My first interview with Lisa Watson went great. She was easy-going and her dedication of work to the creation of FyndTravel was obvious. However, a dead computer on my end took all text and recordings with it to the scrapyard. Chaos happens, I suppose.

We tried again and, as expected, I found the conversation just as enjoyable and informative.

Lisa started our conversation by pulling up a screen share Read the rest of this entry »

Australia is an amazing place and is on the bucket list of many American travelers. From the Sydney Harbour and its iconic Opera House to the Great Barrier Reef, on to the red center or outback, Australia has it all. I thought that I knew Australia well, managing a Tour Operator and wholesaler that promotes and creates Australian packages specifically for US travel agents. I have been working in and around Australia for a long time. I found out though, and happily so, there is still much more to see and discover. Read the rest of this entry »

Host Agency Reviews has released its 70+ page report on trends in the world of host agencies: The Hosted Travel Advisor Research Report Summary, 2023.

The recently released report aims to inform advisors, suppliers, agency allies, and host agencies about the current state of affairs in the industry—according to the 1,700+ hosted advisors polled.

Of those, only 23% of hosted advisors have reported sales below pre-pandemic levels. This lends thought to the optimism Read the rest of this entry »

Chameleon Travel Shop is making the lives of travel agents easier when planning trips to Europe, South America, Australia, and New Zealand!

Chameleon Travel Shop (CTS) started in Atlanta, Georgia in 2015 by global tourism veteran Joseph Walker who has held executive roles in inbound tourism in the USA, Italy, Brazil, and beyond.  Stemming from Joseph’s earliest travel background, when he was a guide in Italy, he learned that travel is about making connections and experiencing destinations in a more authentic manner. When guests become travelers Read the rest of this entry »

I sat down with Lori Speers to talk about a celebration for the top 10 sales producers at Levarté Travel, the host agency she started and owns. While we did cover this, succeeding in the essential goal of business transacted; we got far more in-depth about travel—about the elation of setting up the perfect getaway for another person, how community plays a huge part in business, and the passion it takes to make it in the travel industry. Read the rest of this entry »

Like many agents out there, after the pandemic I’m busier than ever with new and repeat business. It has doubled year after year and, 2023 is shaping up to double again. As a solo owner/operator, it took some trial and error to find my groove. I can’t point to one thing that moved the needle—it has been a combined approach from multiple angles. Here are some things that have helped me accelerate my multi-million-dollar business growth. Read the rest of this entry »

I had to admit to myself that I was a bit nervous about interviewing Laurie McAndish King. As the accomplished writer of An Elephant Ate My Arm: More True Stories from a Curious Traveler, published last year, she’s seen a rise in popularity. This book has won first place in the Paris Book Festival, with individual stories in the collection winning multiple other awards. Her writing voice is clearly her own, a daunting task most writers struggle with on a daily basis. So, yeah, I was clearly nervous that my questions wouldn’t grab her attention. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

From the starting conversation about our video backgrounds, there was a curiosity radiating from the image on the computer. Three minutes in, she’d asked more questions than me. When it naturally came around to a starting point, I launched in with the biggest question first: did you start this collection of stories during the primary part of the pandemic?

The start of my conversation with Doug Colon summed up the theme of the interview in its entirety. When asked about how things are going for him, he answered, “Trying to get this backyard done. My contractor didn’t show up, so I started on my own.” This being our first long-form conversation, I was going off what I’d researched online. He was there when break dancing took off in the early 70s, grooving with prolific DJs known for legendary innovation in hip hop—check. He’s currently the owner of Dancin Doug Travel—check. But now, right at the start, I knew that I was talking to a man who knew how to get up and get it done.

Mentioning the multiple positions Doug has held in different fields, “I kind of stumble and fall places. I’m a stumbler.” This was clearly evident in his path through life so far. Travel started as a break from his profession at the time, Special Agent in Charge Read the rest of this entry »

With interest in UK-bound travel gathering pace, I’ve put together a collection of commission-generating ideas for you to offer your clients.

As some of them might have been hoping to go to this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, entice them with a tour that includes the Royal Horticultural Society’s Flower Show at Wisley along with Downton Abbey and the royal garden at Highgrove House.

