FROM its humble beginnings on the Oaks Lawn at UWA in 1984 as The World Travel Fair, owned by Jetset Tours and sponsored by The Sunday Times, to its peak period in 1997 as The Get Away Holiday Expo with 180 stands, The Holiday
FROM its humble beginnings on the Oaks Lawn at UWA in 1984 as The World Travel Fair, owned by Jetset Tours and sponsored by The Sunday Times, to its peak period in 1997 as The Get Away Holiday Expo with 180 stands, The Holiday and Travel Expo, presented by Postcards WA (as it is known today) has existed under various names, ownerships and media sponsorships for the past two decades.
For the past 10 years the show has been owned by the Tourism Council of Australia based in Sydney, but last December the council went into voluntary ad-ministration and soon after, administrators closed down all regional offices.
Not surprisingly then, the now defunct Sydney council had no plans for a travel expo in Perth for 2001.
But as they say, the show must go on, and this year’s show, opening on Friday, March 30, promises to be yet another evol-ution in the travel expo history of WA.
According to this year’s show organiser, Pat Strahan, of Strahan Consultants, (who also ran the recent Caravan and Campervan Show in South Perth) Strahan Consultants didn’t so much take over the show, but simply picked up where the council left off.
Ms Strahan had been the organiser of the travel show from its conception in 1984 up until 1998 when the Sydney office of the Tourism Council of Australia decided to organise the event itself and severed her contract.
Several long time exhibitors pulled out last year after a change in venue saw the show re-located from the Fremantle Passenger Terminal to Burswood.
According to travel industry veteran Ronnie Malthouse, who has been the managing director of Jetset Travel in Belmont for 23 years, the 1999 show was so disappointing she decided not to participate in the 2000 event.
“The organisation (of the 1999 show) was very bad, certainly as far as we were concerned, but WA always seems to be different,” Ms Malthouse said.
“A lot of the suppliers pulled out and a lack of suppliers meant that people got disgruntled. They got there and it wasn’t the fair that they thought.
“The (Burswood) Dome, it was half curtained off, so as soon as you walked in you felt as though you were claustrophobic.”
Peter Lambert, owner of the Peregrine Travel Centre in Perth, didn’t pull out of the event last year, but agreed that the event was not as strong as it had been previously.
“I preferred the Fremantle venue, it gave people an opportunity not just to come to the travel show, but to do something else as well.
It gives it another dimension,”
Now firmly back in Fremantle and under the guidance of Pat Strahan, exhibitors seem confident that this year will see the show turn a corner for the better.
“Pat Strahan does it very well,” Ms Malthouse said.
“She did do it very, very well and that was one of the reasons we came back into it this year.”
Mr Lambert said the takeover would dissipate some of the resistance to the “wise men in the east”.
“I think she (Pat Strahan) had a local following. Plus her energy and enthusiasm, somebody local who really gets stuck into the local market.
Ms Malthouse said she hoped the change of hands would bring back some of the people lost in the past.
“I would like to think that this year would be the start. That people would look at this, see that it was now successful again, and therefore attract the suppliers who haven’t come in this year to come back next year.”
She also said that people were much more receptive to the Fremantle location, than that of Burswood.
This was not only because of transport issue, but also because of the other attractions in the area.
“Fremantle is an excellent venue because people can make it a day out,” Ms Malthouse said.
For the past 10 years the show has been owned by the Tourism Council of Australia based in Sydney, but last December the council went into voluntary ad-ministration and soon after, administrators closed down all regional offices.
Not surprisingly then, the now defunct Sydney council had no plans for a travel expo in Perth for 2001.
But as they say, the show must go on, and this year’s show, opening on Friday, March 30, promises to be yet another evol-ution in the travel expo history of WA.
According to this year’s show organiser, Pat Strahan, of Strahan Consultants, (who also ran the recent Caravan and Campervan Show in South Perth) Strahan Consultants didn’t so much take over the show, but simply picked up where the council left off.
Ms Strahan had been the organiser of the travel show from its conception in 1984 up until 1998 when the Sydney office of the Tourism Council of Australia decided to organise the event itself and severed her contract.
Several long time exhibitors pulled out last year after a change in venue saw the show re-located from the Fremantle Passenger Terminal to Burswood.
According to travel industry veteran Ronnie Malthouse, who has been the managing director of Jetset Travel in Belmont for 23 years, the 1999 show was so disappointing she decided not to participate in the 2000 event.
“The organisation (of the 1999 show) was very bad, certainly as far as we were concerned, but WA always seems to be different,” Ms Malthouse said.
“A lot of the suppliers pulled out and a lack of suppliers meant that people got disgruntled. They got there and it wasn’t the fair that they thought.
“The (Burswood) Dome, it was half curtained off, so as soon as you walked in you felt as though you were claustrophobic.”
Peter Lambert, owner of the Peregrine Travel Centre in Perth, didn’t pull out of the event last year, but agreed that the event was not as strong as it had been previously.
“I preferred the Fremantle venue, it gave people an opportunity not just to come to the travel show, but to do something else as well.
It gives it another dimension,”
Now firmly back in Fremantle and under the guidance of Pat Strahan, exhibitors seem confident that this year will see the show turn a corner for the better.
“Pat Strahan does it very well,” Ms Malthouse said.
“She did do it very, very well and that was one of the reasons we came back into it this year.”
Mr Lambert said the takeover would dissipate some of the resistance to the “wise men in the east”.
“I think she (Pat Strahan) had a local following. Plus her energy and enthusiasm, somebody local who really gets stuck into the local market.
Ms Malthouse said she hoped the change of hands would bring back some of the people lost in the past.
“I would like to think that this year would be the start. That people would look at this, see that it was now successful again, and therefore attract the suppliers who haven’t come in this year to come back next year.”
She also said that people were much more receptive to the Fremantle location, than that of Burswood.
This was not only because of transport issue, but also because of the other attractions in the area.
“Fremantle is an excellent venue because people can make it a day out,” Ms Malthouse said.
