Midweek Interview with Trinity Hastwell, Hastwell Travel & Cruise

The challenge for the industry is… the world economic climate. The collapse of multiple airlines, cruise lines and tour companies has impacted the overall confidence within the industry (although the strong dollar has been great for Australian travellers).

The things I like about my job are… the great people I get to work with, including my staff, sales reps and clients, and I guess all the travel isn’t too bad either.

And the frustrations… Airline schedule changes are definitely up there.

If I didn’t work in travel I would be a… hopefully something within the marketing or PR industry, so the seven years I spent at university getting my degree wasn’t wasted.

Qantas or Virgin? That’s a bit of a rough question. What if my sales reps are reading this?

My proudest moment was… winning the Travellers Choice Brian Pateman Award this year after being the state finalist for the last two years; it’s great for our agency to be recognized and I’m so proud of all our staff.

The naughtiest thing I ever did was… Me? Be naughty? Never…

I try to relax by… getting away as much as possible with family and friends. Whether it’s overseas, interstate or down to the family winery in McLaren Vale, there’s always a glass or two of vino involved.

The last time I feared for my life… Well I was recently in NYC during Hurricane Sandy which was pretty frightening, although I was bunkered down at the Hilton Fashion District with a bottle of Pino Grigio, which helped keep the stress levels down.

If I can, I always try to avoid… anchovies, seriously, who likes anchovies?

I really wish I had… an eight-day week, an endless supply of Tim Tams and a private jet.

The best advice I’ve ever received was… running a successful business comes down to your ability to make decisions. If you make a bad decision, which you inevitably will, just make another decision to fix the problem.

I don’t understand why… people drink coffee. Although some mornings I really wish I did.

My greatest weakness is… definitely public speaking, I get really nervous.

And my greatest strength… reverse parallel parking, my one true talent in life.

If I was prime minister I would… ensure world peace (sorry, couldn’t help myself).

If I won $1 million on the lottery I would… pay off the mortgage and travel for a year.

If I could be someone else for one day I would be… Marty McFly so I could time travel.

I’ve always wanted to travel to… South America. I was lucky enough to get to Argentina in 2011 but there is so much more to explore. It’s definitely still on the bucket list along with Cuba and Russia.

My favourite holiday was… hmmm there’s so many to choose from. Backpacking Asia with a group of friends in 2006; my first white Christmas in Lake Tahoe, California as a nine year old; or maybe my first overseas trip by myself at aged 16 to London and Qatar, it’s hard to choose.

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

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