I’ve created a programme based around the hugely popular Jane Austen Festival in Bath (think of all those clients who are riveted by the many costume dramas on the TV) and a Girls Getaway which brings together a major Antiques Fair with London’s Markets.

Meanwhile, in Scotland Read the rest of this entry »

With series two of Bridgerton guaranteed to create interest in On Location visits to the city of Bath where much of it was filmed, think about combining it with visits to Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral and Highclere Castle aka Downton Abbey.

Similarly, for murder/mystery fans bring together Sherlock Holmes in Bristol and London, Father Brown in the Cotswolds and Endeavour, Morse and Lewis in Oxford.

In August, there are the thrills and spills at the equestrian Magic Millions Festival at Gatcombe Park, Gilbert and Sullivan light opera in Buxton and Harrogate, a Flower Festival celebrating Lincoln Cathedral’s 950th birthday, and the International Beatle Week in Liverpool—where the legends began. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m always on the lookout for new ideas that will encourage you to keep Great Britain towards the top of the list of your must-sell destinations, and last Saturday’s ‘Excursions’ trade show at the Twickenham Stadium in London gave me a great deal of food for creative thinking. Organised by Tourism South East for the British domestic market, it showcased dozens of exciting travel experiences which when imaginatively pieced together produced several new ideas for clients flying or cruising in-or-out of the UK this summer. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re talking to a family about a visit to London during July and August, let’s add some hands-on, interactive living history experiences to their tailor-made itinerary. Our capital city becomes overrun with international visitors in the summer, and a very good case can be made for parking your jetlag in the English countryside so that they reach London, fully adjusted to Greenwich Mean Time.

The starting point for this family adventure is Royal Windsor, and the reason is very simple. Being less the thirty minutes from London Heathrow, access is easy and with the Castle opening at 10am, the Changing of the Guard at 11am, and the choice of Legoland or an afternoon cruise on the River Thames, the Royal Borough gets everything off to a very good start. Rested and raring to go, and with a focus on the south and east of England, let’s see what the region can offer. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m always on the lookout for living history experiences and new attractions that can add bubble, fizz and pleasant surprises to UK tours. This week, I’m introducing you to six of them that fit that requirement.

York’s annual Viking Festival has been moved from February to June, which means that many more of us can enjoy this mighty celebration of the city’s Nordic origins. This is then followed by the staging of the medieval Mystery Plays, a once in every four years event. In Manchester, the Royal Horticultural Society’s Bridgewater Garden is fast becoming one of the UK’s must-see gardens which, when coupled with the stunning estates in Cheshire and North Wales, will be of great interest to green-fingered customers. Meanwhile, in Liverpool, the brand-new theatre modelled on Inigo Jones’ cockpit-in-court 17th century masterpiece will throw open its doors in the summer.

Read on and let’s be creative about Read the rest of this entry »

This month, I’m privileged to be celebrating the seventh anniversary of my articles for Travel Research Online. Over this period, I’ve created an Aladdin’s cave of bright ideas for UK-bound travel, linked to major annual events and festivals significant anniversaries. If you click here, a quick speed read will reveal names you’ll recognise like Downton Abbey, Harry Potter, the Beatles, the Chelsea Flower Show along with tour suggestions for family travel, pre- and post-cruise extensions and Women Only travel. If you’re a real Brit enthusiast, keep reading because there are one hundred and twenty-three for you to look at, dating back to February 2015!

It represents a unique resource which you can use to create UK-travel experiences that perfectly match the interests, time frame and budget of independent travellers, four or five friends travelling together, families Read the rest of this entry »

With interest in travelling to the UK steadily growing, so are the number of ’email conversations’ I’m having with enterprising travel advisors who want to offer their customers some different aspects of their old friend Britain. Some of the customised travel experiences were hallmarked by a selection of the On Location visits highlighted a couple of weeks ago. If you missed them, you can see them again here.

One of the most recent email exchanges was for a family looking for an imaginative countryside and London tour. They didn’t want to travel far, and what has emerged is an action-packed programme that starts in Royal Windsor, travels to Oxford before heading for London, where with jetlag parked, they will be able to get the maximum out of their four nights in the capital.

