The challenge for the industry is…every challenge becomes an opportunity. People always want to travel and explore new places, so demand continues to increase. Generally speaking (excluding civil unrest, ash cloud and health outbreaks, such as bird flu and SARS etc) only the supply, the styles and technology change, which can have its challenging moments.
The things I like about my job are…talking about work as much as possible, because that means talking travel.
And the frustrations…civil unrest in so many destinations and the impact that has on the lives of the people in those countries.
If I didn’t work in travel I would be a…doctor of tropical diseases, despite my ambition to represent Australia as a number one tennis pro.
Qantas or Virgin? I have been a life member of Qantas since 1999 and a very loyal follower. I was on the Qantas flight in 2008 that made the emergency landing in Manila when a gas cylinder exploded causing a hole in the aircraft, it did look like our number was up and I credit Qantas to this day with saving my life. Late last year when Qantas grounded its fleet I took a Virgin flight for the first time ever and the service from beginning to end was incredible. I now find the Qantas service on occasion disappointing.
My proudest moment was…winning our hockey grand final at the age of 18. We were the underdogs and played the game of our lives.
The naughtiest thing I ever did was…wag school at the age of 12 to go to the local horseracing day. I should have realised living in the small town of Warrnambool that at least half the town would be there even if my mother wasn’t!!
I try to relax by…sitting in front of a beautiful view with a glass of wine, knowing my favourite foods are about to be served… just magic.
The last time I feared for my life…was black Saturday, February 7 2009, the worst bushfires in Victoria’s history. A group of us were stuck on a house boat on Lake Eildon and the cloud cover that instantly surrounded us was in fact smoke. It really was quite terrifying for a while.
If I can, I always try to avoid…putting on the weight I have just worked so hard to get off!
I really wish I had…great balance so I could ski.
The best advice I’ve ever received was…travel the world. My cousin told me travelling would be the ultimate and the most rewarding experience of my life. He was right.
I don’t understand why…there is so much political unrest in the world and innocent people are still getting killed because of it.
My greatest weakness is…my lack of patience (so everyone tells me).
And my greatest strength…following my passion whether it is travel, my football team or enjoying the company of others.
If I was prime minister I would…want a lot of support from a lot of people and work towards improving our current health and education system. It really can’t be that difficult!
If I won $1 million dollars on the lottery I would…take more people to places like Myanmar, the land of smiles, and I would support more charities in developing communities along the way.
If I could be someone else for one day I would be…the winner of the Australian Open Tennis Championship.
I’ve always wanted to travel to…Russia on the Trans Mongolia Railways starting in Beijing.
My favourite holiday was….nine months in South America in 1993. It was life changing and it bought me back to Australia after eight years overseas.
