Issues & Trends – September 2012
Bunnik’s Egypt action rewarded with win in the BRW Private
Business Awards
BUNNIK Tours’ customer commitment during the Egyptian revolution has helped propel the Adelaide-based operator to a win in the 2012 BRW Private Business Awards for excellence in customer service.
At the outbreak of last year’s turmoil that unseated Egypt’s former government, Bunnik Tours managing director Dennis Bunnik flew to Cairo where he made contact with passengers travelling on his company’s tours. Working with Bunnik’s staff back in Australia and its Egypt ground operators he co-ordinated his customers’ safe return home. (travelBulletin, February and March).
When Bunnik Tours recommenced tours to Egypt six weeks after the revolution, the company’s founder Marion Bunnik was based in Cairo for three weeks to travel with and reassure passengers.
The prestigious BRW Private Business Awards recognise outstanding achievements by Australian private businesses.
Commenting on the award, Dennis Bunnik said: “As a family owned and operated company, our clients are like family and we felt it essential to have a senior manager on the ground to not only reassure our clients but to also help with the changes to their itineraries.
“We wanted to ensure our clients had the most up to date and accurate information available and as such the decision was made for me to travel to Cairo.
“Our operation during the Egypt revolution period was a massive team both in Australia and Egypt which included rescheduling the travel arrangements for some 700 Bunnik Tours clients.
“This award is wonderful recognition for all our staff involved.”
• Ironically, when the award was announced, the family company’s senior managers – Marion, Sacha and Dennis Bunnik – were in Cairo for a series of planning meetings for the coming high season.
Dennis Bunnik said he was “delighted” with this because “we have been able to share it with our team in Cairo”.
He said that, since the revolution Bunnik Tours has been working to restore confidence in the Egyptian travel market.
“The (Egyptian) tourism industry is now starting to show strong signs of recovery with monthly increases in both visitor numbers and enquiries,” he said.
“Currently European visitors are leading the way with strong bookings for the coming high season.
Enquiries and forward bookings from the US have also increased significantly since the recent relaxing of the US Government’s travel advisory for Egypt.”
