Tourism Matters

Tourism Matters explores careers, capability and the people shaping the tourism industry. Host Carmen Bold speaks with professionals, leaders and educators from across the sector about how they built their careers, the lessons they’ve learned along the way, and where the industry is heading next. The podcast offers insight for anyone working in tourism, considering a career in the industry, or responsible for developing the next generation of talent.

Tourism Matters is a business podcast hosted by Carmen Bold, with 29 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Carmen Bold hosts Tourism Matters, a business show with 29 episodes published.

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  Episode #29

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

  Sep 2, 202659 min

  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 lost the business through a deal that went badly wrong, rebuilt it, and then watched COVID bring international travel to a complete standstill. And then she learnt to fly planes. That random decision eventually led to Crooked Compass by Air, a second tourism business that helped keep Crooked Compass alive during the pandemic. Carmen and Lisa also talk about building a business without a marketing budget, asking your network for help, hiring for passion and cultural fit, the growth of private touring, working with the travel trade and using customer data to continually adapt the business. WHAT YOU’LL TAKE AWAY FROM THIS EPISODE Why Lisa backed Crooked Compass despite turning over just $21,000 in its first year How relationships and word of mouth helped build the business without a marketing budget What Shark Tank did for Crooked Compass, and the difficult lesson that followed How learning to fly during COVID eventually became Crooked Compass by Air Why Lisa now hires for passion, attitude and cultural fit rather than skills alone How Crooked Compass uses customer data to respond to changing traveller behaviour Why private touring now represents around 60% of the business Why consumers are increasingly discovering Crooked Compass themselves and then asking their travel agents to book it Lisa’s advice for anyone wondering whether to back themselves and build something of their own ABOUT LISA PAGOTTO Lisa Pagotto is the founder of Crooked Compass and Crooked Compass by Air. After starting her career as a travel consultant, Lisa worked across wholesale, tour leading, adventure tourism, sales, marketing and expedition cruising before launching Crooked Compass in 2014. Crooked Compass specialises in immersive, lesser-known and highly curated travel experiences, while Crooked Compass by Air offers private touring by aircraft across Australia. LINKS & ORGANISATIONS MENTIONED Crooked Compass https://www.crooked-compass.com/ Crooked Compass by Air https://www.crookedcompassbyair.com/ Lisa Pagotto on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-pagotto/ TIME – Travel Industry Mentor Experience https://travelindustrymentor.com.au/ EPISODE CHAPTERS 00:00 – Welcome and getting to know Lisa 04:05 – Growing up surrounded by travel 07:46 – Starting a career in the travel industry 10:23 – Finding her place in adventure tourism 12:33 – The beginnings of Crooked Compass 15:48 – Moving from employee to business owner 18:06 – $21,000 in turnover and deciding the idea had legs 19:39 – Creating travel experiences nobody else was selling 22:42 – Building a business with no marketing budget 25:56 – How Crooked Compass evolved 26:32 – Applying for Shark Tank 33:18 – The deal that nearly destroyed the business 34:01 – COVID changes everything 35:08 – Learning to fly and the beginnings of Crooked Compass by Air 37:36 – “What can I lose?” 40:20 – Repositioning Crooked Compass by Air for the US market 43:07 – Building a small, remote team 44:08 – What Lisa looks for when hiring 49:21 – How travel behaviour has changed post-COVID 51:01 – Using customer data to shape the business 52:08 – Trade versus direct bookings 55:36 – What Lisa would tell her younger self STAY CONNECTED WITH TOURISM MATTERS Subscribe to the Tourism Matters Newsletter . Carmen shares ideas to help tourism businesses and their people do better work, along with tourism jobs, events, learning opportunities and useful ways to connect across the industry. Follow Tourism Matters wherever you listen to podcasts, and connect with Carmen Bold on LinkedIn .

