kabarsula Ex-airline exec Thomas Gjerde launches Norway and Nordic specialist Norwegian Wonders bandar SLOT INDONESIA

Former airline sales executive Thomas Gjerde has launched Norwegian Wonders Pty Ltd, a Norway and Nordic specialist that is putting a strong focus on partnering with Australian travel advisors.

Former airline sales executive Thomas Gjerde has launched Norwegian Wonders Pty Ltd, a Norway and Nordic specialist that is putting a strong focus on partnering with Australian travel advisors.

Based on the Gold Coast, the company offers premium small-group, independent and tailor-made journeys across Norway, Scandinavia and the wider Nordic region, with a particular strength in Northern Norway.

Norwegian-born Gjerde, who is founder and managing director, has more than 20 years’ experience across aviation, travel and tourism, including senior sales, commercial and partnership roles with Qantas, Air Canada, Cathay Pacific and other international airlines.

He said Norwegian Wonders was created to combine his local knowledge and relationships with his experience in the Australian travel industry.

“I have spent much of my career working with the Australian travel trade and have enormous respect for the role travel advisors play,” Gjerde said. “I want Norwegian Wonders to be a genuine partner to agents – providing specialist knowledge, flexibility, personal service and importantly, ensuring agents are properly rewarded for the business they bring to us.”

Agent commission

Norwegian Wonders’ current agent commission is 15%, with opportunities for enhanced commission and incentives through selected partnerships and campaigns.

“The travel trade is extremely important to us and we want advisors to be properly rewarded for their business,” Gjerde said. “We’re also very happy to work directly with advisors on independent and tailor-made enquiries, so they can bring us a client brief and we can help build the Nordic itinerary for them.”

“Whether an advisor has clients looking for a fully hosted journey, an independent holiday, a private itinerary or something completely tailor-made, we want them to be able to pick up the phone, tell us what their clients are looking for and let us help put it together.”

Demand for Northern Norway

Northern Norway will be a key focus alongside Oslo, Bergen and the fjords, with experiences spanning the Northern Lights, Midnight Sun, Arctic activities, skiing, rail journeys, food, culture and history.

Gjerde said Australian interest in the region was strong.

“We’re seeing very strong interest from Australian travellers in Northern Norway, particularly around the Northern Lights, but increasingly also for the Midnight Sun and summer experiences,” he said. “There is a growing appetite to go beyond the more traditional Scandinavian itineraries and experience places such as Narvik, Lofoten and the wider Arctic region.”

“The Northern Lights are obviously a major drawcard, but what we’re finding is that travellers want a broader experience around them – local culture, food, history, Arctic wildlife, huskies, Sámi experiences, skiing and spectacular scenery. Australians are travelling a long way, so they want the journey itself to be memorable rather than simply ticking off the Aurora.”

Small-group departures

The company’s offering spans hosted small-group tours, independent journeys, tailor-made itineraries and private experiences.

“We deliberately keep our hosted groups very small, with a maximum of 12 guests, which allows us to offer a much more personal experience than traditional coach touring,” Gjerde said.

Upcoming signature small-group departures, hosted by Gjerde, are:

• 18–26 February 2027 – winter/Northern Lights
• 1–9 March 2027 – winter/Northern Lights
• 1 June 2027 – 11-day Northern Norway summer/Midnight Sun journey

“Pricing varies by departure and itinerary, and we also offer independent, private and tailor-made journeys for clients who prefer not to travel as part of a group,” he said.

Nordic representation

Beyond its tour operations, Norwegian Wonders is offering Australian and New Zealand representation services for Scandinavian and Nordic travel and tourism businesses, covering market representation, trade engagement, and sales and partnership development.

“This is a new area we are actively developing. We’re currently open to discussions with Scandinavian and Nordic travel and tourism businesses that are looking for representation and market development support in Australia and New Zealand,” Gjerde said. “The opportunity is to use our existing relationships across the Australian travel trade, combined with my background in airline, corporate and leisure sales, partnerships and business development, to help Nordic businesses establish or strengthen their presence in this market.”

He said some discussions were already under way, but nothing could be announced publicly yet.

“Aviation will always be close to my heart, but I’m incredibly excited to now put my full energy behind Norwegian Wonders and to work even more closely with the Australian travel agency community,” Gjerde said.

More information is at norwegianwonders.com.au.