Hannah is an Aussie local and works in our ANZ Marketing team. Although she calls Sydney home, she’s also lived in North America and has travelled around the US, South Pacific, Europe, Asia and Australia.
At work, she manages content and organises famil trips for travel campaigns in partnership with international tourism boards and operators. Her professional and life experience closely resonates with that of a global citizen at Klook. We sat down with her to chat about the intersection of global citizenship and travel.
In the past year you've been on a few famil trips overseas, how have these changed your perspectives about your work at Klook?
I think travelling is one of the best and most fun ways to experience various cultures, make new mates, broaden your horizons and your understanding of the world. I’ve been fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to do a bit of travelling during my time at Klook and these trips have helped me become more thoughtful and mindful of different cultures.
My most recent famil trip was a content creation trip to Phuket and Krabi that I hosted in partnership with with Tourism Authority of Thailand. A challenge we faced in the planning process was - how do you showcase a region without reducing to what it’s stereotypically known for?
For Thailand, this might mean simply highlighting beaches, Pad Thai and ladyboys as it’s what Aussies most likely associate Thai culture with. To be completely honest, I didn’t know much about Thailand or its culture either before I started tackling this campaign. So my time spent preparing the famil itinerary was when I was most made aware of different perspectives and practices across our two countries and cultures including on topics like sustainability, animal rights, religion and “herbs”.
For example, instead of avoiding unethical shows and elephant riding simply because we know it’s frowned upon in Western cultures, we learnt about the history behind the roles of elephants in war, labour and transportation, it’s association of power in Thailand and how ancient practices have been carried on into the present to be exploited for profit.
On the actual famil, we covered a lot of ground from tourist hotspots like James Bond Island and the Big Buddha but also cultural hideaways like Khlong Prasong and Maharaj Morning Markets. We even got educated on herbal health at legal cannabis farm and learnt about varying cultural perceptions of the use of cannabis in cuisines and healthcare.
With the sheer amount that I’ve learnt from this Thailand campaign, I’ve become even more aware of how much I actually don’t know about many cultures but I’m ready to buckle up for another round of cultural learning for my next campaigns!
How do you aspire to bring the world closer together through your work? We’ve heard you and your team have organised several local events to connect travellers!
“Bringing the world closer together through experiences” has always been Klook’s heartbeat. Our platform itself is designed to make unfamiliar experiences more accessible to people. For example, our local BD team has been onboarding First Nations experiences that allow travellers to learn more about Australia’s heritage from the traditional custodians of our country.
But on a more local level, our team have organised and hosted trivia nights that were Japan, Korea and Hong Kong-themed with return flights and travel experience vouchers as prizes. As these prizes are such high stakes, people are more incentivised to “study” a culture deeper to increase their odds of winning especially since our trivia questions always go beyond pop culture.
Awareness is a great first step for people to start engaging with different cultures. Whether it’s through activations at locals universities chatting to the next generation of travellers, a trending Instagram reel or top-ranking Google article, I hope that anything our team creates somehow ignites a spark for someone to be curious about other cultures and places.
Being global-minded is easier said than done. What are your tips on keeping an open mind to new experiences and embracing different cultures?
My top tip is say “yes!”, don’t be afraid to go to new places and try things you may not think you’ll like, and just enjoy the journey - what’s the worst that can happen?
The world is so big that it’s impossible to grasp every culture but it’s still important to step outside your comfort zone. There’s no right or wrong way to travel and everyone will have their own experiences with it, but spending time overseas will force you to leave your comfort zone and try things you don’t usually try at home.
I’m a strong believer that travel helps build bridges and break barriers. Travel helps us become more tolerant, open-minded people. Our preconceived thoughts and ideas are often changed by the things we see and people we meet overseas.
In my life so far, I’ve found that the most enriching experiences and relationships have been formed outside my comfort zone especially when I’ve travelled solo. It’s always daunting at first to be in a unfamiliar location without anyone by your side as as safety net. But the more we explore, the easier it gets to embrace different cultures and experiences. And the more people we meet, the more we realise that the common ground we stand on is bigger than we first thought.
I’ve really appreciated all the chats I’ve had with locals in places I’ve travelled to. I’ve been inspired by the ways in which we learn from and value each other’s knowledge, perspectives and lived experiences despite being from totally different cultures and upbringings. Being exposed to other cultures helps us be more open to different things. It prompts us to reconsider “is this ‘weird’ or is it just something I haven’t grown up with?“