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  Episode #28

  Jason Gelineau on Luxury Cruise, Guest Experience and the Power of Your Network

  Aug 11, 20261 hour

  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 Journeys from a blank sheet of paper, and the role that relationships, reputation, curiosity and saying yes have played throughout Jason’s career. Today, through JAG Hospitality, Jason works across cruise, tourism and hospitality, connecting people and championing the industry. Subscribe to the Tourism Matters Newsletter What You’ll Take Away Why relationships and professional reputation can compound across an entire career The value of learning beyond your current role and cross-training before the next opportunity appears Why empathy is such an important part of tourism and hospitality What Jason learned from more than two decades working at sea How luxury guest expectations differ from other parts of the cruise market What it takes to create a new luxury cruise experience from a blank sheet of paper Why you don’t always need to feel completely ready before saying yes The importance of mentoring, community and giving back to the next generation of tourism professionals About Jason Gelineau Jason Gelineau is a cruise and tourism industry leader with more than 30 years of global experience, including 24 years working at sea across luxury, residential and contemporary cruise brands. His career has included senior roles with Explora Journeys, Seabourn, Oceania Cruises, Silversea, The World of ResidenSea and MSC Cruises. Today, Jason is Principal of JAG Hospitality, Seatrade Cruise Ambassador for Guest Experience and Wellness, Vice President of Skål International Perth, and a Featured Voice with The Forum by Forbes Travel Guide. He works with tourism, cruise and hospitality brands across guest experience, product development, wellness, luxury retail, destination strategy and industry engagement. Links & Organisations Mentioned Jason Gelineau on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonagelineau/ The Forum by Forbes Travel Guide: https://theforum.forbestravelguide.com/team-member/jason-gelineau/ Seatrade Cruise: https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/ Skål International: https://skal.org/ Princess Cruises: https://www.princess.com/ Silversea: https://www.silversea.com/ The World, Residences at Sea: https://aboardtheworld.com/ Oceania Cruises: https://www.oceaniacruises.com/ Seabourn: https://www.seabourn.com/ MSC Cruises: https://www.msccruises.com.au/ Explora Journeys: https://explorajourneys.com/au/en Coral Expeditions: https://www.coralexpeditions.com/ Episode Chapters 00:00 — Meet Jason Gelineau 04:50 — Growing up in Ottawa and discovering hospitality in Jamaica 10:13 — Starting in hospitality and learning the business from the ground up 15:04 — From Whistler to his first job at sea 19:56 — Guest service, empathy and understanding the traveller 24:11 — Building a career at sea and moving into luxury cruising 29:32 — Life aboard The World, a pioneering residential ship 32:56 — Oceania Cruises and stepping into senior leadership 38:39 — Facing a piracy emergency at sea 40:47 — Leaving cruise life and starting a Perth food truck 42:59 — MSC Cruises and the move into corporate development 45:32 — Building Explora Journeys from a blank sheet of paper 47:17 — Reputation, relationships and the opportunities they create 50:29 — JAG Hospitality, industry connection and Jason’s version of semi-retirement 55:05 — Mentoring, giving back and advice for the next generation Stay Connected with Tourism Matters If you work in tourism, subscribe to the Tourism Matters Newsletter . Carmen shares ideas to help tourism businesses and their people do better work, along with tourism jobs, events, learning opportunities and useful ways to connect across the industry. Follow Tourism Matters wherever you listen to podcasts, and connect with Carmen Bold on LinkedIn .

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  Episode #27

  The Business of Tourism - Alex Dykman on building Maverick Tourism, assembling a great team and digital change

