Describe yourself in 3-5 words: Always wearing a smile, hard-working, resilient, resourceful and God-fearing.
Describe your travel style in 3-5 words: Food traveller, scenery seeker and proactive (always ensuring to book in advance and pack only what I need).
Why did you choose to study travel & tourism? I finished my double degree back in the Philippines in 2011 (Bachelor of Science in Hotel & Restaurant Management & Bachelor of Science in Tourism Management). After which, I spent five years with four different hotels as a sales executive, which was stressful, but I really enjoyed the travelling part. It was my childhood dream to come to Canada. I looked for my chance and came across to see my relatives. They advised me to change my career and finish a caregiver course so I could easily be invited and come here, so I did. I spent a year pursuing this field and yet I wasn’t fulfilled (from an emotional perspective) and still not considered.
I decided to move to Dubai, UAE in 2015 to look for opportunities and I found myself flourishing in the travel industry for six years. Within this time, I realized I would never be happy in my life until I really knew what I wanted and where I belonged. Being in this industry opened a lot of opportunities for me. I was able to travel (business and leisure), open the beauty of travelling to my parents, meet a lot of wonderful people in the industry, and most especially earn while enjoying.
Dubai, UAE is a beautiful country, though I won’t be able to get my permanency so I challenged myself to study again and I came back to Canada in 2021. I am hoping to stay for good. Time flew so fast and I am almost at the end. I can’t wait to venture and fulfill my dreams of succeeding in this industry.
I really admire the persistence of this industry, developing ways to bring back people’s confidence in travelling—especially when the Government is slowly getting rid of the restrictions—and the willingness to go over and beyond.
Kelly Reyes
What is your greatest professional strength?
I’m really into sales and marketing in this industry, it’s the part where I get to work and travel at the same time.
What’s your dream travel & tourism job? Aiming to be in airport/airline sales and marketing related jobs run by the Government.
In your opinion, what’s the most exciting trend in travel right now and why? After the pandemic, I love that people are starting and very eager to travel again because of the three years of not being able to. Having said that, they have developed extreme hyper-personalization with their trips, making up for what they’ve lost, which I believe will challenge and give more opportunities to us in the travel sector. I really admire the persistence of this industry, developing ways to bring back people’s confidence in travelling—especially when the Government is slowly getting rid of the restrictions—and the willingness to go over and beyond.
What is one thing you can’t travel without? It’s my sunglasses, I feel like shades are linked to vacations.
How many countries have you visited? 21 countries. In order: Macao, Hong Kong, South Korea, UAE, Iran, Oman, Kuwait, Armenia, Poland, Germany, Netherlands (twice), France (twice), Switzerland, Vatican City, Italy, Thailand, Vietnam (twice), Cambodia, Spain, Canada (Alberta, Montreal, Vancouver and staying in Ontario), and USA.
Name your favourite travel experience so far: When I visited Spain. There was so much food to try. I ate different versions of paellas in Barcelona and Madrid.
What’s on your travel bucket list? Getting to taste authentic Ramen and Sushi in Japan, Hainanese Chicken Rice in Singapore, Milk Tea in Taiwan, Greek cuisine in Greece, Mexican cuisine in Mexico and to Cruise which I’ve never been able to do.
Name your greatest achievement so far: Having a Philippine passport is very difficult when it comes to securing entry requirements for us to be able to travel, and I consider getting the three major visas (Schengen visa, Canadian visa and US visa) stamped in my passport to be the greatest achievement I have so far. I just got my US visa on March 22, 2023 and travelled to the US on March 26, 2023.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Working in the Government Tourism Hospitality Sector.
What’s the best OR worst piece of travel advice you’ve received? “Create good memories, expect the worst, don’t spend too much but make sure to have fun. We are here for you!” – Dad & Mom
