We sat down with travel-mad Mardi Barnard, who has taken every travel opportunity that has come her way! She’s really embraced a hard-work ethic, and has achieved incentives to travel to incredible places around the world, and also joined many educational trips which have been invaluable in her learning.
When did you join Pentravel?
01 July 2009 – just celebrated my 10th Anniversary!
What motivates you to do the best at your job?
By building such a personal relationship with my clients that I become more than just a Travel Expert to them. I love it when clients show their gratitude by sending Whatsapp pictures of their travel memories, special goodbyes, and gifts. Coffees and treats makes all the stress and planning worth the while!
Mardi Barnard Acclaim Spain Trip
Tell us a bit about the travel opportunities you’ve had at Pentravel.
A bit…! More Like A LOT 🙂 I’m truly blessed. As a newie, my first educational was off to Mauritius and I have since repeated that trip three times! In my 4th year I went to Thailand on an educational and later that year my first Highclimber Trip to the USA Grand Canyon. I loved that experience and continued to work really hard and I ended up making Highclimbers Austria Skiing 2015 which was the trip of a lifetime!.
I’ve also never cruised before so I thought the Dubai educational in 2015 sounded good and went to explore the UAE. Cruising didn’t end there – I ended up winning the MSC Prize at our year end awards and have done a local MSC cruise three times.
Croatia Sailing – Seal the Deal
Maldives Educational
I loved my beach experience in Mauritius, so I enjoyed a trip to the beautiful Maldives where I swam and snorkelled, and then later that year I travelled to Mauritius again as a Beachcomber Ambassador.
But I can’t seem to stay away from the sun, and have also enjoyed an Abu Dhabi educational in 2017, and achieved Highclimbers in 2018 and 2019, where I visited Cambodia and India respectively. I also did my first Acclaim trip last year to Spain and this year I did my first DP Seal the Deal trip to Croatia.
India Highclimbers 2018
MSC local cruise
Where else are you heading this year and why?
A little Thailand personal holiday as a promise to a friend, and then in October I’m heading to Australia! (Thanks to Pentravel Penzar Incentive )
What is the best thing about working at Pentravel?
Annual Awards create new goals each year that sparks my internal “Super drive”! All the excellent travel opportunities you can earn with dedication and hard work. Using this experience and insider knowledge to assist clients in planning memorable holidays is the best part of the job for me.
Croatia stopover in Istanbul Grand Bazaar
Cambodia Highclimbers 2017
Do you have any guidance or advice for an aspiring Newie looking to start their career?
Patience – give yourself time, learn, listen and experience the world of travel. Rome was not built in a day.
What’s the one destination or experience you’ve still got on your bucket list?
Anything Europe – so diverse , so much still to uncover and indulge in!
Mardi’s experiences have been life-changing! If you think you’ve got what it takes to be a successful travel agent at Pentravel, then apply today!