CT Partners gets the gang together to celebrate 20 years

A vibrant gathering of CT Partners’ members, suppliers, and industry leaders gathered in Sydney last night for the first milestone event to mark two decades of pioneering a unique and transparent approach.

Founded in 2004, CT Partners stands out as Australia’s leading independently-owned travel buying network, consistently championing the interests of its members by passing through 100 per cent of supplier payments.

The evening was also an opportunity to pay tribute to the resilience of the group and its total commitment to transparency, a hallmark principle that members hold dear.

Hosted at Beta, the evening commenced with a moving acknowledgement of Country from Dwayne Good of InTravel Group, a proud Bundjalung man.

Among the many highlights of the night was the recognition of seven of the ten founding members who were able to attend, six of whom remain with CT Partners today:

• Alan Wolf — Bay Travel
• Gary Reichenberg — Connections Group
• Mark Chaskiel — FBI Travel
• Aaron Watts — Mariner Travel
• Kerri Primrose — MP Travel
• Anna McMurtrie — Wentworth Travel
• Andrew Ross — Travelforce

Recognition of former CT Partners general manager Ian Edwards and late members Bev Cohen and Tim Murphy was made in the form of a toast by CT Partners’ chair, Joe Araullo.

The announcement of the Four Seasons Nam Hai Resort (Hoi An, Vietnam) as the 2024 Conference venue from 30 October to 1 November was greeted with rapturous applause.

‘We are celebrating tonight as our founding members had the courage to set up a different type of travel agency network for independently owned and operated companies that wasn’t on offer in the Australian travel industry then and remains unique today,” CEO, CT Partners, Matt Mason, said.

“We stand on the shoulders of giants today.

‘We are fortunate to have built such a close relationship with our supplier partners over the years too, and some of our airline and technology partners have been by our side from day one.’