Midweek Interview with Adventure World’s Matt Endycott

In this week’s Midweek Interview, we have a yarn with Adventure World Head of Sales, Matt Endycott, about adventure, passports and cake.

The challenge for the industry is… Educating consumers and clients the value their travel agent can provide.

Often with more complicated itineraries and off-the-beaten-track destinations, a travel agent is an invaluable resource who can obtain clients the best deal, make their dollar go further and ensure that they have a seamless and enjoyable experience from start to finish.

The years of experience, destination knowledge and passion agents bring to their work can prove the difference between a good holiday and an amazing one which clients will talk about for years to come.

The things I like about my job… the chance to work alongside such a passionate and dedicated team of experts.

The Adventure World family are like the United Nations – from our reservations team to our groups specialists and everyone in between there are probably only about 10 countries in the world they haven’t explored!

And the frustrations are … my bucket list is always full to overflowing.

If I didn’t work in travel I would be… I couldn’t imagine doing anything outside of travel. When I was younger, I always dreamed of becoming a pilot.

Favourite airline? Every airline has their benefits but I think to fly to a destination with their national carrier can really give you a flavour of the country before you arrive.

Eating alfajores and sampling South American wines on LATAM definitely inspires your tastebuds for all of the delicacies to come when you land!

My proudest moment was… Adventure World’s collaboration with the Happy Hearts Fund, via the TreadRight Foundation, to rebuild a school in Nepal which had been damaged in the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake.

The whole community—children, mothers, fathers, grandparents, community leaders and partners—gathered for the opening ceremony, and it was truly a beautiful moment to share.

I try to relax by… getting back to nature. There’s nothing quite like the wildlife and wilderness of places like South Africa to reset your compass.

The last time I feared for my life was… I was a pretty adventurous teenager and spent a lot of time outdoors, camping and motorbike riding in National Parks or wake boarding/jet skiing on the Hawkesbury River.

I realise now that (like most teenage boys) I believed I was invincible, so I have one or two close calls.

If I can, I always try to avoid… Religion and politics at the dinner table.

I really wish I had… more pages in my passport.

The best advice I’ve ever received was… Just be yourself.

I don’t understand why people… Don’t have a passport.

My greatest weakness is… trying not to sample all of the local cuisine the minute I land in a new country. But there’s always room for cake…

And my greatest strength is… Intuition

If I won a $1 million lottery (aside from travelling), I would… support the TreadRight Foundation’s Wildlife SOS project in India which seeks to educate local communities to help elephants living in urban environments and improve their welfare.

If I was prime minister I would… give everyone some extra annual leave!

If I could be someone else for one day I would be a… Expedition Leader for Lindblad Expeditions on one of their ships.

Being in the company of acclaimed National Geographic photographers, naturalists and explorers would be truly awe-inspiring.

I’ve always wanted to travel to… Oman or Israel.

My favourite holiday was… I travel to South Africa every year over Christmas for a few weeks with family and nothing beats that first morning game drive.

Advertise with us

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

adventure world midweek interview