  Jul 28, 20261h 2m

  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 projects into a viable business. More than a decade later, Maverick Tourism has grown into a team of 12, working with leading tourism businesses across New Zealand and beyond. Alex shares how Maverick found its place helping tourism operators grow direct sales, why bringing the right business partner into the company transformed what it could deliver, and how referrals, relationships and strong results fuelled its growth. The conversation also explores Maverick’s approach to recruitment and its “no dickheads” policy, why cultural fit matters alongside technical capability, and how a strong employer brand can help smaller tourism businesses attract and retain talented people. Alex also explains how industry conversations during New Zealand tourism’s recovery from COVID led her to launch Grow Tourism, an industry-led learning platform designed to provide more dynamic and relevant workforce development. Carmen and Alex discuss flexible work, employee experience, tourism career pathways, digital distribution and the rapid changes AI is creating for tourism marketing. It is an open and practical conversation about backing yourself, recognising genuine market needs, building a business around good people and continuing to evolve as the tourism industry changes. WHAT YOU’LL TAKE AWAY FROM THIS EPISODE How a chance conversation led Alex from journalism into tourism Why early roles within destination organisations can provide valuable exposure to the wider tourism industry How freelance tourism marketing projects became the foundation of Maverick Tourism Why Alex gave herself six months to prove the business could become viable How face-to-face relationships and word-of-mouth referrals helped Maverick grow Why bringing complementary skills into a business can completely change its trajectory How Maverick approaches recruitment, cultural fit and its “no dickheads” policy Why employer brand matters for tourism businesses that cannot compete solely on salary Practical ways flexible work can help attract and retain talented people How Grow Tourism emerged from industry conversations about workforce attraction, development and retention Why digital strategy and distribution are no longer optional for tourism operators How AI and changing search behaviour are reshaping tourism marketing Alex’s advice for anyone considering taking an entrepreneurial leap ABOUT ALEX DYKMAN Alex Dykman is the kiwi founder of Maverick Tourism and Grow Tourism, a mum of 3 and a passionate advocate for all things tourism and visitor economy. Maverick is her first business baby – a dedicated tourism marketing agency that has been helping tourism operators and destinations make the most of the digital space for more than 12 years. Alex and the team works with brands across the South Pacific and North America, combining big-picture thinking with a hands-on understanding of the stuff that actually moves the needle when it comes to visibility, direct sales and distribution. More recently, Alex launched Grow Tourism, a new venture focused on transforming the way tourism trains and develops its workforce. Grow is all about modern, practical, bite-sized learning that feels exciting and far from stuffy; helping operators better grow and retain their people - powering industry forward in the process. Connect with Alex on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adykman/ Learn more about Maverick Tourism: https://maverick-tourism.com/ Learn more about Grow Tourism: https://growtourism.com/ ORGANISATIONS REFERENCED Tourism New Zealand: https://www.tourismnewzealand.com/ NewZealand.com: https://www.newzealand.com/ Queenstown Resort College: https://www.qrc.ac.nz/ Tourism Industry Aotearoa: https://www.tia.org.nz/ ZAC WATSON TOURISM MATTERS EPISODE Carmen also spoke with Maverick Tourism General Manager Zac Watson about his tourism career, leadership and the journey that led him to Maverick. Listen to the conversation with Zac Watson: https://www.carmenbold.com/tourism-matters-podcast/zac-watson EPISODE CHAPTERS 00:00 – Introduction 01:14 – Meet Alex Dykman 05:37 – Alex’s early years and career ambitions 07:19 – The conversation that led Alex into tourism 13:12 – Travelling to South America and starting Maverick Tourism 17:30 – Giving the business six months to succeed 20:05 – Finding Maverick’s place in the tourism market 23:23 – The hire that changed the trajectory of the business 29:16 – Recruitment, cultural fit and the no dickheads policy 33:19 – Building a strong employer brand 38:16 – How Grow Tourism began 48:09 – Flexible work and retaining talented people 52:37 – AI, digital change and the future of tourism marketing 57:13 – Alex’s advice to her younger self 59:40 – Carmen’s key takeaways

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  Episode #26

  Molly Dobbins: Connecting Classrooms to Tourism Careers

  Jul 7, 202647 min

  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 events. In this conversation, Carmen and Molly discuss how we can do a much better job of showing young people, and their parents, that tourism is a genuine, rewarding and long-term career path. They also explore the importance of getting students out of the classroom and into real tourism businesses, where they can see and experience the people, pathways and possibilities that exist across the industry. Molly also shares her own tourism career journey, from studying tourism in high school to working with operators, writing award submissions, contracting with small tourism businesses and now advocating for the next generation through her work with QTIC. What You’ll Take Away Why tourism is often still seen as a “while you figure life out” job, rather than a long-term career pathway How consistent language could help students, parents and educators better understand tourism career opportunities Why hands-on industry experiences are so important for attracting young people into the sector The role parents play in shaping young people’s perceptions of tourism and hospitality careers How schools and industry can work together to build stronger career pipelines Why attitude, curiosity and willingness to learn still matter so much to tourism operators How foundational workplace skills, including communication, customer service and reliability, can be taught and developed Why entrepreneurship should also be part of the tourism careers conversation About Molly Dobbins Molly Dobbins is the Tourism and Hospitality Gateway to Industry Schools Program Coordinator at the Queensland Tourism Industry Council. Through her work, Molly helps connect Queensland schools with the tourism, hospitality and events industries, supporting students and educators to better understand the career pathways available across the sector. Having studied tourism herself in high school before going on to complete a double degree in business management and international hotel and tourism management, Molly brings both personal experience and industry insight to her work. Her career has included roles with Tourism Tribe, Fun Over 50 Holidays, award writing, marketing support for small tourism businesses, and now workforce and education advocacy through QTIC. Molly is passionate about helping young people see tourism as an industry full of purpose, people, passion and possibility. Connect with Molly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/molly-dobbins-125b86168/ Connect with Carmen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmen-bold/ Organisations Referenced Queensland Tourism Industry Council: qtic.com.au Gateway to Industry Schools Program: dtet.qld.gov.au/training/employers/gateway-schools University of Queensland: uq.edu.au Tourism Tribe: tourismtribe.com Fun Over 50 Holidays: funover50holidays.com.au Paradise Resort Gold Coast: paradiseresort.com.au Queensland Tourism Awards: qtic.com.au/queensland-tourism-awards Episode Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Molly Dobbins 03:01 Molly’s journey into tourism education 05:52 Studying tourism and business during COVID-19 08:53 Building networks and saying yes to opportunities 12:00 Entering the industry during a challenging time 14:55 Entry-level roles and learning how tourism businesses operate 18:00 Molly’s current role connecting schools and industry 21:03 Barriers to young people seeing tourism as a career 22:40 The importance of engaging parents in tourism career conversations 24:29 Wages, awareness and other barriers to tourism careers 26:32 Why tourism needs more consistent career language 28:20 Showing the fun, purpose and possibility of tourism 30:35 Building stronger relationships between education and industry 32:30 Creating hands-on experiences for students 34:25 What operators are saying about young workers 36:50 Teaching foundational workplace skills 40:22 Encouraging entrepreneurship in tourism 42:40 Tourism, small business and the future of the industry

