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Retirees are spending big on international travel

di-burney

Di Burney.

15 FEB: Anyone who thinks that retirement villages are places where you go to die hasn’t spoken to Di Burney.

The TravelManagers personal travel manager in the Melbourne suburb of Essendon is making hundreds of thousands of dollars booking travel for retirees who’ve swapped traditional home ownership for more communal living, but still have the means and the desire to see the world.

She’s currently working on an APT Canada/Alaska tour in September for more than 20 residents at one village.

To date the booking is worth over $200,000.

A girlfriend who has a relative at one particular village alerted Di to the business potential.

"She told me they’re all cashed up and ready to travel", Di recalls.

It’s proving to be a worthwhile lead.

Di has also taken a $21,000 Fiji booking for a family group and a $20,000 booking from a couple planning a Kimberley cruise.

However, it hasn’t all happened overnight.

Di was chipping away at one retirement village for six months to win appointment as a personal travel manager before the bookings started coming in.

She sponsored several events at the village, providing small gifts like hampers, chocolates and wine, and hosted a number of morning teas.

She also co-hosted an afternoon tea with APT to promote the Canada/Alaska program and has since received an award from the tour company in recognition of her support.

She continues to pay $50 a quarter to have her business card inserted in a fortnightly village newsletter.

A 30-year industry veteran, Di has been with TravelManagers just over two years, after eight years with a franchise network.

"With TravelManagers it’s all about lifestyle", she says.

"I can pick the hours I work and work when the work is there.

"I’m probably earning the same money now working half the hours I used to".

 

 
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News in Brief for 22 May

GREEK CANCELLATIONS Europe low-fare carrier Ryanair has reportedly confirmed that it will cut 82 flights a week to the Greek holiday islands of Rhodes and Kos after local authorities allegedly failed to honour a joint summer marketing campaign with the airline.

STANSTED STRIKE Baggage handlers at London’s Stansted airport plan a series of strikes from this weekend after negotiations on shift changes broke down. The 150 workers are employed by Swissport, which handles baggage for Ryanair and a number of UK holiday airlines.

AIRLINE DENIES CUTS Air France-KLM denied plans to cut 5,000 jobs by 2015 through a voluntary redundancy plan, as reported by French daily Le Figaro. "For the moment there are absolutely no negotiations about possible job cuts, these are just rumours," a spokeswoman told reporters.

MEXICAN REVIVAL? Mexicana Airlines, which suspended flights for financial reasons in August 2010, may re-launch operations next month after Spanish hotel and air transport group Med Atlantica acquired 95% of the bankrupt carrier’s shares.

THAI SACKING The board of Thai Airways is reported to have sacked the airline’s chairman, with a spokesman saying he was "unable to work in unity with the strategy committee".