Having worked at Avanti Destinations for over 20 years, Gina Bang is a familiar name to many who partner with us. Whether you’re a Travel Advisor who chatted with her in the Reservations Center, a hotelier who connected with her during her stint on the Product Team, a partner who reached out for training during her years in Sales, a tourism board representative who collaborated with her in Marketing, or just somebody who has had the pleasure of meeting her along the way – we all know Gina as a highly personable and knowledgeable go-to in the industry. Avanti is proud to announce that Gina is now our Chief of Sales and Marketing Officer, tasked with combining our incredible Sales Team with our creative Marketing staff to bring you even more robust and meaningful resources for your business. We look forward to many more years with Gina at our side! Here are some fun facts and insider tips from Gina herself.

Favorite Avanti Travel Experience: "This is always such a hard question because I've had so many meaningful travel experiences, and I usually default to the last place I went – but I think in this case, my most recent EDU trip actually is my favorite! This past December we went to Peru with a handful of Avanti staff and Travel Advisors, and it was incredible. Peru is visually stunning with varying landscapes (spanning from the ocean to 12,000-foot mountain peaks) and is full of incredible fusion foods with South American classics like ceviche and potato varieties but also influences from the Asian Peruvian communities whose ancestries originate from China and Japan. Peru is known for its warm and welcoming locals, and it’s perfect for all travelers because it's a great destination for all budgets including luxury travelers seeking authentic experiences. One of the highlights on our trip was the Tambo del Inka Resort in the Sacred Valley. It has a big, beautiful lobby with a huge stone fireplace, and the bottom level of the hotel features the river while the top level features mountain views. My room was gorgeous and I slept with the window open - I could hear the sounds of the river rushing outside!"

Next Destination On Your Bucket List: "Definitely the South Pacific! I want to visit the art studio of Delvene Cockatoo-Collins in North Stradbroke Island (by the way, Avanti offers a tour for this!) I had the pleasure of meeting Delvene when she joined us during our Australia Roadshow last fall. She also visited our Portland office and created artworks with our staff. While in Australia, I would love to take the Ghan train from Adelaide to Darwin. I’ve also never been to Africa and would love to go there some day as well!"

Best Meal You’ve had While Traveling: "I love to cook, so my favorite foodie experiences are always local cooking classes! But when it comes to the best thing I've ever eaten, it was a very specific treat from Central America. Even though I’m partial to spicy and savory flavors and don’t have much of a sweet tooth, I was blown away by this macadamia parfait at a restaurant called Panza Verde ('Green Belly') in Antigua, Guatemala. The presentation was gorgeous, it was so flavorful yet light with really satisfying textures. I ate this maybe 10 years ago and still remember it!"

Favorite Feature of the Avanti Website: "I love the Quick Quote feature! Travel Advisors can quickly and easily create a quote with availability for specific dates, that they can swiftly add in and send off to their customers. I also love our co-branding feature which we curated for Travel Advisors to plug in their own logos and brands into our products, such as flyers and emails." 

Something about Avanti that people might not know: "A lot of people are surprised by how big we are – though we are still very locally focused, we do have 4 offices around the world (Oregon, Washington, Manchester, and Barcelona) with a total of about 170 employees. People are also surprised at how many destinations we offer – though we originally only offered Europe when we first launched over 40 years ago, we grew to sell Central and South America, Asia, North Africa, the Middle East, and now the South Pacific! While many companies and organizations limited or removed their offerings during the pandemic, we were actually growing our destinations and products during that time."

Your Goals for 2024: "Moving into 2024 in my new role, my primary goal is to strengthen connections with our partners and customers, turning each traveler's journey into a memorable experience. I'm deeply passionate about delivering exceptional service and fostering win-win scenarios, particularly for our valued Travel Advisors. Avanti is positioned as the ultimate solution provider in the travel industry, simplifying the lives of Travel Advisors as they navigate the intricacies of customized travel. Whether advisors are new to FIT or seasoned professionals, there's nothing quite like the convenience of connecting with a highly knowledgeable travel consultant during a single phone call to seamlessly piece together all the components of a trip in real time."

"One of the best things about this career is the opportunity to inspire others to stay curious about the world, and right now is an exciting time to be part of the travel industry with all of the evolving technologies at our fingertips. This vocation is full of many lucrative career opportunities and I love inspiring the next generation to get involved with travel. Not only are there jobs in consulting, advising, and tour operations, but there are opportunities in marketing, HR, finance, administration, and so much more. I am very passionate about introducing people to the world of travel, and I hope to inspire people to dive in during 2024!"

Thank you Gina for sharing your insights, and for all that you do for Avanti!