Golden Compass to host European Travel Forums across Australia and New Zealand

AUSTRALIA - Educational travel operator Golden Compass is hosting a series of morning tea travel forums in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland from 27 November until 14 December, between 10am and 1pm. Guest speakers include social historian Dr Jone Gaillard, European Program Leader Louise Shave and former Assistant Director of the University of Auckland George Dibley.

Golden Compass CEO Mark Goodwin BA (Hons)(Lon), A.K.C, F.Inst.T.T., will be travelling from the UK to host each event.

Dr Jone Gaillard has a degree in Politics and Social Science from the University of Florence, a postgraduate diploma in Politics from the Centre of European Studies, Nancy (France), an MA and a PhD from Melbourne universities.

Jone has taught Italian Language and Culture in Florence and as Affiliate Professor at the University of Northern Colorado and at La Trobe University in Melbourne, where she lives. Jone is also the author of a book of fiction as well as short stories published in Italy and in the U.S.A. Her doctoral thesis on opera librettos has also been published in the U.S.A.

Louise Shave is a graduate from the University of Auckland in Languages, History and Music and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Teaching.

The extensive time Louise has recently spent living in both France and Ireland has given her an in-depth knowledge of those particular countries and she is a fluent French speaker. For the past 14 years, Louise has led many out bound programmes, especially in Europe, the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and Ireland. She is in much demand as a guest speaker.

George Dibley has been involved in educational travel for more than 20 years, initially as a part of his work in adult education at the University of Auckland where he was Assistant Director.

George has a special interest in music and has led many special interest opera tours to various European destinations. His broader interests include art and architecture. With a daughter and granddaughter in Norway he has become a regular visitor to Scandinavia.

"The forums will give the active mature traveller an opportunity to learn something different about the destinations on programs, something they may not experience with a mass market operator", says Golden Compass CEO Mark Goodwin.

Head of Australian and New Zealand Marketing, Sean Burns, states, "investing in a European tour is an enormous emotional and financial commitment. We want to ensure that anyone considering one of our educational and cultural tours gets a real flavour of what they will experience while travelling. That way they can make an informed decision on whether one of our programs is the right choice for them."

The Travel Forums will cover a number of topics from the integration of the Eastern European States into the EU, the origin of opera in Italy and the break-up of the United Kingdom.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews