June 2025

It's time to turn a page MyTravelResearch.com is 14 years old this August. With 60% of micro businesses failing in the first 5 years, and two thirds failing to make it to ten that makes us survivors. It's been an amazing but tumultuous journey since Bronwyn and I set up the business in 2011 - including Bronwyn leaving, the COVID-19 pandemic and our current disrupted and fast changing world world. During that time we have helped visitor services work out how to engage, identified strategies to recover from COVID and for many verticals and activities including how to engage with the exciting opportunities from accessible and inclusive tourism. My work as a futurist has thrived ... BUT Things change, and things should change. Over the past year, I had felt that I needed a new challenge and a new way of working. In 2025 we will be joining Sue Hodges Productions So last year I took a decision that I would transition to a new role with one of our amazing partners. Sue Hodges Productions Pty Ltd (SHP). SHP Managing Director Sue Hodges and I bonded on one of Austrade's trade missions to India. As SHP expanded its cultural and heritage consultancy into new verticals landscape architecture, signwriting and others, they felt the need of a specialist tourism consultant. It felt like an opportunity to spend more time working with clients (which I adore) and less on running a business (which I had fallen out of love with). Many of you will have heard me say over the years that you shouldn't run a business in tourism if you aren't as passionate about the business as about the product. So unlike many consultants I decided to take my own advice! The process will be a soft closure... This week we will be taking down the website. The carolyn@mytravelresearch.com email address will remain active for a few months in case people forget, but my new email address carolyn@shp.net.au is already up and running. For the foreseeable future my contact number (+61 416 213962) will be the same. If you are an MTR member, we are holding all your member content for you in a Dropbox folder until the end of 2025. We'll be mailing everyone as well, but email me on either of the above addresses to get your access link. I'd like to thank everyone who has been part of a wonderful journey. Our clients, our partners, my amazing team members especially Noe Cano who has kept this website with outstanding SEO scores, Makis our website security person who kept the website safe all these years, and the support team members like our many research assistants - most recently Charles Vargo . I've included their LinkedIn contacts in case you want to connect with them. To my new boss Sue Hodges and the team at SHP - I am so excited that we will be working together And to my clients once again.. thank you for trusting me and I hope that you will continue to do so in my new role

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