Hello :) My name is Samantha and I have been in the creative industry for over 13 years. Throughout my career I have realised that I have a passion for writing, photography and storytelling. I have worked in the travel and tourism industry for the past 10 years, and I have taken part in numerous volunteer and conservation projects.

My marketing and communications career in the travel and tourism industry started when I did contract work for a safari game lodge in South Africa. I have worked in media and marketing before, but it was working at this lodge that sparked my interest in tourism. A typical day was sitting and working in the open-air lounge, looking out at the lodge’s watering hole. Daily visitors to the watering hole included rhinos, antelopes, and on occasion the elusive leopard. My main tasks included content writing and photography to market the lodge online. I also had to update the website and create marketing strategies to increase the lodge’s occupancy. Whilst working here I took part in their rhino relocation conservation project. On the day of the relocation, I did the photography and wrote the press release for our social media channels.

During this time, I started taking on more projects and worked at Coral Divers Lodge in Sodwana, South Africa. I also lived on-site and re-designed all their marketing collateral, which included new brochures, business cards, and updates on their website. I also designed a range of Coral Diver’s branded clothing for the DSD divers. Other smaller projects over this time included package design for Bushmans River Trout Farm and marketing collateral design for Amorello Golf Lodge.

A few larger contracts included setting up all the marketing platforms for Clinique Estique, a beauty salon in Mpumalanga, South Africa. This was a 4-month contract where I designed a new website for the company and set up their social media channels. I also designed their price lists and assisted in the re-design of their reception area. This included designing and printing a lightbox for the front entrance and creating various signs around the building with the Clinique Estique logo.

I was also part of the marketing team at Beekman Group in Port Shepstone, South Africa, where I assisted in the content and design of the Holiday Club Magazine. This was a 6-month contract where I worked on the publication from start to finish. I was the primary designer for over 6 featured articles in the magazine.

In 2015 I decided to take my love for travel and tourism a bit further, and I started working as an Africa Safari Sales and Marketing Expert at Go2Africa. I completed their 3-month sales and marketing training and travelled extensively throughout Southern Africa as part of their ‘Rapids’ team. Something valuable I have learned from Go2Africa, is that firsthand experience in the destinations you are selling and marketing, is the best path to success. I travelled to the Kruger National Park, Victoria Falls, the Okavango Delta in Botswana, the Kalahari Desert and Mauritius as part of the team. I also travelled extensively around Zimbabwe and South Africa. I loved every moment of the job, and I worked for them full time until I moved over to Australia in 2017. 

I started working for Abercrombie & Kent as a Sales and Marketing Coordinator, and worked with some of the best travel agents in the industry. My main tasks were sourcing marketing content, designing, editing and proof-reading A&K branded documentation. I also pre-qualified sales enquiries and designed travel documentation for travelling clients.

A few months later I was approached by a recruitment company who was looking for someone to head the Marketing Department for where2travel. This was an exciting opportunity, because it meant that I would manage the marketing for five of their stores across Melbourne. I immediately fell in love with the position and used all my skills to set up a functioning marketing department. I must say this role has challenged me to reach the next level in my career. Not only did I design all the collateral, but I also put forth marketing strategies, organised quarterly management meetings where I presented budgets, did marketing presentations and discussed sales reports. I worked closely with major travel suppliers, including Scenic Tours, Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic, Ponant, Abercrombie & Kent and Club Med to put together marketing plans, design campaigns and work on marketing budgets. I elevated where2travel’s quarterly 4-page newsletter to a 44-page magazine including travel stories, supplier news, enticing offers and staff updates. And one of my favourite tasks was to plan and organise our travel events. I have organised large external events with Scenic Cruises, Oceania, Albatross Tours, Ponant and Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic.

Please have a look at my portfolio to view some of my works, or feel free to contact me if you have any questions or require more examples of my work. Thank you.