If this sequence appeals to you, discuss it with your clients and let’s start our own email conversation. Read the rest of this entry »

Although your anglophile clients have been unable to fly to the UK since the end of March 2020 (!), aspects of Britain have been appearing frequently on their/your TV screens with reruns of Endeavour, Morse, Lewis, Poldark, Doc Martin, Father Brown, Keeping up Appearances, Grantchester, Downton Abbey, The Vicar of Dibley, All Creatures Great and Small—along with a whole host of irresistible movies, dramas, and sitcoms.

They’ve done a huge job of waving the GB flag, and I think you’re missing a trick if you’re not talking to some of your frequent UK travellers about how you can customise a tour that blends together leisurely On Location visits for their favourite TV shows with other must-see visits to castles, stately homes, cathedrals, literary shrines all washed down with some memorable meet the locals, pub lunches and suppers.

Here’s a handful of travel-less, see-more suggestions for you to consider. Read the rest of this entry »

Bustling and colourful Christmas markets in historic settings, spectacular re-imaginings and illuminated trails around treasure-filled castles and stately homes, pretty villages and market towns in full festive mode, carol singers, sparkling and highly decorated Christmas trees all over the place, Glühwein, mince pies and ice skating outdoors at famous London attractions.

Welcome to what’s happening across England THIS MONTH and, bearing in mind that they are all annual events, let me sow some seeds for some bright ideas that can be gift-wrapped to generate valuable extra commission in the run up to Christmas 2022. Remember, everything here takes place each year. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are a frequent reader of my Agent’s Perspectives, over the past 19 months or more, you will have seen dozens of bright ideas that will appeal to clients interested in castles, gardens and stately homes, on location and bookshelf tours, and the visual and performing arts. This week, the focus sharpens on a short stack of imaginative ideas for Women Only travel, which hopefully might strike a chord with you. There are more themed tour suggestions in the works!

Read on and let’s release the potential for some Girls Getaways to Britain. Read the rest of this entry »

On Monday 8th November, the champagne corks were popping as we celebrated the lifting of the onerous transatlantic flight restrictions. What a long and difficult nineteen months it’s been, but at last the airlines are beginning to increase their London-bound lift. You can now start making some serious UK/Ireland plans for a couple of clients, four-six friends travelling together and, in due course, small groups of ten-twelve or more.

For the next few months, many customers will continue to be cautious about criss-crossing the pond. I believe that you and other enterprising travel advisors will play an influential, confidence-building role by reminding and inspiring them with ideas for UK-bound tours in May and with others in the months of June and July.

This week, the spotlight sharpens on some of the irresistible festivals and events you can use to start a conversation about travelling to Britain next August and September. Read the rest of this entry »

With transatlantic flight restrictions being lifted NEXT MONDAY 8TH NOVEMBER, it’s really encouraging to see that United is adding five new flights to London’s Heathrow, including two more flights from New York/Newark, additional trips from both Denver and San Francisco, as well as an all-new direct flight from Boston. Hopefully, this confidence-boosting step will see other carriers following suit in the not-too-distant future. With UK flight connections slowly but steadily being resumed, take a closer look at some of the festivals and events that can become the foundations for a customised tour in June and July. Read the rest of this entry »

With transatlantic flight restrictions between North American and the UK being lifted on 8th November, let’s talk about developing some itineraries that will really appeal to clients who, by next spring, won’t have been to the UK for over two years!

Culturally minded travellers will relish what I can offer them when using the internationally famous festivals in Brighton and Bath as the hubs for 3-4 nighters before reaching London. Murder Mystery fans will enjoy rubbing shoulders with top crime novelists and some pre- and post-Father Brown/Inspector Morse ‘On Location’ visits. Similarly, green-fingered clients will immediately want to know the dates of travel for the Chelsea Flower Show, especially when you share with them the video I’ve included from His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, patron of the National Garden Scheme. There are four more you can use, which you can show to customers to promote your ideas.

Email me and let’s start developing some UK-bound ideas for next May Read the rest of this entry »