Tourism Matters

Epizódok

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  The Business of Tourism - Lisa Pagotto on Shark Tank, Learning to Fly and Building Crooked Compass 02.09.2026 59p

  Join Carmen as she chats with Lisa Pagotto, founder of Crooked Compass and Crooked Compass by Air, about building a tourism business, backing yourself and finding opportunity in some very unexpected places. Lisa launched Crooked Compass in 2014 after realising she was successfully building brands and revenue streams for other tourism businesses and asking herself why she wasn’t doing it for herself. From just $21,000 in turnover in her first year, Lisa went on to appear on Shark Tank, nearly ...
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  Jason Gelineau on Luxury Cruise, Guest Experience and the Power of Your Network 12.08.2026 1ó

  Join Carmen as she chats with Jason Gelineau, a cruise and tourism industry leader with more than 30 years of global experience, including 24 years working at sea. Jason shares how a teenage taste of Caribbean resort life sparked a career that would take him through hotels, luxury cruising, residential ships and senior leadership roles with brands including Silversea, Oceania Cruises, Seabourn, MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys. They talk about guest experience, life at sea, building Explora J...
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  The Business of Tourism - Alex Dykman on building Maverick Tourism, assembling a great team and digital change 29.07.2026 1ó 1p

  Join Carmen as she chats with Alex Dykman, founder of Maverick Tourism and Grow Tourism, about entrepreneurship and the business of tourism. Alex’s tourism career began with a chance conversation over drinks and an entry-level role with Tourism New Zealand. A few years later, several freelance projects completed while travelling through South America planted the seed for Maverick Tourism. After returning to New Zealand at the age of 24, Alex gave herself six months to turn those early proje...
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  Molly Dobbins: Connecting Classrooms to Tourism Careers 08.07.2026 47p

  Episode Description Join Carmen as she speaks with Molly Dobbins, Tourism and Hospitality Gateway to Industry Schools Program Coordinator at the Queensland Tourism Industry Council. Molly is passionate about empowering the next generation of tourism and hospitality professionals by connecting students, educators and industry. In her role, she works closely with Queensland schools to help students better understand the breadth, depth and opportunity that exists across tourism, hospitality and ...
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  James Coughlan: 25 years in cruise, from galley to gangway and into the world of entrepreneurship 18.06.2026 1ó 7p

  Join Carmen as she speaks with James Coughlan, founder of Shorex Australia, about his 25-year journey through the cruise industry. James began his career as a chef, working in high-pressure kitchens before joining Crystal Cruises and stepping into life at sea. What started in the galley eventually led him into shore excursions, where he discovered a new side of the cruise industry: guest experience, destination knowledge, local operators and the complex world that sits just beyond the gangway...
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  Stephen Ekstrom: Learning, Storytelling and Better Tourism Experiences 11.06.2026 50p

  EPISODE DESCRIPTION This week on Tourism Matters, I sit down with Stephen Ekstrom, CEO, co-founder and self-described nerd whisperer at Learn Tourism. Learn Tourism is a non-profit academy creating smart, immersive learning and promotional experiences for tourism professionals, destination marketers, trade associations and communities around the world. This conversation takes a slightly different path from the usual Tourism Matters format. It is open, thoughtful and wide-ranging, touching on ...
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  Solo Episode: Tourism Careers Have a PR Problem 27.05.2026 15p

  Episode Description In this first solo episode of Tourism Matters, prompted by a question asked of her on LinkedIn, Carmen Bold explores one of the biggest challenges facing the tourism industry: how do we attract more people into tourism careers when so many of those careers are still invisible from the outside? Carmen shares her thoughts on why tourism has a PR problem, why the industry needs to do a better job of showing the breadth of roles available, and why career conversations need to ...
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  Professor Judith Mair: Motherhood, Migration and a Career in Tourism 20.05.2026 51p

  In this episode of Tourism Matters, I’m joined by Professor Judith Mair, Academic Director and Associate Dean (Education) at The Hotel School Australia, Southern Cross University. Judith’s career began in Scotland, where she studied languages before finding her way into tourism through visitor information, VisitScotland, tour operations, marketing and hotel business development. After becoming a mother, she moved into academia, completing a PhD and later building a research career across tour...
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  Hannah Pearson: Travel, Startups and Building a Business Through Crisis and Consistency 13.05.2026 51p

  In this episode of Tourism Matters, I’m joined by Hannah Pearson, founder of Pear Anderson and co-host of the Southeast Asia Travel Show. Hannah’s career has taken her from studying languages at Oxford to teaching in France and China, corporate London, Kuala Lumpur, travel startups, market representation and founding Pear Anderson, a tourism sales, marketing and market intelligence business focused on Southeast Asia. We talk about winding tourism careers, unexpected opportunities, building a ...
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  Carmen Bold: From Bungy Jumping to Supporting Entrepreneurs, my Tourism Career, Built One Opportunity at a Time 07.05.2026 1ó 4p

