Christmas parties, reunions and celebrations galore! – Weekly trip

We begin the year-end celebrations with a recap of all the festivities, meetings, and gatherings our readers have sent in over the past few weeks.
AT Weekly trip, the only thing we love more than an upgrade to business class is celebrating the fantastic group of people who make the travel industry so great, especially given what year we’ve just had.
We can’t wait to see what you have in store for 2022!
CATO brings members together for Christmas parties in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane
CATO’s board and members gathered for its annual Christmas party at the Harbor View Hotel in Sydney on December 8 and at the Juliet Bar in Melbourne on December 14.
Over 60 members in Sydney and 35 members in Melbourne attended the AlUla sponsored event, where members got a glimpse of AlUla.
Addressing the members, Brett Jardine, Managing Director of CATO, took the opportunity to thank the CATO Board of Directors who have been incredibly supportive and involved, given his time and energy while doing facing its own challenges related to COVID.
Dennis Bunnik, president of CATO, also thanked the board for their commitment over the past two difficult years and spoke with cautious optimism about 2022.
The Brisbane CATO event will be held in Brisbane on December 22, sponsored by the Tour Atlas technology platform.
Thailand Tourism Authority Appreciation Lunch November 26, 2022
The TAT Australia team hosted a wonderful pre-Christmas rally at the Blue Ginger Restaurant in Balmain, Sydney to celebrate two important things – Thailand’s reopening and our release from lockdown just before December arrives.
The exclusive event brought together TAT friends from the Royal Thai Consulate, Thai Airways, Luxury Escapes, Planetdwellers, Flight Center, Helloworld, Travel Zoo, Hoot Holidays, My Overseas Wedding, Play by Afterpay and Complete Travel Marketing.
Everyone dressed in Christmas colors, some even brought their own Christmas lights for a choker. Champagne and gift certificates were awarded for agents playing quizzes and party games. The award for best outfit went to Stephanie Jones of Hoot Holidays.
Another NSW member for CT Partners closes the year
CT Partners ended the year on a positive note with the signing of another new member in NSW. BTA Travel (formerly Trans Turk Travel), a well-established family business specializing in group, leisure and corporate travel is the 9e agency to join CT Partners in 2021.
Owners Yekta and Dilek Gokyildirim said that with their recent refocus on business travel, membership in CT Partners provides them with the support and expertise they need to make a successful transition, adding that the core value of CT Partners’ transparency echoes their own business approach. .
Explorers reunited
The founders of The Explorer Society, Martin Edwards and Cameron Neill, have finally met in person for the first time since the company launched in September.
Thanks to lockdowns and travel restrictions, it had been over a year since they last caught up.
They spend a few days together in Melbourne talking about all travel-related matters and working on their plans to make people’s travel dreams come true in 2022, including some brand-new and exciting destinations that will be announced during the news. year.
Cook Islands Tourism Training Winners Take Tropical Paradise Awards!

For two weeks in November, 40 impressive agents completed the latest Cook Islands tourism incentive training program, entering the raffle to win one of five Hammamas branded Turkish towels.
The five lucky winners were:
Australia
Luke Mitchell, Insider Journeys – bottom right
Tanya Patterson, TravelManagers
New Zealand
Tania Paull, Flight Center (Johnsonville) – photo below left
Rochelle Evans Travel House (Barrington)
Margaret Rouse, MondoTravel (Mt Eden)
Nara, Japan product development family

Tourism Exchange Japan and the Nara Visitors’ Office last week hosted Inside Japan Tours and DISCOVA Japan in Nara Prefecture on a product development trip, showcasing the region’s highlights.
The family, organized by the Sydney Gate 7 marketing agency, included many of Nara’s undiscovered gems, such as the retro spa town of Dorogawa Onsen, the secluded samurai mountain village of Totsukawa, and the Kumano Pilgrimage Route. , World Heritage Site, Kohechi.
The group has been busy visiting fascinating shrines and temples, scaling Indiana-Jones-style suspension bridges, crossing ancient gorges, and even trying a riverside ‘tent sauna’!
Featured Image: Thailand Tourism Authority Appreciation Lunch