Anna Fawcett re-joins Global Touring in newly-created APAC role

Global Touring, the parent company of award-winning travel brands including Topdeck Travel and Back Roads Touring, is today announcing that Anna Fawcett rejoins the company in the newly created role of general manager APAC (Topdeck Travel and Back-Roads Touring) on 20 April 2024.

This exciting development to Global Touring’s global executive team comes as the company continues to thrive in a period of sustained growth.

Fawcett brings with her a wealth of experience which includes two years as Topdeck Travel’s global head of marketing, where she led the ‘Feel Real’ relaunch of the brand and won “Best Use of Social Media” at the Youth Travel awards.

Fawcett’s impressive career portfolio includes various roles at VisitBritain and ChristchurchNZ. Most recently, Fawcett was working in the Solomon Islands as a Technical Advisor – destination marketing at Tourism Solomons, with the New Zealand Government.

Here she played an integral part in their foreign aid program supporting the Solomon Islands’ tourism industry’s recovery and growth from the impact of COVID-19. Alongside over a decade’s worth of experience in tourism, economic development and entertainment sectors across the globe, Anna boasts three degrees. Most notably an MSc in International Marketing, from Edinburgh Napier University, for which her thesis won her the University Medal.

Ed Pettitt, managing director at Global Touring, said: “We are delighted to welcome Anna back to the global touring team as we gear up for our next phase of growth after our mighty Covid-19 bounceback. She is a pioneer, who achieved phenomenal things for Topdeck Travel and will add a new layer of strategic thinking to both our brands. Her new role here, as part of our global executive leadership team, will be pivotal in our advancement plans for both Topdeck Travel and Back-Roads Touring. This new position will focus on B2B sales channels as well as on our customer service team, focussing on building and strengthening existing relationships, creating new ones, and really enhancing our customer service offering – all designed to help make our brands the easiest for travel agents and customers to deal with. Anna will undoubtedly help us continue this momentum.”

Fawcett said: “I am really excited to be rejoining Global Touring, and to lead the Australia team out of Brisbane. My core focuses will be sales and customer service, working more closely with the travel trade, and seeking out new distribution channels for the brands. This is such an exciting time of expansion on many levels and I am thrilled to be part of it.”

In a further structure update, David Gendle will step into the key role of head of sales (Topdeck Travel and Back-Roads Touring) replacing Dylan Hearne, who left Global Touring recently. This role is a crucial driver for trade sales growth, overseeing Global Touring’s expanding team of business development managers, Gendle will stay in this role until the end of this year before retiring after an outstanding 30 + year career in the travel industry.

Pettitt added: “David has been instrumental in our sales success over the last six years and we certainly would not be in this position without him. These are two really exciting changes to our global executive team and I know as we flourish together, our brands will continue to grow from strength to strength.”

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