  Episode Description This one flips the script. For the first time on Tourism Matters, Carmen moves from host to guest, with Sarah Jane Tilbury taking the reins. What unfolds is not a polished career narrative. It’s a real one. From retail floors to reservations desks, bungy platforms to Rugby World Cup operations, entrepreneurship to industry capability work - Carmen’s 25-year career is built on instinct, movement, and saying yes to opportunity. There’s no linear path here. But there is a pat...
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  Tabetha Beggs: Building a Tourism Career Through Curiosity, Risk and Storytelling 30.04.2026 1ó 9p

  Tabetha Beggs hasn’t followed a straight path - no, no. In this episode of Tourism Matters, Carmen sits down with Tabetha Beggs, Tourism Experiences Lead at Destination Perth, to explore a career shaped by curiosity, risk-taking, and a willingness to step into opportunities before feeling fully ready. From early ambitions in the arts to roles across tourism, local government, and destination development, Tabetha shares how each experience - expected or not - has contributed to where she is ...
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  Birgitta March: Languages, Academia & Why Tour Guides Are More Important Than Ever 22.04.2026 1ó 1p

  Episode Description In this episode of Tourism Matters, Carmen sits down with Birgitta March, a tourism lecturer, PhD researcher, and former international tour guide. Exploring a career that spans continents, sectors, and decades. From guiding high-end clients in the US to interpreting across Australia and now shaping future professionals in higher education, Birgitta shares a grounded and insightful perspective on the tourism industry. The conversation dives into the evolving role of tour gu...
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  Brad Rowe: The Art + Science Behind Memorable Tourism Experiences 15.04.2026 52p

  In this episode, Carmen is joined by Brad Rowe, a tourism consultant with deep experience across product development, infrastructure, and destination management. We explore his journey from growing up in New Zealand to working on major tourism projects in Queenstown and internationally, including large-scale gondola and chairlift developments. Brad shares practical insights on experience design, what actually drives return on investment in tourism, and how operators can create moments that gu...
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  Beáta Szablics: From Hungary to Antarctica, and a New Way of Thinking About Tourism 09.04.2026 1ó 2p

  Episode Description In this episode of Tourism Matters, Carmen Bold sits down with Beáta Szablics, whose career has taken her from a small town in Hungary to cruise ships, global product development, launching a luxury expedition brand, and ultimately Antarctica. Beáta shares how a non-linear career — starting in animal husbandry and moving through tourism operations and wellbeing — has shaped the way she now approaches experience design. This conversation explores how personal experiences, s...
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  Thomas Worry: From Seasonal Work to a Sustainable Tourism Career 31.03.2026 1ó 9p

  Episode Description In this episode of Tourism Matters, Carmen Bold speaks with Thomas Worry, a Canadian tourism professional whose career has been built across seasonal roles, international experience, and corporate tourism operations. Thomas shares how he navigated working across Canada’s Yukon — from guest services and RV rentals to guiding Northern Lights tours — and what it really takes to build a career in an industry defined by seasonality. The conversation explores the realities of to...
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  Linda Tillman: Why Regional Events Are Struggling (And What Needs to Change) 24.03.2026 52p

  Episode Description In this episode of Tourism Matters, Carmen Bold speaks with Linda Tillman - Managing Director of Tilma Group and co-founder of the Australian Centre for Regional Events - about the realities of building tourism and events capability in regional Australia. Linda shares how a university assignment on rural tourism resulted in a 20-year career working alongside regional communities, and how she built a business focused on helping destinations grow through tourism and events. ...
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  Professor Anne Hardy: Why Tourism Research Matters - Behaviour, Data and Antarctica 11.03.2026 1ó 12p

  In this episode of Tourism Matters, Carmen Bold speaks with Professor Anne Hardy — tourism researcher, consultant, academic, and Chair of Destination Southern Tasmania — about how research can shape tourism decisions. Anne shares the story of her career in tourism academia, from studying tourism’s impacts on communities to leading innovative projects like Tourism Tracer, which used smartphone technology to track how visitors move through destinations. She also discusses her research in Antarc...
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  Matt Scott: Tour Guiding, Product Development and Building a Global Tourism Career 04.03.2026 1ó 18p

  In this episode of Tourism Matters, join Carmen Bold as she chats with Matt Scott about his journey through international tourism, tour guiding and product development. Matt shares how early travel experiences and cultural exposure led him into the tourism industry, including years guiding tours across Europe and developing high-end travel experiences. The conversation explores the importance of training, customer service and adaptability in tourism, along with insights into product developme...
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  Emma Rhoades: Tourism Careers, Networking and Navigating Workforce Challenges 25.02.2026 41p

  In this episode of Tourism Matters, join Carmen Bold as she chats with Emma Rhoades about her career journey and her current work supporting tourism businesses through workforce development at the Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC). Emma reflects on returning to university later in life, re-entering the workforce after raising children, and finding her place in the tourism industry. The conversation explores workforce challenges across tourism, the importance of networking and buildin...
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  Sarah-Jane Tilbury, Leadership, Commercial Accumen and do penguins have knees? 17.02.2026 1ó 16p

  In this episode of Tourism Matters, join Carmen Bold as she chats with Sarah-Jane Tilbury about building a career in tourism that spans international travel, operational leadership and general management. Sarah-Jane shares her journey from growing up in the UK and entering the tourism industry through travel and car rental, to moving to Australia and stepping into senior leadership roles. The conversation explores leadership, team dynamics, commercial thinking and the challenges of managing t...