ABTA members worried about brain-numbing jetlag when coming to Australia’s Cairns later this year should take a leaf out of Marriott’s book.
The hotel chain was so concerned members of last week’s fam trip Down Under would be too jaded to appreciate Sydney it came up with a hair-raising solution.
As soon as the 12-strong group got to the hotel after a 22hr flight they were told they had around an hour to freshen up before meeting outside.
After a quick turn-around they all trooped to the entrance to be greeted by a gang of large hairy bikers and their even scarier looking Harley Davidson motorbikes.
On they all tentatively jumped and waited for their fate.
The sight of 12 top industry professionals crammed into leather jackets and peering nervously out of mean-looking black helmets was a sight to behold. Who are those blokes over there? Is it Denis Hopper and Peter Fonda – ah no, it’s just Cathay Pacific sales and marketing manager Ian Nash and Marriott International area director of sales Steve Nunan.
Over the next 2hrs the wild bunch zoomed around the suburbs of Sydney, flashed past road trains, dodged roadworks and weaved perilously close to fast moving cars.
Any thoughts of sleep were soon dispelled, although a few easy riders were seen to close their eyes as yet another huge truck loomed in the wing mirrors.
Finally, after a short half-time break to inspect Sydney’s Olympic preparations, they returned happy and relieved to the city, picking flies out of their teeth.
And the result. Not a sign of jetlag, just a bunch of excited agents, operators, hoteliers and an airline manager claiming it was great fun.