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BRAD Illich has been named the Queensland Tourism Industry's Young
Achiever of the Year.
A lifelong worker in Australia's tourism industry, the 31-year-old said he
was honoured to win the award.
"I am so appreciative of the caravan and camping industry and everything I
have gained from being a part of it from a young age," he said.
"I especially owe thanks to our early park customers who took a chance on
a young guy with a new product and worked with us to create what our
customers are saying is the best park management system they have ever
used."
The Illich family-owned and operated Ashmore Palms Holiday Village and
Brisbane Holiday Village was his whole life, he added.
In 2000 after graduating high school, Brad took his understanding of the
tourism industry and created Xtreme, an IT company specialising in holiday
parks and the tourism and hospitality business.
By 2010, he and a small team of skilled young IT techs, programmers and
web designers created NewBook, a property management and online booking
system designed from scratch.
Brad's NewBook system is now competing head-on with large,
long-established companies.
He has been able to convert hundreds of properties to his modern system,
including not just holiday parks, but also hotels, apartments, backpackers
and even luxury island resorts across Australia.
He was also a finalist this year for the inaugural Bauer Future Leaders
Award for the caravan industry.
The Caravan Industry Association of Australia said it was only the
beginning for Brad who has plans to further expand Newbook.
"We are now signing up other accommodation types such as resorts and
hotels and they are often shocked to see how professionally caravan parks
are run and how they using NewBook to maximise sales and run more
efficiently," he said.
