STA Travel’s Amy Mortlock wins big at the Standard Bank Rising Star Awards

Amy Mortlock from STA Travel was awarded top honours in the Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality category.

Judges in the Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality category included: Riaan Steenberg, director of Global Operations, Regenesys; Ann Gradidge, HR Manager, Emperors Palace; and Chris Wilson, Group HR Executive, SAFAL Group.

The Standard Bank Rising Star Awards programme was established for the purposes of recognising, celebrating and connecting young talented people who have a capacity for achievement and success and who contribute in an inspirational manner to the future of the nation. From over 400 entries this year, 60 finalists emerged from a rigorous three-phase judging process to be named as finalists and represent the top echelons of South African workplace talent.

“It is such a privilege and a massive personal achievement for me to have been considered above all candidates that were nominated, and is significant because I don’t necessarily see myself as someone who is extraordinary – I just love my job and want to do it well and that is how I have gotten to where I am. It means a lot to me because I see a lot of opportunity going forward to be able to share my knowledge and expertise within my field with other people to help them achieve greatness,” says Mortlock.

Mortlock is passionate about the tourism industry in South Africa and loves knowing that they (STA Travel South Africa) have driven demand for unique product offerings both internationally as well as domestically to make young people inspired to travel the world.

“STA Travel is a brand that allows its team to push the boundaries of doing things that other companies might not do. When we need to create new products and campaigns, it really helps that we can be strategic in a youthful, adventurous and out-of-the-box approach. To be able to then track and see the results of our work is the cherry on top.”

STA Travel is the world’s largest youth and student travel company known for its innovative and quirky marketing campaigns, and awesome travel and adventure options for travellers, worldwide. It employs more than 2000 people in 11 countries, and works with franchisees, joint ventures and licensed partners in a further 52 countries.

STA Travel sends more than 2.5 million passengers annually, and the brand’s retail divisions have more than 230 branches. There is a core retail network in 11 countries including Australia, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States. STA Travel is privately owned by Diethelm Keller Group in Switzerland.

Mortlock has been with STA Travel for seven years where she has gained a lot of experience about their division locally, and is currently on secondment in their Australia division.

“I’m currently ‘down under’ to gain international exposure to STA Travel globally to see how business practices are followed in other divisions so that I am able to return to South Africa to bring the best practices and global ideas to further improve our local business,” adds Mortlock.

For more information on STA Travel, visit www.statravel.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.