What’s your favourite part of the job? 

Creating custom itineraries. At Merit we like to create unique experiences that clients may not be able to find anywhere else. It’s like an art to me because I know when my client comes back happy it’s a direct reflection on what myself and my team put together for them. Another favourite part of my job is my two teams of amazing travel advisors. I love coming to work every day and working with a group of people who share the same passion and love for travel as I do.

How has travel impacted your own life? 

I live by my favourite travel quote: “And then I realized adventure was the best way to learn.” Until I began working in the industry, I had no idea how much travel impacted the world. I now work every day to focus on travel that gives back to the communities we send our clients to.

How are you coping in this crazy COVID-19 world? What are you focusing on right now? 

Our focus has been helping our clients get home safely and now assisting with the administrative work like invoices and insurance claims. I am confident we’ll all make it through this but how clients travel and where for the first while post pandemic might change. People might want to explore our own backyard here in Canada. I believe they will want smaller group experiences as well.

Prior to all this, what were some of the big trends you were noticing in travel or that your clients were looking for from a getaway? 

Many of our clients are looking for experiential travel opportunities where they can learn about a culture and country. This is also a popular trend with our family clients as they want to open up their children to learning about the world and have a better appreciation for what they have back at home.

Have you had any interesting or strange requests from clients? 

I don’t normally book all many all-inclusive holidays. I had a client that was looking for a resort holiday in Mexico and specifically wanted a resort that served Corona beer. I had thought that would be an easy request, but I had to call resorts all over Mexico to eventually find one that did.

How many countries have you been to and where would you like to go next when we can travel again? 

 My country count is pushing 20. I was most recently booked to travel to Colombia this April and this still remains on the top of my destination list once we are able to travel again. As I am writing this, my wife poked me and reminded me we have our honeymoon to book as we recently got married in Costa Rica in November. We were planning on heading to Fiji.

What’s a big misconception people have about travel agents? 

Many people think it costs a lot more money to book with a travel agent. We and many agents charge a professional fee but time is money and our clients agree. We also take the brunt of clients’ frustrations with airline and tour operator policies when things go wrong and out of our control.

Do you have anything to add? 

In addition to selling travel and managing my amazing teams, for the last five years, I have worked on the development of our national corporate social responsibility platform. I oversee our relationship with WaterAid Canada and help to engage staff. To date, Merit has contributed over $300,000 through corporate and local fundraising efforts and via travel credits. We are currently participating in a Canada-wide campaign to raise funds and awareness for WaterAid’s Deliver Life program in Tanzania. This project will reach over 660,000 people including 211,000 mothers in surrounding communities to supply them with clean water. This all circles back to why I love my job and I am so happy to work with such a great organization.