Kimberley is a small town tucked between the mighty Canadian Rockies and the stunning Purcell mountains. I’m fortunate to call this gem of a mountain town — Kimberley, British Columbia — my home. Travelling (of course), hiking, light cycling and tending my small flower garden, a great book, fabulous food, time with family, friends, and Tucker — our dog of 17 years — make my heart joy-filled. It sure doesn’t feel like more than 30 years that I’ve worked and been enamoured by the travel biz. Time flies when you’re having fun.
I was in and out of the travel biz. Twice in fact. The third time ‘in,’ was when I decided I wanted a career as a Travel Professional. Over the years I’ve been employed as a full time Travel Advisor, plus owned and managed a brick-and-mortar Agency. Wearing the hat of an Entrepreneur fulfilled a long-time dream.
Along came 2020: a messy and murky time for everyone in the industry. As it turns out, that wild ride led me exactly to where I’m meant to be within the industry — flying solo as an Independent Contractor.
The answer to the question is a resounding, “YES!” Being a travel advisor exceeded my expectations. It has and continues to be more than I anticipated.
Relationships. My work life is enriched because of the relationships I have with clients and industry colleagues. These are interesting, inspiring people that I learn from and have fun with every day.
Change: Change is the constant in a fast-paced world and that’s most certainly true with travel. Because of change there are learning curves and ongoing daily discoveries. I love change and when things become different and renewed.
Invoicing. Invoicing. Invoicing.
Be sure your journey as a travel professional includes being better at what you do and how you do it – every day. “Invest in yourself!” There will always be DIY’ers and there will always be those that entrust their travels to a professional. someone who requests your services.
I believe it’s like the layers of an onion. The first layer — the bold and curios started travelling as soon as they possibly could: 2021 and 2022. In 2023 while many travellers were in full swing, another ‘layer’ of travellers were dipping their toe for the first time. This year the toe-dippers are travelling further afield, and I would guess the strong desire to travel will continue into 2025.
Time. Savvy travellers recognize time is a nonrenewable resource. Using a travel professional allows them to spend their time playing in the outdoors, or juggling hectic work and family schedules, all the while knowing their travel pro is curating and attending to the minute details of their travel dream. Overwhelm. Glossy websites and 1-to-5-star reviews can be confusing. Sifting through massive amounts of information is a daunting task. Travel professionals make the overwhelm-factor a nonissue. Trust. Travel Advisors have first-hand experience and a wealth of knowledge to draw from. When a client is investing luxury dollars they do so with confidence, knowing their travel professional uses vetted and trusted suppliers, services, and properties.
61 years of age is the average age of my clientele travelling during 2024. Over the past six months, inquiries for sun vacations were largely from younger travellers. Because I no longer sell All Inclusive vacations I didn’t have the pleasure of working with as many young(er) travellers.
I’m so darn lucky to have so many incredible travel memories. Choosing one simply isn’t possible, although the memories I had travelling with my mom are the memories most dear to me. My mom passed away in 2019: we shared laughter, had great fun and made magic memories travelling together. With an open heart and objective mind, travel has a transformative way to make us stewards of the planet, support economies and help make us kinder, more accepting human beings.
$92K.
The answer is absolutely! I charge two fees: a research & engagement fee when going to work for clients and a booking and management fee collected at the time of final payment. A client will view and understand your worth when, as a Professional you value your own worth first.
I’m honoured to be one of the travel professionals featured this year. Thank you for the nomination, and thank you Travel Courier and Canadian Travel Press. If I may be so bold, I’d like to close by asking for help from my fellow travel professionals and industry colleagues. “Whether at home or travelling, rather than using a one-time use coffee cup, I encourage you to commit to #BYOCoffeeCup and share the message within your network.” I hope you will #BYOCoffeeCup and a sincere thank you, in advance.
