Meet 
The team

Tran Trong Kien has been known as a pioneer in many adventure tours in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. He ran local tours to fund his medical studies before establishing his own tour operator in 1994. Over the past 25 years of establishment and development, Kien has lead his business to become Thien Minh Group – one of the biggest travel and hospitality groups in the region. Kien is also current chairman of Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board (TAB), Hue Tourism Advisory Board (HTAB), Vietnam Tour Guides Association (VTGA), trustee of Fulbright University Vietnam, Vietnam Tourism Association (VITA), board member of Vietnam Institute of Directors (VIOD), member of the Private Sector Development Research Board (IV Board) of the Advisory Council for Administrative Procedure Reform and ex-member of Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), VP Bank and Vinaland.

Company founder and Director Sandra established SLC at the end of 2002 following a successful 20-year career at Austravel that spanned the UK, Germany and USA. Sandra dreamt of a results-focussed representation agency. Bringing her unrivalled contacts, exceptional sales and marketing knowledge and an unwavering passion for travel to the table, Sandra set about building a strong, sharp and enthusiastic team who could deliver just that.

Contact:
sandra@slcrepresentation.com

“One of the best trips of my life was to Vietnam and Cambodia in 2010. Cycling around Mai Chau was a highlight – I fell off into the rice field about 30 seconds later… I also spent a wonderful afternoon riding around some of the quieter temples of Angkor Wat – I didn’t fall off. From the age of about 8 I wanted to visit Rio de Janeiro – I finally made it in 2018 and it didn’t disappoint.”

Image: Sandra discovering Angkor Wat on horseback

Chris began his career in finance with PwC in Canada and Australia where he became a Canadian CPA, CA. He was previously the CFO for Buffalo Tours and is now the Managing Director for Vamos Tours. He recently joined the board as representative of SLC’s majority shareholder TMG Europe.

Contact:
chris.farwell@slcrepresentation.com

“I got into travel as I’ve always loved travelling and what was shared with me in my travels so I wanted to share that with the rest of the world!”

Image: Chris & Mel at Niagara Falls

Adam is a travel and tourism marketing specialist with 15 years’ experience in strategy, brand and digital, both agency and client-side. He joins SLC from Visit Jersey, where he led a marketing team that turned over 20 years of declining visitors into four years of consecutive growth. As Managing Director of SLC, he leads on strategy and client relationships.

Contact:
adam@slcrepresentation.com

“I like visiting new places and being healthy and active when I travel, so anywhere with good hiking and surfing. I loved California as it was easy to be healthy, with great food, spectacular hiking in Yosemite and lots of different places to surf around Santa Barbara.”

Image: Adam hiking in Yosemite.

Matt joined SLC after 17 years with STA Travel in the UK. During his time with STA, he initially headed up the Contact Centre before moving into Learning & Development. In L&D he took on a variety of roles including overseeing a robust Induction programme for all new starters & developing a Management Development Programme as well as delivering training around Presentation Skills, Coaching & Development, Overcoming Barriers to the Sale, Rapport Building & Customer Rapport. Matt then moved into Wholesale & worked with a number of clients, principally in Europe, Asia, South America & the Middle East, to distribute STA Land & Air product globally.  Matt has come on board at SLC as Account Director & is really excited to focus on our client engagement & explore how we can further grow our service proposition. He is passionate about travel and is often to be found planning next year’s Summer holiday. Matt enjoys going to galleries, concerts and theatres in his spare time but his young kids are more likely to ensure he’s located in a playground at the weekend.

Contact:
matt@slcrepresentation.com

“I think people who work in travel can sometimes get jaded and lose sight of what drove many of us to join the industry in the first place. It’s really easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day of lead in process, flight capacity, price matching, etc, etc and forget that we work with a really exciting product that is a constant daily source of inspiration for millions of people around the world on any given day. Some of those experiences that have really stuck with me are: my 19-year-old self as a Camp Counsellor for Camp America in rural Pennsylvania, chatting to farmers at the local bar who would bring their pigs in with them…an overnight train from Jaipur to Delhi chatting to our fellow commuters and being awoken with chai tea as dawn broke over the craziness of Delhi’s Old Town…drinking Caipirinhas on Ipanema Beach watching the sunset behind Christ the Redeemer…The sights, sounds, tastes and colours are what inspires me every day to see more of the world.”

