The final episode of Series 2 broke the mould before we change things up again for Series 3 that's coming in September.

Erina Pindar, COO and Managing Partner of SmartFlyer, became our first international guest, our first live in-person podcast held at a luxury hotel, and the first guest who hijacked our Offloaded section with an Offload of her very own.

Erina joined SmartFlyer when there were just 6 travel advisors connected to the brand. Celebrating it's 10th anniversay in 2025, the numbers are currently at 250 across the US and Europe with another 35 here in Australia.

We asked how Erina glues an international network together and what Australian advisors can learn from their international counterparts. She also spoke about 'recommendation culture' and the tightrope a modern advisor has to dance between recommending everything on social media versus holding some of that back to avoid contributing to overtourism and the possible saturation of those cute, secret little finds that give advisors their value in the first place.

If that topic isn't fascincating enough Erina also talked about the increasing trend of putting clients on a retainer, an entirely new concept to at least one of our hosts.
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The winner of the Numinous Moments competition that includes 3 Nights in the Maldives at JOALI BEING for two people with half-board and return seaplane transfers was announced during this episode as Sarah Webster of Wayfinder Travel, with this entry!

Our enormous congrats to Sarah as we put claims in to be her plus-one. Pick me! Pick me!

We must also make honourable mentions of three terrific runner-up entries from Deanne Scanlan with this one, Peta Godfrey with this one and another from Emily Sonley who entered with an email that we read out during the episode.

Charlie Trevena's new and exciting Travel Agent Takeaways podcast was mentioned, and is an instant contender for the second-best podcast in our industry. You can find that here, and there's links to subscribe on your favourite podcast platform on that page.
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A heartfelt thanks to our series sponsor Numinous Luxury Travel Representation for their support and encouragement, without which this series would never have happened. More info on Numinous is available at https://www.numinousltr.com/

And we've been exceptionally proud to partner with the iconic Hong Kong Tourism Board to raise awareness of the magic of Hong Kong during the series that has included hidden treasures that you'll never have heard about. Their website is here: https://www.discoverhongkong.com/anz/index.html

Finally our sincere thanks to all the guests who've appeared in Series 2, the organisations who've appeared as Sales Calls, our stand-in hosts Nicola Strudwick and Sonia Jones, our marketing team of Lisa Maroun and Anya Vokhmyakova, our editor Chris Finesa......and most of all to you, our listeners xx

You're all on a retainer for Series 3.
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Social Details

Follow Erina Pindar, Managing Partner and COO at SmartFlyer, here on LinkedIn and here on Instagram. The Insta is pretty cool - just saying.

Andrew Young is the General Manager Sales for TTC Tour Brands Oceania, and the only person we know that performs a demanding industry role while living and helping out as the only son on a working farm.

That topic is worthy of a podcast all by itself, but the reason for asking Andy to join us on this occasion was to talk about travel industry sales.

We were also joined by Karen Macmillan, Director Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific for Hong Kong Tourism Board.

A sales 'nerd', as he puts it himself, Andy tells us how 'consultative selling' has taken over as the method to educate agents to promote and explain diverse touring options to their clientele.

A changed industry landscape of less agents and advisors in visible locations around Australia presents a challenge for their suppliers, who must promote to consumers and also educate agents on the potential demand in their local area.

It's a fascinating discussion and we welcome your feedback on the points raised.

Also, for the first and possibly only time, we take an industry person OFF notice.
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Our series sponsor is Numinous Luxury Travel Representation. More info is available at https://www.numinousltr.com/

And we're proud to partner with Hong Kong Tourism Board to raise awareness of the magic of Hong Kong. Their website is here: https://www.discoverhongkong.com/anz/index.html
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NUMINOUS MOMENTS PRIZE DETAILS

We want to know what your NUMINOUS MOMENTS are, and by doing so you’ll go into the draw to win an amazing prize courtesy of Numinous Luxury Travel Representation. Listen to our special Bonus Episode to discover what a Numinous Moment is.

Final entry date is 30th June 2024, and visit https://www.travelcommunityhub.com/latest/numinous/ for terms, conditions and instructions.

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Offloaded is a Travel Community Hub production. More info is available at www.travelcommunityhub.com

Contact us via offloaded@travelcommunityhub.com, or via LinkedIn below.

LinkedIn Details:
Andy Young, GM Sales TTC Tour Brand - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-young-09b9a735/
Karen MacMillan - Director Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific for Hong Kong Tourism Board- https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-macmillan-96711918/

Richard Taylor - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-taylor-tch
AC Jones - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-catherine-jones-158b3260/
...and Chris Finesa, Editor and Producer - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-finesa-490637300/

Bye!

"Get the country open".

These were the suggestions from the Fijiian Prime Minister, Attorney General and Chair of Tourism Fiji to Brent Hill , the new CEO who had taken up the role at a time when the island was closed for visitation.

AC and Richard quizzed Brent about this interesting life and career choice, before moving on to discussing Fiji's unique charms, character and challenges that make it a favourite for Australian travellers.

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Our series sponsor is Numinous Luxury Travel Representation. More info is available at https://www.numinousltr.com/

And we're proud to partner with Hong Kong Tourism Board to raise awareness of the magic of Hong Kong. Their website is here: https://www.discoverhongkong.com/anz/index.html
____

NUMINOUS MOMENTS PRIZE DETAILS

We want to know what your NUMINOUS MOMENTS are, and by doing so you’ll go into the draw to win an amazing prize courtesy of Numinous Luxury Travel Representation. Listen to our special Bonus Episode to discover what a Numinous Moment is.

Final entry date is 30th June 2024, and visit https://www.travelcommunityhub.com/latest/numinous/ for terms, conditions and instructions.

____________________

Offloaded is a Travel Community Hub production. More info is available at www.travelcommunityhub.com

Contact us via offloaded@travelcommunityhub.com, or via LinkedIn below.

LinkedIn Details:
Brent Hill - CEO, Tourism Fiji - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brenthillfiji/

Richard Taylor - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-taylor-tch
AC Jones - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-catherine-jones-158b3260/
Sonia Jones - https://www.linkedin.com/in/soniajonestravel/
...and Chris Finesa, Editor and Producer, is your goto guy for audio projects. He's recommended 1000x over - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-finesa-490637300/