Travel agency boss and AFTA director unexpectedly passes away

Burning candle and white calla on dark background with copy space. Sympathy card

Travel agency network CT Partners is mourning the loss of its general manager, Ian Edwards, who died unexpectedly at the age of 61.

Ian Edwards

Edwards passed away at Greenwich Hospital in NSW with family by his side on the afternoon of Friday 18 December.

“Ian was a very private person and had been undergoing treatment for cancer for some time, but was only very recently diagnosed as terminal,” CT Partners said in a statement.

“While Ian had been given only a short time to live, the suddenness of his passing was unexpected.”

An avid tennis player, prankster, music buff and passionate Richmond Tigers supporter, Edwards was born in Dandenong, Victoria on 13 February 1959 and joined the travel industry as a travel consultant with Thomas Cook in the late 1970s, where he rose to become GM for Australia.

When Thomas Cook Australia & New Zealand was acquired by Harvey World Travel (HWT) in 2001, Edwards was appointed GM of the company’s leisure division.

His involvement with CT Partners began with its formation in July 2002, and Edwards was appointed GM in February 2008 when it broke away from S8, which had acquired HWT in September 2005.

Edwards also sat on the Australian Federation of Travel Agents’ board of directors.

“Ian was much more than a general manager, and with his passing, all of us at CT Partners have lost a special friend and cherished confidant and it is with profound sorrow that we convey this heartbreaking news,” the company said.

“There is little one can say at a time like this. However, a life so beautifully lived deserves to be beautifully remembered and details for a celebration of Ian’s life will be shared once the current climate permits.”


Featured image source: iStock/izzzy71

Latest News