Nathan Bowler
Why and how did you decide to become a travel advisor?

I have always had a passion for geography itself as well as travelling. I love maps and knowing why people live where they live (the history behind places). So I fell into the travel world after deciding to take Tourism and Travel in college.

What’s your favourite part of being a travel agent?
Every day is different, working on different unique itineraries like getting people to go on an expedition to Antarctica or just crazy flight logistics for multiple cities in Africa.
What’s the main thing that’s changed about your clients or the travel industry since the pandemic?
People are sort of expecting schedule changes to happen if they book early enough, which is sort of a good thing because it makes the person more adaptable to changes, which is a huge thing for traveling. And more people are inquiring about travel insurance as well, which really helped a lot of passengers in 2020, including myself. Shoutout to Allianz for helping my own personal claim and many of my clients during the pandemic!
Do you believe more people are using travel advisors since the pandemic? Why or why not?

Yes, I think so. The travel world has become increasingly complex and overwhelming with so many options. For example, back in the day you could book a flight and the flight just by default includes a checked bag, seat selection, and is partly refundable. But now, you have to choose from three to five different tiers with different rules about bags, seats, cancellations, and points just in economy class, and then business class also has the same different tiers to choose from. So it’s gotten quite complicated. And people now for the most part don’t mind paying a fee to go to travel agencies to make it easier.

Can you share a special travel memory and what travel means to you?
Being in the Arctic on some of the zodiac landings… the Arctic landscape is so huge and vast, like unimaginably so. The expedition cruises don’t have pre-existing docks or areas to land, they just land wherever sort of works with the zodiacs depending on weather/ice conditions, so sometimes it feels like you might be stepping on a piece of ground that no other person may have stepped on before, which is truly amazing.

What’s still on your travel must see list?

I’ve always wanted to see Dubai, ever since the early 2000s when it started making the crazy record-breaking buildings. Haven’t had a chance yet to see the city.
In hindsight, what do you know now that you wish you knew when you were first starting out?
That it takes years and years to build up a good base of clients, and so in the first few years as a consultant, you might not be making that much money. But over time and perseverance, you get to a point where you stay busy and don’t typically need to reach out to get new business.
Where do you stand on charging fees?
Fees are a must for travel advisors. Lawyers charge fees. Other consultants charge fees. Heck, even some doctors now charge fees. It is a very service-heavy field and very personalized, so fees are important for the time it takes to build and manage people’s itineraries.
What’s the nicest thing a client has ever done for you?
I got tipped $300 cash one time from a long-time client who has booked river cruise type trips. It was a nice bonus. They just handed me a thank you card and left, and then when I opened it, there was the cash with a thank you message for all the hard work.
Do you have anything to add?

I’ve been a travel advisor for 12 years with Merit, but am actually now moving onto a BDM role with Adventure Canada, which I’m stoked about. They bring passengers to the beautiful coasts of Greenland and Nunavut (as well as Scotland, Iceland and even Antarctica sometimes) and bring on scientists, artists, Inuit culturalists and more as staff on the ship to give an educating, engaging experience. I went on a trip with them in 2016 to Greenland & Nunavut and it blew my mind. Not just the landscapes and communities, but the staff on the ship were super cool and brilliantly passionate about everything in the Arctic.

It was the hands down the best trip I’ve ever had and a big factor as to why I said yes to the job opportunity. I got the chance to also go to Antarctica last year in 2022 (with a different expedition company), and it was also fantastic, but I feel like it didn’t hit me the same way as the Arctic. A big difference is that Antarctica is missing people. Landscapes and wildlife are very cool to see, but people and culture bring another layer to a trip experience that you can’t beat. And the Inuit communities in the Arctic have a very unique history that is amazing to learn about when you’re travelling up north.




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