Adventure World, the leading custom travel specialist renowned for its “Travel with Purpose” ethos, welcomes the appointment of Emily Fernandes as its New Zealand National Sales Manager. This newly created strategic role underscores the company’s commitment to growth in the New Zealand market. Emily will report directly to Elsa McLean, Head of Sales and will be based in New Zealand.
Emily brings a wealth of experience and a genuine passion for travel and adventure to her new role. Her career journey reflects a deep-seated love for exploration, making her an ideal fit for Adventure World’s mission.
“Travel, exploration, and adventure are the building blocks of who I am,” says Emily Fernandes. “These values run through my veins, making me feel most alive. To merge passion and career is a wonderful life hack, and I’m grateful to have had the opportunities to weave both travel and adventure into my work.”
Emily Fernandes
Emily’s extensive background includes her early career as a Trip Leader for Topdeck Travel, where she navigated large groups of 18-30 year olds on unforgettable journeys across Europe. She then transitioned into a Business Development Manager role with Topdeck Travel, first in Auckland and subsequently in Melbourne, Australia. Emily further honed her sales and partnership management skills during 6.5 years in the retail industry as the National Sales Manager for outdoor adventure retailer Torpedo7. Most recently, she served as a Partner Manager in the Airpoints Loyalty team at Air New Zealand.
“I am honoured and excited to be joining the Adventure World family as the New Zealand National Sales Manager,” Emily commented. “Coming back to the travel industry feels a bit like ‘coming home.’ I look forward to reconnecting with those I’ve worked with before and forming new connections in our quest to provide customers with more meaningful and purposeful travel experiences.”
Little did you know…Emily had a passion for skydiving, doing just shy of 100 jumps in her career. She says, “Every life experience can bring with it transferrable life skills.” Be sure to ask her the next time she visits your office!
“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Emily Fernandes to the Adventure World team as our New Zealand National Sales Manager,” said Elsa McLean, Head of Sales at Adventure World. “Emily’s deep industry knowledge, proven sales leadership, and genuine passion for purposeful travel make her the perfect fit for our business. Her extensive experience in both the travel and retail sectors, combined with her commitment to building strong relationships, will be invaluable as we continue to grow and deliver exceptional travel experiences for our clients in the New Zealand market.”
McLean emphasised the strategic importance of this new role: “This appointment is a direct response to the growing demand we’ve seen for meaningful, experiential travel – feedback we’ve consistently heard from our valued trade partners. We’ve listened, and we’re investing in the region to better support travel advisors and their clients.”
