5 minute read
Australia has been a pivotal part of Traveltek’s global operations. As our team and our work continue to grow in Australia, we’re very proud of the great relationships we have built with our clients across the country.
So this Australia Day, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate our colleagues and clients in Australia and we thought, who better to shine the spotlight on Australia than Ben Welsh, our Account and Project Manager for the APAC region. Ben has been with Traveltek for over 6 years now and in early 2023, he relocated to Australia to start his new role. His main focus is on supporting our existing clients and onboarding new clients.
In this interview, we discuss Ben’s move from the UK to Australia, learning more about how he has adapted to the Australian way of life, his favourite destinations and his work highlights.
Ben, what has the transition from the UK to Australia been like so far?
The transition process over to Australia has been smooth. Having been with Traveltek for over 6 years, I felt comfortable with my work environment which has made the transition a lot easier for me. I had been involved and familiar with a lot of our Australian clients before I made the move, so this also helped me settle in. I also have close friends who’d made the move over from the UK with me, which has helped me massively in making sure I took the right steps and was prepared with everything I needed to make the move.
Can you share some highlights of your first impressions of Australia when you arrived?
I moved to Sydney at the start of May 2023, which is just moving into the winter months in Australia. I was surprised to see so many people in jumpers and coats as I felt like it was summer weather compared to the weather back in the UK. My first impressions were really good as everyone was friendly and welcoming. I was also quite surprised by how many British people lived in the same suburb as me.
Australia is renowned for its natural beauty. What are some of your favourite places you’ve visited in Australia so far, and do you have any travel recommendations for others in the region?
Australia really is an amazing place to live. Living a 5-minute walk from the beach is something I will never take for granted. I enjoy waking up to catch the sunrise on the beach and also enjoy doing the Coogee to Bondi coastal walk. One of my favourite places I’ve visited has been the Blue Mountains, which is west of Sydney. I would definitely recommend everyone who visits Sydney to take the trip there as it’s an amazing place to visit. I also enjoy travelling up to Brisbane to visit our clients there, spending time in the CBD and walking along the Brisbane River. I plan to spend some more time up in the Gold Coast and also take a trip over to Perth as I’ve also heard that it is a must visit.
As a Traveltek representative in the APAC region, how do you see the travel industry evolving in Australia, and what opportunities do you foresee for our clients in the region?
I feel like there is a big opportunity for our clients to increase online booking volumes. We have a lot of projects ongoing at the moment, providing our Cruise API to help clients build out their own online booking websites and also ongoing projects in which we are working with DTMG to build out modern bookable consumer-facing websites to support these clients. I feel a lot of people have more confidence in booking their cruise/holiday online so I think there is a real opportunity to provide this to customers to make booking simple and easy.
Have there been any surprising or unexpected aspects of living and working in Australia that you’ve discovered since moving there? Or any new habits you have picked up?
There is a big fitness culture in Australia which is great and is something that I have tried to make a habit of. Whether it’s going for an early morning run along the beach ahead of a working day or going to the gym following a day of calls, this has really helped me physically and mentally while living and working here.
Are there any local Australian dishes or cuisines that have become your favourites since moving there?
I have always been a fussy eater. However, there are lots of different cuisines in Sydney to try. I reluctantly tried Sushi and that has now become one of my favourites. I have also improved my skills on the BBQ since moving over to Sydney.
Can you share any success stories or projects you’ve worked on in Australia that highlight the impact of Traveltek’s solutions on our clients’ businesses?
We have helped Flight Centre build out their new bookable cruise journey on their cruise website which has been a lot of hard work but we can now see the end results with customers going through to the website and making cruise bookings daily. Having been involved from the very beginning, this has really been so satisfying to see. We look forward to continuing to support this and help to drive more bookings through the online website with a variety of different suppliers.
