BOOSTING the consumer profile of the National Travel Industry Awards (NTIA) was at the forefront of a new partnership between the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) and Fairfax Media brokered last month.
The deal will see the NTIAs promoted through Fairfax’s travel publication Traveller, which is produced weekly for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
AFTA CEO Jayson Westbury said the new agreement would “turbocharge the consumer engagement strategy” that AFTA had undertaken to raise the profile of ATAS accredited travel agents.
“With this outstanding quality partnership, AFTA and the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age Traveller will place the NTIAs directly in the eyes of the consumer, and we are delighted to be working together,” Westbury said.
Fairfax Media believes the tie-up with AFTA will benefit its mastheads as well, lending further weight to its commitment to the Australian travel industry.
“We are privileged to partner with AFTA and the 2019 National Travel Industry Awards,” said Fairfax head of travel Philippa Walker.
“The partnership recognises our deep commitment to the travel industry and we look forward to highlighting the valuable work of AFTA to our audiences,” said added.
The new tie-up was officially unveiled at a function at Sydney’s Sofitel Darling Harbour, an event attended by 2019 NTIA sponsors and a number of Fairfax executives including head of travel Philippa Walker, Traveller editor Anthony Dennis, publishing director food and travel Trudi Jenkins, and Michael Grenenger, group director luxury and lifestyle.
Traveller describes itself as a “daily escape to dream destinations”, providing a mix of editorial content such as destination guides, travel advice, and “inspirational content”.
The publication is headed up by Anthony Dennis who is the former deputy editor of The Sydney Morning Herald as well as former editor of the Australian Travel + Leisure magazine.
