Beirman to be keynote presenter and speaker at Australia’s first travel industry specific crisis management training courses

Dr David Beirman, TravelMole’s Tourism Crisis and Recovery Specialist Correspondent will be the keynote specialist speaker at a forthcoming series of travel and tourism crisis management training courses, being organised by TA Fastrack, Australia’s leading provider of travel management coaching and marketing workshops

The courses, which are run after office hours so there is no disruption to your working day, are being held in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and are Australia’s first crisis management training courses designed specifically for Australian travel professionals, who every day read media headlines cover events which impact on the travel industry – civil unrest in Tonga, a coup in Fiji and the high cost of oil worldwide are just some of the issues which impact on our industry.

David told The Mole, “Australian travel industry professionals have faced an unprecedented variety of recent crisis events ranging from international events such as September 11 in 2001, the Bali bombings of 2002 and 2005, SARS in 2003, the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, the 2006 coup in Fiji, terrorism in Europe, the USA, Middle East and SE Asia, to local crises, the 2001 Ansett collapse and successive droughts, bushfires and storms.

He added, “Closer to our desks we have also found that travel agents, hoteliers and wholesalers are challenged by internet marketing, reduced airline commissions, direct marketing by principals and an increasingly competitive, technological and price sensitive business environment.”

As a result David says that integrated risk, crisis and recovery management training for Australian travel professionals is long overdue prompting these courses to outline the  strategies Australian travel professionals from all segments of the industry urgently require to manage the crises and challenges in 2007 and future years.

David added, “Since 2003 I have trained over 2,000 travel agents and professionals from 22 countries in crisis management and this custom-designed course for Australian travel professionals is the most comprehensive of its type ever presented, giving Australian travel professionals a winning edge.”

The Course will include:

** Strategies to overcome direct threats to retailers of reduced commissions, direct marketing by principals and internet marketing;

** Making risk management profitable to your agency and business;

** Insurance your clients and your business;

** Contingency planning to minimise exposing of your business to crisis events;

** Identifying the distinction between media created perception and fact and profiting from it;

** Understanding tourism security and safety and profiting from it;

** Enhancing your status from order taker to travel expert;

** Successfully selling destinations which others believe are no go zones;

** Identifying the best and most reliable sources of information about the real extent of crisis situations;

** Instilling confidence in your clients and their families through your own grasp of crisis situations;

** Identifying allies and sources of assistance during a crisis; and

** Simulation to put into practice the concepts learned during the course.

David Beirman is very well known to the Australian travel industry. with over 26 years experience in retail travel agencies, wholesaling, consolidation and destination marketing and he also lectures tourism part-time at UTS.

David was Director of the Israel Government Tourism Office in Sydney between 1994-2006 and from 2001 to 2006 he was founder, inaugural Chairman and National Secretary of the Eastern Mediterranean Tourism Association (EMTA).

Since the publication of his book “Restoring Tourism in Crisis” in 2003, he has been invited as a keynote or major speaker on tourism crisis management at academic and tourism industry conferences in 15 countries, including Australia and has conducted crisis management training seminars for over 2,000 travel professionals from 20 countries including Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Israel, Fiji, Korea, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Canada and the USA.

In the week prior to the courses in Australia, David will have completed a crisis and recovery management training programme for the tourism industry leadership of Fiji, in a programme closely associated with TravelMole’s current highly successful Fiji recovery trade campaign which is being run in partnership with 16 of Fiji’s leading operators, including Fiji Visitors Bureau and Fiji’s Tourism Advisory Group. 

The dates of the crisis management training course are: –  

Sydney:

Mon 26 Feb, NSW Bowlers Club 95 York St Sydney, from 1800-2100;

Melbourne:

Wed 28 Feb, St Kilda Parkview Hotel, 562 St Kilda Rd, from 1800-2100;

Brisbane:

Date and location to follow

Cost:

The cost inclduing full course and morning tea is $150 pp incl. GST (fully tax deductible)

For bookings, registration, payment & further details please contact TA Fastrack on www.tafastrack.com.au  and navigate to upcoming events or on 07 3630 1298 and ask for Emma or Adrian.

When booking please mention TravelMole!

Report by The Mole