Despite starting his career south of the border in 1979, Robbie always had Queensland tourism in his blood and a great love of the tropical north. Starting in the NSW travel centres, he made the leap to the Queensland Tourist and Travel Corporation in the 1980s in their Sydney travel centre, and then took the Canberra office to #1 in the QTTC network.
One of the original road warriors, Robbie always had the knack for selling the State and became famous (or infamous) in travel when he joined Quicksilver as General Director of Sales and hit the road. Anyone who knew Robbie knew his love of this region and of the travel industry and he never quit until he got the deal done. Some people reading this won’t have known Robbie, for you I can recommend “Revelations and Reflections with Ron Livingston and Robbie Bastion” on Inside Downunder to hear the stories from Robbie himself.
Robbie thought deeply about the industry and how to make this region thrive, winning countless awards for his outstanding contributions including the TTNQ Hall of Fame with Parker Travel Collection and an Outstanding Contribution of an Individual in 2010. He has written the book on how to sell the tourism experiences of the tropical north and while quick with a joke, he was always quick with some sage advice. When I arrived at TTNQ, on my desk was a Robbie Bastion tome, 21 pages of insights from Robbie. I read it twice and sat down for a coffee to hear it from Robbie directly – I got it with both barrels on what TTNQ was and wasn’t doing according to Robbie, our own national icon like Tim Tams and RM Williams!
Passionate, determined, pig-headed, and virtually unstoppable, Robbie inspired an industry and lifted a region, never have so many benefitted so much from one man’s mission. If you haven’t read his book “In Continents: Tales of a Road Warrior” grab a copy and grab a drink and take in just how much we owe Robbie Bastion.
Thank you Robbie, passionate road warrior, preacher, and great mate – your legacy lives on!
Sincerely
Mark Olsen
CEO