Prior to SLC, Laoise worked as an Account Manager at a specialist travel PR and representation agency, managing high profile accounts including the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Korean Air, the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, Best Western Great Britain and Neilson. As PR Accounts Director, Laoise has responsibility for SLC’s PR accounts overseeing client campaigns from idea to implementation and delivery. When she isn’t meeting journalists or researching the latest travel trends, Laoise is likely to be on her epic quest to find the best coffee in London or flogging vintage dresses in Hackney.

Contact:
laoise@slcrepresentation.com

“It’s a bit of a cliché, but the reason I love travelling is that it gives perspective. Experiencing new places, people and cultures challenge your outlook and that’s always a good thing! One of my best travel memories is skidooing on the Vatnajökull glacier in Iceland, standing in the middle of Europe’s largest glacier certainly put things in perspective!’”

Image: Laoise on the Vatnajökull glacier, Iceland

Kate brings over a decade of marketing and communications experience which was gained across the media, banking, government and tourism industries. She first joined SLC in 2017 on a short term contract to run the Tourism Western Australia account, she rejoined in 2019 to oversee new business marketing plans and proposals. Kate’s addiction to travel has led her to almost 100 countries, when she’s not collecting passport stamps she’s trying her hand at home renovation.

Contact:
kate@slcrepresentation.com

Image: Kate in the Dead Sea

Rob started his travel career at the student/youth specialists STA Travel as a Travel Agent and later progressed to Assistant Manager at the flagship store in London Victoria. From here, Rob advanced into a successful 3-year tenure with adventure tour operator Bamba Experience, managing the UK & European trade accounts before joining SLC reputation. Within SLC, Rob manages our Vietnamese client TMG Hospitality – an expert in hospitality management in Southeast Asia with a portfolio of eleven hotels & resorts, cruises and premium transportation options. Through experience working from front line consumer-facing to B2B relations, Rob brings a wealth of knowledge and a passion for connecting people through travel through business and leisure. When he’s not in the office, Rob likes to take to saddle and cycle to new places, hiking with friends, eating/cooking Asian cuisines and following national service, supporting the Welsh international rugby team at any opportunity!

Contact:
rob@slcrepresentation.com

“To get that sense of achievement and be able to say I trekked at high altitude in Peru with the best reason…it was all to gain experience for work! Whilst the lack of oxygen was tough, I now want to do more, see more and travel all over the world!”

Image: Rob on Rainbow Mountain, Peru

Maria joined SLC after graduating with a Tourism and Events Management degree from the University of Westminster. Throughout her years in the company, Maria has been involved in looking after a variety of projects and clients here for PATA and SLC’s Australian client portfolio. Today Maria manages the Onyx Hospitality Group account as well as Creative Travel and she also oversees a small team of employees focused on clients from Asia, Indonesia, Middle East and USA. Apart from travelling, Maria also has a passion for photography and in her spare time she likes to explore new places in and outside of London where she can practice her hobby.

Contact:
maria@slcrepresentation.com

“I grew up in a city in Bulgaria which was not popular for tourist visits from other countries. I was 14 years old when I first met people from another country who spoke a different language. My interest in learning new languages and different cultures around the world quickly grew and soon I became part of a Youth Development Centre where I was assisting with and taking part in various exchange programmes. I continued to develop my passion for travel through university in England with my Tourism and Events Management Degree and later work in the travel industry.”

Image: Maria in Sri Lanka

Abbie started SLC in 2015 for her placement year as part of her degree in Tourism Management at University of Surrey. After graduating with a 1st Class Honors degree in 2017 she joined Trailfinders in the European Sales department in Kensington. In January 2018 Abbie returned back to SLC looking after the Australia and PATA accounts, also helping on the Tourism Western Australia Roadshow. Abbie now manages the Australia, New Zealand and Europe clients at SLC. Outside of work Abbie enjoys going to the theatre, catching up with friends and exploring new places whether that’s the latest London rooftop bar or a new European city!

Contact:
abbie@slcrepresentation.com

“My inspiration to work in travel started when I went on holiday with my family to Florida. I had just finished my GCSEs in travel and tourism when I realised I had the travel bug and the passion to study it further and travel to new and exciting places.”

Image: Abbie exploring the Ancient city of Pompeii in Italy

Jo has been working at SLC since 2009. During Jo’s year backpacking in Australia, followed by 2 months in Asia, she knew she had to make travel her day job! Having lived and breathed travel for many years Jo now spends more time dreaming about exotic getaways whilst chasing after two young daughters.

Contact:
joanne@slcrepresentation.com

“I was inspired to work in travel after spending a year backpacking all around Australia on a work visa followed by 2 months backpacking in South East Asia. Once I returned home I knew I had to make travel my day job! “

Image: Jo on the beach in the Maldives

Anna recently graduated with a degree in Business with Industrial Experience from Manchester Metropolitan University. She is passionate about the travel industry and has always loved travelling from a young age going, on her first trip abroad at six weeks old to New York. Her first solo trip was aged 19 to Tasmania, Melbourne and Singapore where she was amazed at the diversity and beauty of the countries. In my spare time, she does pole fitness to improve her core strength and enjoys spending time with friends and being creative with art or photography.

Contact:
anna@slcrepresentation.com

“It’s really hard to choose just one travel inspiration story as I’ve had so many amazing experiences from kayaking around Halong Bay, taking a helicopter ride over the Great Ocean Road to exploring Angkor Wat after watching the sunrise over the reflecting pool. My first solo trip blew me away, I went to Tasmania, Melbourne and Singapore and it was just amazing, it offered so much variety and gave me so much confidence that I could do anything I put my mind to. I just remember watching the sunset on the beach on the Great Ocean Road and knowing that I needed to see more of the world particularly the natural beauty!”

Image: The Golden Circle in Iceland with the geyser Strokkur

Lea joined SLC shortly after completing an MA in Media and Communications, and before that she graduated with First Class Honours in Journalism. While she studied, she conducted several media internships and also wrote for magazines and blogs about various topics, including travelling stories. In her role as PR Executive, Lea combines her two biggest passions – travelling and media. Lea developed an instinct for a good story through her previous journalism experiences which makes her an asset for SLC’s PR team. In her spare time, Lea is either travelling, spending time in her home country Croatia, or she can be spotted at an art gallery.

Contact:
lea@slcrepresentation.com

“Travelling is the only thing you buy that makes you richer – is my all-time favourite quote and something I tend to live by. Travelling enriched me in so many ways, taught me different things and helped me grow. Every place I visited so far left a long-lasting impression, and my desire to explore the world eventually lead me to settle abroad. My love for travelling started early, I remember as a child before I started to travel myself how impressed I was by my grandfather’s stories about his adventures across the Pacific. To work in travel inspires me to a great extent, and I know I will always feel motivated in the industry I am so passionate about. “

Image: Lea at Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo

Emma is a creative-minded marketing professional with a diverse range of experience across tourism and advertising. In her previous role at Tangalooma Island Resort Emma worked on tourism campaigns with Air Asia and Malaysian Airlines and coordinated partnership opportunities with Australian TV programs Sunrise, Today Show, Blind Date, Totally Wild and The Great Day Out. Emma currently manages Tourism Western Australia as the Trade Marketing Executive for UK. She has a huge passion for travel and has visited over 24 countries across the world with many more destinations on her bucket list. In addition to her love of travel, Emma loves cats, practicing yoga and listening to podcasts.

Contact:
emma@slcrepresentation.com

“Visiting places like Bali and Moreton Island, Australia, allow you to immerse yourself in nature and see wild animals in their natural habitat. Experiencing pristine natural beauty and up-close animal encounters are some of the most memorable experiences I’ve ever had. I was inspired to learn about other cultures, visit stunning natural wonders and meet new and interesting people. Working in tourism has allowed me to engage in a community of like-minded travel lovers and create amazing memories.”

Image: Emma in Nusa Cenigan, Bali, Indonesia

Emily is currently on her placement year from Bournemouth University, studying Tourism Management. As the sales coordinator, Emily’s role involves helping out the Account Executives with many of their clients’ needs, including competitor analysis and composing the monthly newsletter, to events organising with PATA.

With a passion for travel, Emily spent her gap year travelling Australia before starting her university experience. This only made her interest in the industry grow. Having been brought up in Brighton and working as a hospitality supervisor means she has experience in customer service within the industry. In her spare time, Emily enjoys going to the gym and socialising with her friends and family.

Contact:
info@slcrepresentation.com

“With a passion for travelling, I spent my gap year in Australia before starting my university experience. This only made my interest in the industry grow.”

Image: Emily at Manly Beach, Australia

Working for 4 years as an accountant in Hanoi, Vietnam, Ha came to the United Kingdom to complete her MSc of Accounting at the University of Hudderfield before joining SLC Representation as an accountant. Ha loves exploring new cities within England, going to places such as London, Oxford, Liverpool and loads more!

Contact:
accounts@slcrepresentation.com

“Local experiences, new culture exploring and enjoying the beauty of nature inspire me to travel. If possible, doing something off the beaten track would be great for my trip ”

Image: Ha in front of St Paul’s Cathedral, London