia has confirmed the appointment of Sally Cope as its new Regional General Manager for the UK, where she will oversee Australia’s fourth largest international inbound tourism market which delivered 733,000 visitors to Australia last year.

Ms Cope joins Tourism Australia from Ultimate Winery Experiences Australia (UWEA), where she is currently Executive Officer and responsible for the leading wine tourism consortium, which represents Australia’s premium winery experiences and is part of Tourism Australia’s Signature Experiences portfolio.

Ms Cope has 25 years’ experience within the travel and tourism industry, previously holding leadership positions at Anthology, Voyages Hotel and Resorts, and Qantas Holidays.

Tourism Australia Managing Director John O’Sullivan said Ms Cope’s strong tourism background and commercial record were key factors in her appointment to the role.

Insight Vacations & Luxury Gold Welcomes back Lorraine Sharp

Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold are thrilled to welcome back Lorraine Sharp, announcing her appointment as Managing Director, covering Alex O’Connor’s parental leave.

Lorraine previously held this position for Insight Vacations in Sydney five years ago, enjoying a long and successful career with The Travel Corporation spanning across two decades and across multiple brands and markets. During her time, she was at the helm of Insight Vacations for over nine years.

Lorraine commenced her role last week, leading the team and working alongside Karen Deveson, Head of Marketing; David Farrar, Director of Sales Luxury Gold and Angela Middleton, Head of Sales Insight Vacations.

John Veitch, TTC Australia CEO, commented: “It’s been wonderful to have Lorraine return to the TTC family and we’ve received such amazing feedback from agents and the wider travel industry upon her appointment. Alex has done a remarkable job over the past two years and we wish her all the best and look forward to welcoming her back in the near future, along with our esteemed MD from the Contiki family, Katrina Barry.”

Hunter to Helm GO Holidays

GO Holidays are pleased to announce the appointment of well-known industry leader, Sarah Hunter to the position of General Manager, GO Holidays in New Zealand. Hunter has recently returned to New Zealand after nearly seven years in the UAE where she completed her MBA with Strathclyde University, before taking up a senior leadership role within dnata’s B2C Middle East and India travel business.

Reporting to Head of Wholesale & Inbound, Cinzia Burnes, Hunter will be charged with maximising GO Holiday’s business to business relationships to position them as the wholesaler of choice for New Zealand’s retail travel industry through the delivery of exceptional service and an unrivalled product portfolio. For Hunter, there will be a ring of familiarity to the role, having previously headed up GO Holidays and worked with the business through the mid 90’s up until 2010. Hunter is quick to point out however that this is “very much a new chapter, as opposed to a return”. Hunter says she is excited about working on a brand that she has had a long and close relationship with over a significant part of her career within a dynamic, new business environment.

Commenting on the appointment, Mrs Burnes said “I am pleased to welcome Sarah back to GO Holidays. Having someone with her prior experience and knowledge of the brand and the industry will be a terrific advantage for GO Holidays which is an important brand within our overall wholesale division.” Hunter will commence her new role on 16 July based in the Auckland offices.

Markus Ettlin resigns as Marketing Director at Heinemann

Markus Ettlin has stepped down from his position as Director Marketing at Gebr. Heinemann, which he held for the past 18 years. Although kept under wraps, it was a mutually planned departure, with gratitude being expressed by both Ettlin and the Heinemann board. A decision on who will take over his responsibilities has yet to be made and will be announced in appropriate time.

Ettlin started with Gebr. Heinemann in 2000, building a professionally organized Category Management department before being appointed to Marketing Director for Retail in 2007. Responsible for establishing and developing the retail brand “Heinemann Duty Free” from scratch, Heinemann’s expansion was due in no small part to Ettlin’s grasp of global retail and an ability to read the Travel Retail market and the transformation of consumer behavior. Furthermore, Ettlin was pivotal in the launch of the Heinemann & Me loyalty programme, now operating in many airport and cruise ships as well as the implementation of the first connected travel retail digital strategy including home delivery.

“We would like to thank Markus Ettlin for the longstanding, good and trustful cooperation”, says Raoul Spanger, Executive Director Retail and HR at Gebr. Heinemann. “Markus played a significant role in the development of our retail brand which he shaped and continually improved. We explicitly thank him for this and wish him all the best for his future.”