Jardine, who has been in the role for eight years, revealed in late 2025 that the cancer had returned and he was now balancing the fight with his duties as CATO’s leader.
In a press release, CATO stated that during his tenure, Jardine had played a pivotal role in strengthening the touring sector’s position within the broader travel industry, having guided the industry body and its members through the challenges of COVID.
It listed his key achievements as securing government funding for members through the Reviving International Tourism Grant (RITG) program, establishing its fit-for-purpose accreditation framework, expanding flagship industry events, most notably the CATO Christmas Lunch, and developing the CATO Touring Academy to support education and engagement across the travel industry in ANZ.
CATO chair Dennis Bunnik lauded Jardine’s contributions.
“Brett has been instrumental in shaping CATO into the strong and respected industry body it is today,” he said.
“His leadership through the COVID years ensured our sector remained visible, connected and supported during an incredibly challenging time.”
Speaking with sister publication, Travel Daily last night, Jardine said, “I still remember saying to Dennis, ‘I’ll give you two years to help take CATO into its next chapter’ – ironically, just 10 days before those two years were up, COVID hit, so I felt a strong sense of responsibility to stay and help navigate what became the most challenging period our sector has ever faced.
“One of the outcomes I’m most proud of is that not one Australian-owned CATO member became insolvent during COVID – a lot of that came down to the work we did supporting members and engaging closely with government,” he added.
Jardine asserted that this was not the curtain call on his career in travel, just a “well-earned break”, and that he was looking forward to staying connected to the industry.
