Tourism Matters

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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 ...

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 ...

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...

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 ...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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. ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

In the first episode of Tourism Matters for 2026, join Carmen Bold as she chats with Kate Gibson about her journey from horse riding and personal training to founding Hike Collective, a tourism business focused on meaningful outdoor experiences. Kate shares how Hike Collective began as a mental health initiative built around hiking and connection with nature, and how it evolved into a successful adventure tourism business. The conversation explores the power of human connection in tourism, th...

In this episode of Tourism Matters, join Carmen Bold as she chats with Penny Brand about building a career in tourism that spans adventure tourism, international tour guiding and destination marketing. Penny shares how her early roles—from performing as a SeaWorld mascot to managing skydiving operations and guiding tours across Europe—helped build the skills that later led her into destination marketing and tourism development at Gate 7. The conversation explores the importance of networking,...

In this episode of Tourism Matters, join Carmen Bold as she chats with Nic Cooper about his journey from working in tourism from a young age to founding Wild Adventures Melbourne, an eco-tourism company focused on sustainable travel experiences. Nic reflects on the many stages of his tourism career, from tour guiding and destination marketing to launching his own tourism business during the challenges of COVID-19. The conversation explores sustainability, climate responsibility in tourism, an...

In this episode of Tourism Matters, join Carmen Bold as she chats with Ged Brown about his journey through the global travel industry and the idea that led him to found Low Season Traveler. Ged shares insights from a career that spans tour operators, aviation, route development and industry events. The conversation explores how the concept of low season travel could help address overtourism, support destinations year-round and reshape how the tourism industry thinks about seasonality. What yo...

In this episode of Tourism Matters, join Carmen Bold as she chats with Giselle Whitaker about building a career across multiple countries, industries and unexpected opportunities in the tourism sector. Giselle shares stories from a career that has taken her from tourism and marketing roles in Tasmania to working internationally in Japan and Dubai, including leadership roles in hospitality and tourism. The conversation explores adaptability, career pivots, and why saying yes to opportunities c...

In this episode of Tourism Matters, join Carmen Bold as she chats with Zac Watson about building a career in tourism, from studying tourism management at Lincoln University to working across tourism attractions, regional tourism development and digital marketing. Zac shares insights from roles with organisations including Merlin Entertainments, Haka Tourism Group, Auckland Unlimited and Maverick Digital. The conversation explores networking, leadership, mentorship and the growing role of digi...

In this episode of Tourism Matters, join Carmen Bold as she chats with Claire Baxter about building a career across archaeology, tourism, government and travel technology. Claire’s career journey has taken her through some fascinating spaces – from working in tourism product development with Intrepid Travel, to tourism policy roles in government, and now into travel technology as Senior Data Operations Manager at Rome2Rio. In this conversation Claire reflects on how curiosity, serendipity and...

In this episode of Tourism Matters, join Carmen Bold as she chats with Edward Kwek about careers in the business events and tourism industry, and what it really takes to get your foot in the door. Ed has spent more than two decades working across tourism, business events, and tourism education in Southeast Asia and Australia. In this conversation he shares insights from across his career, including how the business events sector has evolved, what happens behind the scenes of major conferences...

Episode Summary In this episode of Tourism Matters, Carmen Bold speaks with Cecil Potatau about what a 30-year career in the New Zealand tourism industry actually looks like. Cecil shares how he moved from working as a chef into tourism, the experiences that shaped his career, and what he’s learned along the way about building relationships, staying curious, and finding opportunities in the industry. We also talk about his current role leading the All Blacks Experience in Auckland, one of New...