Barry Downs joins HTG

HIGHLY experienced cruise professional Barry Downs has returned to the travel industry, taking a new role as General Manager Marketing & Product at Hunter Travel Group (HTG).

Prior to the pandemic Downs was National Sales & Promotions Manager at Perth’s Bicton Travel, and is also the voice behind The Big Cruise Podcast (CW 20 Apr 2020) which has just celebrated its 100th episode.

HTG Chief Exec Brett Dann told CW the strategic move aimed to keep the group at the forefront of the recovery and capitalise on the “significant & unique opportunities available in the years ahead”.

“Barry’s experience and expertise in cruise and travel made him the ideal candidate to join our team,” he said.

“He knows cruise and the wider industry inside-out, he is passionate, he is highly regarded and is a natural fit for HTG’s ‘cando’ senior leadership style.

“We expect Barry’s appointment to further cement our position as one of the country’s key cruise sellers as we enter an era of significant accelerated growth, having survived one of the most challenging periods in our 22 years of trading,” Dann said.

HTG now has 38 locations across Australia, including 15 Helloworld Travel branded offices (eight in its Hunter Region home base), three Cruise Travel Centres, seven RACT Travel outlets in Tasmania and 13 RACQ Travel offices across Queensland, acquired just prior to the pandemic.

Downs’ key responsibilities will see him developing and leading the HTG Marketing, Product and Groups/Events teams, sourcing deals, packaging, maintaining relationships with key industry partners, and more.