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  Episode #25

  James Coughlan: 25 years in cruise, from galley to gangway and into the world of entrepreneurship

  Jun 17, 20261h 7m

  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. In this episode, James shares what cruise ship life taught him about standards, service and resilience, and how saying yes to opportunities shaped his career. He also talks about the shift from ship life to shore-side roles, the impact of COVID on the cruise and tourism sector, and the decision to launch Shorex Australia in 2023. This conversation is a fascinating look inside cruise tourism, but it is also a story about career evolution, backing yourself, building trust, and understanding the value of local tourism experiences. What you’ll take away What life on board cruise ships can teach you about standards, service and resilience How James moved from chef to shore excursions and built a long-term career in cruise tourism Why saying yes, staying open and building relationships can change the direction of your career What shore excursions are and how they connect cruise lines with local tourism operators Why destination knowledge and guest trust are so important in delivering great visitor experiences What James learned from moving from employee to business owner Why Shorex Australia is focused on local relationships, sustainable growth and understanding each destination properly What tourism operators need to know if they want to work with the cruise industry About James James Coughlan is the founder of Shorex Australia and has spent around 25 years working across the cruise and tourism industry. His career began in hospitality and commercial kitchens, including time at Bathers’ Pavilion in Sydney, before he joined Crystal Cruises as a chef. While working at sea, James moved from the galley into shore excursions, where he discovered the world of destination experiences, guest service and cruise operations. After more than a decade at sea, James transitioned into shore-side cruise operations and spent many years working with inbound cruise programs across Australia. In 2023, he launched Shorex Australia, a locally focused business delivering shore excursion programs and destination experiences for cruise lines visiting Australia. James brings deep practical knowledge of cruise tourism, local product development, guest experience and the importance of building strong relationships across the industry. Connect with James on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-coughlan/ Discover more about Shorex Australia: https://www.shorexaustralia.com Organisations and resources referenced Shorex Australia: https://www.shorexaustralia.com Crystal Cruises: https://www.crystalcruises.com Bathers’ Pavilion: https://www.batherspavilion.com.au TAFE NSW: https://www.tafensw.edu.au Intercruises: https://www.intercruises.com CLIA Australasia: https://www.cruising.org.au Australian Cruise Association: https://www.australiancruiseassociation.com Unreasonable Hospitality: https://www.unreasonablehospitality.com Episode chapters 00:00 Introduction and tourism operator call-out 01:31 Welcome James Coughlan 03:38 James’ early life, first jobs and chef apprenticeship 07:49 Learning high standards in professional kitchens 09:54 Joining Crystal Cruises and life at sea 15:14 Moving from chef to shore excursions 17:14 What shore excursions are and how they work 20:07 Destination knowledge, guest trust and service excellence 25:55 Career progression, leadership and knowing when to move on 35:43 Transitioning from ship life to shore-side cruise operations 42:43 COVID, industry change and seeing a new opportunity 47:48 Launching Shorex Australia and backing himself 53:55 What Shorex Australia does differently 59:29 The next stage of growth, including a new Cairns rainforest experience 1:02:27 Advice for tourism operators wanting to work with cruise 1:05:52 Carmen’s closing reflections

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