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Background
Karen’s passion for travel became a reality when she started working for the Australian Tourism Commission in 1988 in Chicago. Since then she has visited all states and territories of Australia and learned about many of the country’s unique places and experiences. She has developed her sales and marketing skills through on the job training over the past 20 years in a variety of roles.
Karen was Tourism Tasmania’s Trade Development Executive North America for 10 years. She joined DCI in 2008 when Tourism Tasmania and DCI signed a contract to increase their representation services to include Travel Trade Marketing.
Karen's Passion for Places
Karen has always been intrigued by travel and loves to experience different cultures. She has vacationed in many countries in Europe and the Caribbean, but by far the most extensive traveling she has done is throughout Australia. The country is so diverse and each region has something unique to offer. But the one common thread found throughout, is the sincerity and friendliness of the people you meet. There are so many travel choices in the world that it is very rewarding to be able to enthuse someone enough by your own experiences that they want to do it themselves.
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Notable Results
• Since 1999 Karen has been responsible for developing the Tasmania Specialist Program – a continuing education program for agents that specialize in Australia (Aussie Specialists). She was instrumental in developing the first Tassie Specialist training module, coordinating a regular familiarization program for agents, regular newsletter updates and more recently the implementation of online webinar training to help agents learn more about Tasmania and how to sell it to their clients.
• Karen was instrumental in Tourism Tasmania receiving an Opal Award for “Best Australian State Tourism Office in North America” for six years 2002 - 2007, voted for by Aussie Specialist travel agents at their annual conference – Corroboree.
• Since starting with DCI in October 2008, Karen has successfully implemented Tasmania’s travel trade marketing activities with DCI, including the introduction of webinar marketing capabilities.
• She has assisted DCI in providing a more integrated approach to destination marketing enabling the client to more effectively leverage trade promotions through PR activities, including G’Day USA, Macy’s, Virtuoso and Blundstone.
• Karen has initiated partnerships with six Australian travel wholesale companies, resulting in increased Tasmanian product availability and distribution through these companies to the North American consumer.
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