Oldfield to represent Tourism Australia in the GCC

Andrew will be responsible for servicing and educating the travel trade, negotiating airline agreements and, above all, working towards increasing tourism numbers from the Gulf to Australia in seasons to come.

Said Oldfield of his new appointment,

"Australians are generally quite versatile people; able to adapt to new environments quickly. Hence I am looking forward to getting to know everyone within a short time and making a difference in the lives of agents and wholesalers here in the GCC. I enjoy a challenge and the market here in the Gulf is poised for take off. I can't wait!"

Lynne Hocking, Tourism Australia's manager of international markets liaison, was delighted to announce that Andrew was soon to be in Dubai and on board already down in Sydney. "Visitor numbers to Australia from the GCC countries were up over 20% this past summer," she said. "Andrew couldn't have come in at a more opportune time and with him on our team in the Gulf we are sure to see even higher percentages this coming year," she said.

With a solid background in both tourism and in sales, Oldfield was formerly the international sales manager with the Australian Best Western hotel chain, based in Sydney, where he was responsible for marketing the brand to local inbound tour operators and overseas wholesalers. He also held various positions with several tourism related entities over the years including the Alice Springs Convention Center, other hotel chains and Top Deck Adventure Holidays.