Today is National Travel Advisors Day.
Gifted Travel Network, my host agency, has a full-day celebration planned and I’m so sorry to miss it. Why? Michael and I are flying out today for a six-week trip to Africa. What started as a self-drive adventure in Namibia became a bigger trip with the addition of Cape Town (pre) and Dubai (post).
It’ll be my first time in South Africa (country #45) and Namibia (country #46). I went to Dubai back in 1984 when the tallest hotel was the Hyatt and of course, Dubai now is so very different I’m looking forward to reacquainting myself.
Although I didn’t go to Colombia in April for a Familiarization trip sponsored by the Colombia Tourism Board, we still held our virtual vendor meetings. I was happy to meet with tour companies and hotel groups that are a good fit for my clients. I can’t wait to plan my own trip to Colombia and bring clients along. I’m thinking of Colombia Caribbean, Bogota Arts & Gold, Coffee Culture, Birding, and Medellin. Did you know that Colombia has 1900 bird species of which 80 are endemic? Who is interested in Colombia?
I’m gutted about the deaths and rising COVID cases in India. You may or may not know this, but I’ve put together an amazing trip to India in March 2022. My partners in India have invested a lot of time crafting a journey to my specifications. We’ve decided to not market this trip until the situation is remedied. I’m hopeful that it will. New York City was the epicenter of the disease last March 2020 and here we are now, re-opening to full capacity by May 17. With good leadership, things can change. Tourism will help with rebuilding the economy - that’s my contribution.
The same philosophy applies to Africa as well who has been economically affected by the lack of tourism. My partners in Cape Town and Namibia are eager for us to visit and showcase their destinations. Follow my journey, I’ll be posting on Instagram.