Bigger push on the Pacific
Virgin Blue/Polynesian Blue Airlines has announce sthe appointment of Tuilaepa Edmund von Heiderbrandt as its new Business Development Manager for Pacific Islands – Australia reporting to Gaisa’afa Eli Cowley – Regional Manager Pacific Island Sales.
Tuilaepa joins the team with a wealth of understanding and experience, including 13 years as the Australian Marketing Manager for the Samoa Tourism Authority in Sydney.
More recently he held the role of Head of Sales and Marketing for Hotel Kitano in Samoa.
The appointment is part of the airline’s long term strategy to further develop and promote its Pacific Island network.
Lesley Owen, Manager Industry Sales, said “We are keen to continue forging ahead with the development of our Pacific Island markets and we are delighted to welcome Tuilaepa to the team. He not only has a strong travel industry experience but also a good understanding of various Pacific Island community backgrounds. We look forward to working closer with our community and island business counterparts”.
Virgin Blue operates flights to the Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji and Vanuatu which are looked after by its Pacific Blue airline, while Samoa is serviced by Polynesian Airlines (a partnership between Virgin Blue and Samoan Government) with three weekly direct services (Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) direct from Sydney Sydney.
Polynesian Blue recently announced a record profit of ST10.5 million tala ($5.2 AUD) and the strong result has been directly attributed to the strength of air travel to and from Samoa and the resulting boom in Samoan tourism.
The latest figures from the National Department of Statistics highlight the continuing growth in people travelling to Samoa to holiday, as well as those visiting family and friends.
Polynesian Blue will continue its efforts to promote inbound tourism with the added assistance now of Tuilaepa.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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