Former cruise industry association leader becomes CATO head

Former cruise industry association leader Brett Jardine is to take on the role of Managing Director of the Council of Australian Tour Operators (CATO).

With the retirement of long-time CATO General Manager Peter Baily, the fledgling land supply representative body is looking to raise the organisations profile and relevance for members, with CATO Chairman Dennis Bunnik confirming Jardine as an ideal candidate to steer the Council in a fresh new direction.

Jardine (pictured) was at the helm of Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) for close to a decade and in 2017 set up Cruise Boss where he has been consulting on projects with Viking Cruises and the Intrepid Travel Group. Prior to this he worked for both APT and Scenic thus has a strong understanding on the touring side of the industry.

Announcing Jardine’s appointment, CATO Chairman Dennis Bunnik stated “for the past two years CATO has been working on planning for the future by increasing its profile and better engaging with members. Brett coming on board allows us to continue this journey and fast track a number of priorities including;

• Research & benchmarking, including data collection on the growth of the touring sector
• Better engaging with retail travel consultants and consortiums for mutual benefits including increasing sales and customer loyalty
• Better engaging with the trade and consumer press to highlight the rich array of product available through CATO members

"Brett is a proven leader in the travel industry and we are delighted to have him onboard. The CATO committee and I look forward to working with Brett in the coming months and years to grow CATO and realise the organisation’s full potential.”

In supporting the goals laid out by the CATO Committee, Jardine said he was “very excited by the opportunities ahead.”

An advocate for travel agent distribution, Jardine added “a key focus that has stood the test of time for CATO members will be the continued recognition and support of our retailers.”

Acknowledging the career of Peter Baily, who after some 25 years with at the helm of CATO, will retire at the end of March, Bunnik concluded “Peter has been with CATO from the very beginning, first as its inaugural chairman then as General Manager.

“He has been the heart and soul of CATO and now becomes our first Life-Member. Peter’s contribution to CATO and the touring & wholesale sectors of the industry has been outstanding and we look forward to celebrating this with him at a special function in April.”

Jardine will be commencing the new role in early March, reporting to the CATO Chairman and based at AFTA’s Sydney office.

For more information go to www.cato.travel 

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