Meet the Expert: Kerry Newsome: “I fell in love with Vietnam, the way you fall asleep. Slowly, then all at once”

20 years in Marketing and Travel industry

[Meet the Expert] Kerry Newsome has been working in the Travel & Marketing industry for over 20 years, in sales, marketing & communication roles. During these years, Kerry lectured part time in marketing for a private college in the years 2001 – 2008, and covered topics such as Integrated Marketing, Direct Marketing, Creativity, Presentation skills, and Database Marketing. Further to her lecturing, Kerry went on to join the RTO Priority Management, and trained business people in Influencing skills, Negotiation skills and Time Management.

In the last 10 years she developed a passion for Vietnam which led her to work with a local Vietnamese hotel group and ground operator. She currently manages marketing and communications for ITSVietnam.com and is their ongoing Australian Manager based in Sydney and travels to Vietnam at least twice a year for extended periods of time. In 2017 & 2018 she was invited to be a speaker at the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) roadshows which toured Australia and New Zealand promoting Vietnam as a tourist destination to Australian travel agents. Kerry’s love for Vietnam is apparent and she considers Hoi An, as her second home.

What about Vietnam?

“Vietnam got under my skin and I couldn’t let it go”, said Kerry. Responding to her connections with Vietnam, she said that through the CEF Children’s Fund, she had sponsored two Vietnamese girls and their education in the following years. She said they have enriched her life as she has got to know them and increased her understanding of Vietnamese youth. In 2020, despite the pandemic, Kerry decided to take Vietnam travel experiences to a new channel and so she started her own podcast called “What About Vietnam – traveller Insights:” Now with a growing base of listeners, she is well known through her podcast and website www.whataboutvietnam.com and on social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Youtube by the same name. 

Joining Australian Hospitality Alumni Network Vietnam

Kerry is delighted to become one of AHA’s industry experts and hopes through her knowledge and skills she can share her love of Vietnam with more people.

Visit Ms. Kerry Newsome on Linkedin or contact AHA Vietnam at info@ahavietnam.org should you wish you schedule an appointment with her.

Image Credit: Kerry Newsome