On a tour of the Great Wall Back row L-R: Jake Bartlett, Ian Silk, Jonathan Garrett – TC Head Office, Aysha Mee – Airtickets, Claudia Silk, Trish O’Brien, Chris Le Roux – Globus Front row L-R: Julie Moore, Jeanette Peace, Trish Hollis, Veronica Hunt

TC’s in a Traditional Tea House

A team of Travel Counsellors have returned from a once in lifetime trip, exploring the enchanting wonders of China.

Eight of the company’s agents plus staff from the company’s head office team flew out to the awe-inspiring country on an exclusive familiarisation trip to take in the culture and sights of this diverse destination, in conjunction with China Eastern Airways and Avalon Waterway. This included a visit to the Forbidden City, exploring the Great Wall and taking in the historical sights of the ancient Dayan Pagoda. The team also enjoyed a three night cruise on the majestic Yangtze River, including shore excursions to the Ghost City Temple and the Three Gorges Dam. The group finished their trip with a stay in the exhilarating metropolis of Shanghai.

Victoria based Travel Counsellor Jake Bartlett attended the unforgettable trip. He comments: “The solus famil provided a golden opportunity to explore and experience this fascinating country first hand. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend China now to my future clients and the trip has built this confidence through experience, not just through a brochure. It is so great that even as a home based agent, Travel Counsellors provides the opportunities to experience new destinations and enables me to expand my knowledge to best serve my clients.”

“The eductaional is just one of a host of exclusive trips Travel Counsellors has organised for its agents in order to help build their destination knowledge and enable agents from the company to get together and share their experiences with one another...”, says Jonathan Garrett Operations Team Leader who accompanied the agents on this trip.

Business Development Manager Tracy Parkinson comments: “As these educationals are exclusive to Travel Counsellors it really helps to build the strong sense of friendship and camaraderie we have as a company, and as our agents are home-based, it enables them to come together and draw on each other’s experience and knowledge. As a company we are firm believers in the fact that you can’t beat first-hand experience of a destination. We encourage all our Counsellors to go on educationals so they can give the best possible service to their clients.”

“Being there and being part of the places we have read about in books and seen in docos was a once in a lifetime experience.” Veronica Hunt, NSW Travel Counsellor

“I never thought I‘d love China as much as I did. There is something very special about viewing the amazing gorges on the Yangze while sitting on your private balcony on Avalon’s MV Anna. What an amazing journey!” Trish O’Brien, VIC Travel Counsellor

“I feel very privileged to have been part of the Avalon/Globus Famil to China. Although China is a huge country and we only touched the tip of the iceberg, we did see and experience many of the highlights most travellers plan to see. This has helped my knowledge of China immensely. Although it is a destination I sell frequently, I know I will be able to sell China better in the future, which will enhance my clients China adventures. Thank you Travel Counsellors, China Eastern and Globus/Avalon for including me in this wonderful experience.” Jeanette Peace, VIC Travel Counsellor