Did someone make a big move from Helloworld to Flight Centre? Has a new face popped up at the office stand up meeting? All is revealed in Travel Weekly’s fab new ‘Flavour of the Week’, where all the movers and shakers get a look in.

Malaysia Airlines appoints new sales

Donna Jones

Michaela Kemp

Melinda Voon

Malaysia Airlines has today announced a few new additions to their Australian Sales and Marketing teams, reinforcing its commitment to the Australian market.

Donna Jones, Michaela Kemp and Melinda Voon join Malaysia Airlines as sales executive for Western Australia, sales executive for South Australia and the Northern Territory, and brand & communication manager, respectively.

With a combined 28 years’ experience, Jones and Kemp will manage and develop all sales channels within their regions and build strong relationships with key trade partners. Jones has held similar positions at Flight Centre and Trafalgar Western Australia while Kemp was previously at Garuda Indonesia and Air Paradise.

Melinda Voon also brings a rich background in tourism, communications and marketing to Malaysia Airlines, having worked in the industry for 18 years. Most recently, she oversaw marketing and communications for Tourism Malaysia Sydney.

Travel Portland appoints Aussie agency Barking Owl

Sydney based boutique agency, Barking Owl Communications has been appointed by Travel Portland, the official destination-marketing organisation for the city, to provide in-market representation for Australia and New Zealand.

The 18-month contract, which commences this month, will consist of media and trade outreach and an exciting direct-to-consumer influencer and activation based program, all of which are designed to build on the success Portland is enjoying in this region.

Located in the Pacific Northwest of the US, Portland is the largest city in the state of Oregon with a population of 2.3 million people.  It offers 145 square miles of exciting things to do, eat, drink, see, hike and explore.

While the key focus of the program for Portland is leisure travel, it will also reinforce the appeal of the destination for business travel, meetings and conventions.

CLIA announces new membership and events manager

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Australasia has announced the appointment of Marita Nosic as its new membership and events manager.

With almost 20 years’ experience in the cruise industry, Nosic will be responsible for trade membership growth and engagement as well as event development and CLIA’s Executive Partner program.

Nosic joins CLIA from Cruiseco, Australia’s leading cruise consortium of cruise specialist travel agencies. She has previously worked for Carnival Cruise Line, P&O Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line.

During her 13 years with Cruiseco, Nosic was responsible for establishing the company’s sales department and overseeing its relationships with more than 220 national and international members, as well as planning and managing events, including its national conference.

IHG Appoints director of communications JAPAC

InterContinental Hotels Group today announced the appointment of Chris Waite to the role of director of communications, Australasia and Japan.

Waite is responsible for leading the communications function for IHG and its core brands of InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hotel Indigo and EVEN Hotels in these rapidly-expanding markets.

A member of the Australian leadership team led by Karin Sheppard, IHG COO Australasia & Japan, Waite will oversee key communications functions including Brand, Loyalty, Internal, and Owner Communications, with the core focus on building IHG Corporate and Brand whilst highlighting IHG’s exemplary employee offering. Waite is based in IHG’s local head office in Sydney.

Cirque du Soleil appoints Canuckiwi Ltd for international representation

Cirque du Soleil has announced the appointment of Canuckiwi Ltd. as its international representation firm in Australia and New Zealand. With seven permanent resident shows based in Las Vegas, Cirque du Soleil has tasked Canuckiwi Ltd. with generating brand awareness through marketing, sales and public relations initiatives.

For the past 24 years, Cirque du Soleil has held firm its place as Las Vegas’ leader in live entertainment, and has continued to evolve and heighten the customer experience by delivering memorable experiences that integrate state-of-the-art technology, creative concepts, and awe-inspiring human performance.

Currently, Australia serves as the number two source of overseas visitation to Las Vegas, and therefore remains a highly-important market for international initiatives. This new venture with overseas representation demonstrates Cirque du Soleil’s understanding of the value of the Aussie and Kiwi traveler.

Crowne Queenstown snags fresh Aussie blood

Crowne Plaza Queenstown has welcomed internationally-experienced hotelier Anna Edie to the position of general manager.

Australian-born Edie, 33, takes the helm at Queenstown’s award-winning lakefront hotel after eight years with the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), most recently as executive assistant manager at Australia’s iconic Intercontinental Sydney Double Bay.

Her extensive hotel career has seen her overseeing rooms division and food and beverage operations for new and established IHG hotels, including Intercontinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa, pre-opening at Holiday Inn Gwangju in Korea, Crowne Plaza Darwin and Intercontinental Shenzhen in China.

Are you our next Flavour of the Month? Send all appointment stories to hannah@travelweekly.com.au to feature in our next segment.