Chimu Blog Chimu Adventures is so excited to share some incredible news—Chimu has been named as finalists in The National Travel Industry Awards (NTIA), Most Outstanding Tour Operator category.
The NTIA are part of the Australian Federation of Travel Agents to recognise and reward excellence in the Australian travel industry. Nominees were subject to a rigorous application process requiring them to demonstrate excellence in customer service and trade support.
At Chimu, hard-working and passionate staff are at the heart of everything the company stands for. The travel industry has suffered immense hardship over the last few years, so to be recognised as a finalist is a huge testament to the resilience of Chimu.
“Our team really has been amazing during Covid. It’s been stressful and chaotic but when I look back at our achievements over the Covid period, I really see it as a coming of age for Chimu as a business. I am so proud of our entire team for being nominated as finalists”, says Chimu’s Managing Director Chad Carey.
Chimu went through the company’s most devastating period in its nearly 20-year history in recent years, beginning in March 2020, which saw Chimu travellers stuck in South America as borders snapped shut. Innovation and resilience are at the heart of who Chimu is, so the company made the huge decision to charter an emergency flight to get guest’s home. As the pandemic rolled on, Chimu unveiled the unique Southern Lights by Flight product, a world-first scenic flight to see the famous Southern Lights to help Australians travel, even though they couldn’t leave their state.
Chimu Adventures wasn’t alone though, as few industries did it tougher than travel—especially the country’s travel agents. Each day brought new uncertainty and the dedicated agents of Australia worked tirelessly to help travellers, without even knowing if their own jobs would be secure in the days ahead.
As finalists, Chimu would like to publicly acknowledge and thank the caring, hardworking, and forward-thinking travel consultants who worked on the frontline of the travel industry disaster in the most trying of circumstances. We thank this resilient group of people for believing in Chimu and sharing our joy as we took travellers to the skies when our borders were closed on our Great Southern Flights program.
Chimu would also like to ask for help—award finalists are judged by both professional judges and by the public, so please visit the link below to cast your vote.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Meg Hall
PH: 02 94581211
E: meghall@chimuadventures.com
For more information on Chimu’s pandemic response: View here
CHIMU ADVENTURES
Founded in 2004, Chimu Adventures are The Latin America and Polar Travel Specialists. Australian owned, we are the go-to for all Latin America, Antarctica and Arctic travel requirements, from small ship expedition cruises to tailor-made itineraries and small group tours, plus all international and domestic flight and transfer arrangements. Our specialist knowledge means we can offer the best options for everything. We use our own operations on the ground to access to an immense range of accommodation and activities and work personally with our traveller’s style and budget, tailoring to their individual needs.
Our team is committed to the destinations which we operate in and are proud members of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO), the Council of Australian Tour Operators (CATO) International Galapagos Tour Operators Association (IGTOA) Adventure Travel Trade Association and Latin America Travel Association.
