Local business wins Travel Agency of the Year Award
Five Dock-based “Travelscene at Laze Away Travel†has been selected as the winner of the Inaugural Travelscene American Express Agency of the Year Award.
The prestigious award came as a complete surprise to owners of the well-known inner west business, Cathy and Patrick Natoli who have operated the agency since 1980, the year they were married. The agency, which was created by Patrick’s parents in the 1950’s to help people migrate to Australia via shipping lines, has been on Great North Road, Five Dock for over 50 years.
The agency is part of Australian travel agency group, Travelscene American Express, winner of the National Travel Industry Award’s “Best Travel Agency Group†2008 and 2006.
“It is an absolute privilege and honour to have been selected and we are still a little stunned to have been chosen,†Cathy Natoli said. “Travelscene American Express was recently awarded Australia’s best travel group so I guess that makes us the best of the best and that’s fantastic recognition for our entire team.â€
“This is a business which has been in the same location for more than 50 years and we’ve worked with generations of families to make their travel dreams come true.” “We work together with our clients on their honeymoons, family trips, retirement trips, and then their childrens’ weddings and so it goes on, full circle – that family loyalty is a big factor in our business’ success and we certainly manage our clients’ travel plans as though they were our own.â€
The secret to ensuring their successful business continues to thrive as they are able to adapt to the changing business climate, according to Patrick, is enthusiasm and pride.
“We might be just a small business but we’ve worked together for a long time, we all take great pride in our work and we are focussed on taking all the stress out of travel for our clients whether it’s domestic or international, business or leisure.â€
“While it’s easy to manage simple bookings on-line, we know many of our clients want the worry taken out of co-ordinating their travel requirements, and want the benefit of our expertise and buying power as part of Travelscene American Express as well as the safety of dealing with a licensed travel agency to ensure they are covered should anything go wrong.â€
A Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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