by FIlmInk Staff
Stage and Screen Travel, Australia’s leading travel management company for the entertainment and sports industries and part of Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG), has appointed Wonitta Atkins as General Manager (Australia).
Atkins brings nearly a decade of experience with the company and extensive experience in senior roles across hospitality and travel management.
Atkins’ journey with Stage and Screen began uniquely: as a client. While holding senior sales and marketing leadership roles with Mirvac Hotels & Resorts and Accor, she worked closely with Stage and Screen as a key travel contact.
It was that firsthand experience of the company’s service standards that convinced her to make the switch nearly a decade ago.
“I saw something different in how this company operated,” Atkins said.
“The attention to detail, the problem-solving under pressure, the genuine partnership approach. I wanted to be part of building that from the inside.”
Since joining as an Account Manager nearly a decade ago, Atkins has progressed through Head of Account Management and Head of Operations, delivering exceptional results at every step – including leading the operational response to Queen Elizabeth II’s passing in 2022, ensuring all Australian television networks were broadcasting from London within days.
Under her operational leadership, Stage and Screen was named the NTIA Most Outstanding National Travel Management Company in 2023, achieved an industry-leading 98 per cent client retention, and recorded the highest Great Place to Work uplift across FCTG at 20 per cent.
Tiziano Galipo, Global Managing Director of Stage and Screen Travel Services, said Atkins’ appointment reflects the company’s “Brightness of Future” philosophy, which prioritises developing leaders from within.
“Wonitta embodies what Brightness of Future means in practice,” Galipo said.
“She first experienced our service as a supply partner and was so impressed that she joined us. Nearly a decade later, she’s built an extraordinary track record across every role she’s held. As we celebrate 30 years and look to the next chapter, there is no one better to lead us.”
Atkins takes the helm at a moment of opportunity. Australia’s creative and sporting sectors are thriving, with strong domestic and international pipelines.
Sports tourism is growing, and productions and tours are complex, multi-country operations requiring partners who can anticipate issues and innovate solutions in real time.
“I’ve had the privilege of experiencing Stage and Screen from both sides, first as a supply partner, and then as part of this team for nearly a decade,” Atkins said.
“As we set the stage for the next 30 years, the opportunity ahead is about evolution, not revolution. We’ll continue championing innovation, developing our people, and delivering the kind of exceptional outcomes that made me want to work here in the first place.”
Atkins holds a Bachelor of Business in Hotel Management from Victoria University, with majors in Marketing and Human Resources. She has been recognised with multiple FCTG Global Awards and General Manager Awards throughout her tenure.
