Doidge’s winning video pitch has earned him a spot along with eight other specialists on a tourist board fam in March, with a camera crew laid on to document their travels down under.
Their exploits will then be shared with other travel sellers to encourage them to consider Australia as an option for their clients.
Doidge said his life-long love of travel grew out of his first trip to Australia aged 19.
“Twelve years later, my dedication to travel and enthusiasm for down under is stronger than ever,” he said.
“I cannot wait to meet other Aussie specialist ambassadors who share this passion and, ultimately, help UK travel agents book amazing Australian adventures for their customers.”
Sally Cope, Tourism Australia regional manager UK and Northern Europe, said the competition had significantly increased the number of qualified Aussie specialists in the UK and resulted in a “huge spike in engagement” with the tourist board’s Aussie specialist content.
“We are very proud to appoint Matt Doidge our first ever ASP ambassador and have no doubt his experience will inform and inspire agents in the UK.
“The programme is a must-have tool for any agent selling Australia – it gives advisers exclusive access to bespoke training modules and sales resources, travel offers from Australian operators, invitations to attend exclusive Australian events and regular product updates and training webinars.”
Tourism Australia managing director John O’Sullivan said agents were a “critical part” of its distribution network, and stressed the importance of knowledge being passed on “peer-to-peer”.
“We hope content created by the ambassadors will help other Aussie specialists improve their product knowledge, encourage more frontline travel sellers to sign up to the programme, and ultimately help more people book fantastic Australian holidays,” he added.
