Tell us about Health and Fitness Travel.
At Health and Fitness Travel, we provide a wide range of luxury wellness holiday options that that not only enhance but change lives. We have taken the stress out of planning and look after our customers every step of the way. We offer impartial advice about the best destinations that suit their interests, preferences and budget to help them land exactly where they want to be
We’ve hand-picked the finest holidays from around the world, offering the best value and exclusive health and fitness programs designed by our team. Whether you want to be active on holiday and learn a new activity such as kite-surfing, mountaineering, and diving, or simply relax in a spa, meditate or participate in a yoga class, detox or fitness program, we can find you the perfect health and fitness holiday.
Established in 2010, we now have offices in London, Melbourne, Manila and Toronto and with a wealth of experience, we are proud to call ourselves the experts in wellness travel.
What inspired you to start Health and Fitness Travel?
A dream to combine my personal interest of healthy living and travel! Initially wanting to run my own retreats, I found there was a gap in the local market for a specialised agency and platform to promote wellness holidays. With a background in the travel and well-being industry for more than ten years, I was able to bring together the right skills and experience and collaborate with the thriving business from the UK to launch Health and Fitness Travel locally in 2014.
Tell us about your career and background.
Traveling is in my nature. I am originally from Scotland, however with my Dad in the army, I started traveling at a very young age. I have lived here since I was 8 and love calling Australia home. I’ve had a variety of roles through the travel, technology and sales sectors all setting me up for my role as Managing Director today. Several years ago, I took a personal interest in wellness for myself, and it naturally became a passion which prompted me to look at how I could integrate it with my love of travel.
We have a local office in Melbourne, but I still travel the world to visit our business partners or explore new locations and work remotely with the help of a fantastic global team.
Describe a typical work day for you.
Running this type of business isn’t all about lavish spa treatments and IG worthy destinations. After all, it still is work. Being the boss requires a lot of my time and energy, which makes it all the more rewarding. Part of my role involves visiting new and existing partner retreats – it is a great perk but means fitting a whole workday around a day on retreat.
No matter where I am in the world, I usually wake around 5am. As soon as I’m up, I do my morning meditation, and while it can be of benefit any time of the day, I make it a point to do this in the morning to prime myself up for the busy day ahead. Around 7am I start to attend to emails that require my attention in order to allocate tasks early on and respond to any client or staff needs in a timely manner. Depending on what time zone I’m in, I schedule in my meetings with my staff, global partners and answer client requests. If I’m at a retreat for business purposes, I would do site inspection and then a lunch meeting to make the most of my limited schedule. I think it’s a great way to share an experience whilst doing something productive. After that, it’s business as usual. Although it varies from day to day, I always find time to train and coach my staff, manage our accounts, review contracts, and keep my finger on the pulse of industry trends.
I am currently enjoying kite-surfing, so I try to find time for it usually late in the afternoon if the wind is blowing or I might head to a yoga class. Around 8pm, I eat dinner with my husband, spend time and talk about our day. Although the day seems to be packed full of activities, I stick to a routine, fitting in some breaks, exercise, and rest. And when it’s time for bed, I switch to an audio book and make sure to get 7-8 hours’ sleep.
What advice do you have for those wanting to start a business?
Know your ‘WHY?’. Ask yourself what it is that inspires you to get up each day to do what you do. I have always known what it is that I do and how I do it, but having a sense of purpose or knowing my ‘why’ has always redirected me to what is really important and help us achieve our goals as a company. It also keeps you going in the hard days, of which there will be many I think many people getting into business underestimate how long the process of building a successful business takes, so be prepared to stick it out and get through the dip.
What’s next for you, and Health and Fitness Travel?
Health and Fitness Travel has become more than just a niche travel agency. It has provided a platform for us to talk about things beyond travel—discussions that matter in our day to day lives, like mental and physical health as well as showcasing that taking care of yourself can be both a very enjoyable and incredibly rewarding experience. Championing the importance of self-care, not as an indulgence but as a necessity, I have created a movement called #StrongHealthyWomen to open up a conversation about women, the many hats they wear and how they go from surviving to thriving. And because self-care isn’t exclusive to femininity, I am also launching a #StrongHealthyMen series to inspire men to follow suit. Both are an ongoing series that invite women and men of different backgrounds to share their story as an inspiration to our customers and just about anyone who can relate.
