Page 3299 - Week 12 - Thursday, 19 November 1992
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ADJOURNMENT
Motion (by Mr Berry) proposed:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.
Travel Agents Awards : Small Business
MR KAINE (Leader of the Opposition) (4.33): Madam Speaker, during the last couple of days in the Assembly we have heard much about tourism and the winners of the 1992 ACT Tourism Awards. I join with my colleagues on both sides of the house in congratulating those enterprises and the individuals, both managers and staff, that are behind them. This afternoon, however, I want to focus briefly on some other awards that were presented last week in the tourism industry. I refer specifically to the 1992 Australian Federation of Travel Agents (ACT Chapter) Awards for Excellence which were presented last Friday.
Madam Speaker, the travel industry looms large in the ACT. There are over 80 travel agencies in the ACT and region and they employ over 500 staff in total. They are supported by a good network of principals operating in Canberra and a wide range of tour wholesalers which operate out of Sydney with good representation in Canberra. In an economic climate where every business opportunity must be made to succeed and may be the difference between a business continuing and not continuing, we must salute those businesses that strive for excellence in the delivery of services to their customers.
There were seven categories of awards presented last week and each recognised outstanding achievement and excellence in a particular field. Madam Speaker, I am delighted to inform members of the Assembly that Silver Service Travel, of Woden, was awarded the coveted Travel Agency of the Year Award. Many members will have heard about the Silver Service show coaches that travel to Sydney and Melbourne regularly for concerts and stage productions. Travel Consultant of the Year was awarded to Cheryl Faes of NRMA Travel in Braddon. The Travel Student of the Year was awarded to 19-year-old Cathy Sydenham of the Metropolitan Business College. The Airline of the Year was awarded to British Airways, which has had a regional office in Canberra for over 12 years. Tour Wholesaler of the Year was awarded to Insight International Tours, a major package holiday company dealing in Europe and America in particular.
Two new categories introduced to the awards this year are Sales Representative of the Year, which was awarded to Geoff Fairall of Australian Airlines, and Travel Agency Manager of the Year, which went to Stephen McLean of the Queensland Travel Centre. Madam Speaker, I hope that members will join with me in congratulating those award winners and wishing them well for their careers in the travel industry. We all know that things are tough for those many small businesses that sell travel, but their attitudes towards marketing and customer service in general set a fine example for other businesses to follow.
Madam Speaker, speaking briefly on another subject but still related to business success, I was honoured last night to be invited to open the new Civic premises of Canberra Wholesale Stationers and Ausdoc. These two businesses are defying the trend by expanding their operations. The reason for their joint success is that
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