Women in Travel: It’s Trendsetter Travel’s Adrienne Witteman!

We chat with Adrienne Witteman, Director, Trendsetter Travel on running her own business, being bossy and golf course chats about travel, in conjunction with the inaugural Women in Travel Awards in November.

We work in a people industry and at the risk of sounding sexist, I think women have traditionally gravitated towards nurturing careers, travel being one of them.

Currently, it is one of my concerns that there are relatively few young people coming into the travel industry, and maturing within it – you go to functions and never meet owners or managers in their 30s, people who will mature in the industry like my cohort has done. Perhaps they have become independent contractors but I do worry for the breadth of expertise we are losing.

In terms of work, my dream is to turn off at six at night, clock back on at eight the next morning and have weekends off, with true downtime when on holiday. The reality is somewhat different sadly and I don’t practise what I preach. Somehow there are far too many emails and even when I am enjoying a Sunday game of golf, people want to talk travel.

In leadership terms, if you asked my five younger siblings, almost certainly they’d say I’m inclined to bossiness – you don’t spend your teenage years babysitting, coercing and commanding without it leaving an indelible mark. But everything has an opposite reaction and the upside is that you learn to take risks and to trust your judgement.

I’d love to have the wisdom of Solomon and the charisma of Barack Obama though.

At the end of the day, starting my own agency was a chance to create my own destiny. The first time I put up the Open for Business sign took me out of my comfort zone. I had never sold an outbound ticket. Or a cruise. Or employed staff. But somehow I managed and as each day went on, that learning curve became less steep and my step on each rung more comfortable. It has been a fantastic journey.

Travel Weekly is proud to present the inaugural Women in Travel Awards in Sydney on 17 November.

Award entries are now closed, and finalists will be announced on Travel Weekly only 1 November.

Winners will be announced at a gala awards ceremony on 17 November in Sydney. Earlybird tickets are on sale.

Any questions, contact Daisy Melwani on 0401216294 or drop her a line here.

Read other Women in Travel interviews in this series:

Sarina Bratton, Ponant

Sarah Anderson, GTI Tourism

Penny Lion, Tourism Australia

Kim Mason, TravelManagers

Simla Sooboodoo, Hands On Journeys

Eliza Woodward, SmartFlyer Australia

Jennifer Vandekreeke, Carnival Cruise Line