Illawarra Fly Treetop Adventures Attraction Manager Andrew Zentrich has a pretty fly job. Afterall, he works at a place with an incredible Treetop Walk through the Illawarra Rainforest and a fun Zipline Tour.
In this week’s Talking Travel we caught up with Andrew to discuss what his job involves, overcoming the difficulties of COVID-19 and the industry moving forward.
What does your job involve?
My job involves running the Illawarra Fly Treetop Adventures. Job ranges from budgets, staff management, networking with local stakeholders, running attraction on a daily basis and future strategic planning to make attraction as successful as possible.
How have you tackled the difficulties caused by COVID-19?
Being an outdoors attraction I believe we are blessed with a great opportunity to offer people something unique to experience during a time when people have become used to being cooped up inside. The biggest difficulty was the time in which we were closed (late March to June long weekend). This was quite positive in that it allowed us time to adequately prepare to operate in a ‘new world’. Through the difficulties during COVID-19 we have taken these and utilised them as opportunities.
What do you enjoy most about your profession?
The key reason I work in my industry is the opportunity to provide memorable experiences to everyone who interacts with Illawarra Fly. This ranging from our wonderful guests who visit us and take part in our experiences all the way down to the people within the team and offer them a supportive, positive and fun working environment.
What are the biggest challenges for you in your profession (outside of COVID-19)?
I honestly can’t say there is anything that I would consider a ‘big challenge’. What makes the tourism industry so exciting to work in is that there are always challenges that help us learn and develop further so challenges I perceive to be more of a learning experience.
What do you think are the biggest challenges the industry faces?
From a personal perspective relating to Illawarra Fly I think we have been blessed that people have traded overseas and interstate travel to come and visit us. I believe places within the tourism industry that rely heavily on international and interstate tourists have been adversely affected due to travel restrictions.
What do you think will be the biggest game changer in the travel industry in the next 12 months’?
The biggest game changer in the next twelve months will be businesses working in an agile nature within a new and ever-changing world. As much as we all hope for borders to open and international travel to pick back up the biggest game changer will be those businesses that adapt to the current circumstances and thrive within a new and different world of operating.
What destination/travel trend do you think is the next big thing?
I think anything outdoors will be the next big thing with people being restricted with COVID enforced isolation and travel restrictions.
What are your thoughts on responsible travel and how do you try implement this in your workplace?
For the world to come out the other side of the COVID-19 challenge it is important that we all do our part. Not travelling unless necessary, being very hygienic when visiting elsewhere and respecting the rules and guidelines within workplaces are imperative for the tourism industry to thrive.
On site we have implemented temperature checks for ALL guests, reduced Zipline tour capacities from 10 people to 4 to ensure safe social distancing, hand sanitisers available in abundance on site, contact details retrieved from one person in every group in the event of COVID-19 tracing, temperature checking of staff before commencing work and we have been highly efficient in ensuring anyone who displays symptoms that could possibly be COVID-19 are getting tested and not allowed to return to work until their result is received.
Who inspires you most and why?
One person that inspires me most is one of my old bosses and a great friend Lachlan Stevens. The reason for this is because he is someone who never sets the bar low (now owns his own bar so no pun intended) and is highly ambitious and driven in what he wants to achieve.
What is your must pack travel item(s)?
Sunglasses so I can keep the sun out of my eyes and sleep on the bus/plane/train without anyone knowing.
Who would you invite on your next holiday if you could choose anyone and where would you go?
For me it is all about exploring your own backyard and putting back into the local economy at the moment. For me I am a person of simple tastes and as long as I am discovering something new and getting a change of scenery, that is a great holiday for me.
Contact Email – Andrew.zentrich@merlinentertainments.com.au
