Our Travels

I’ve recently travelled with a small group of young travel agents, just starting out in their careers, really, and it is very interesting to listen to their perspective on the travel industry. One thing is for sure. The industry has changed dramatically since I began working in it forty years ago! Back then, agents didn’t travel nearly as extensively. Very few people did, actually. Travelling was for the well-to-do until cheap package holidays became a thing and in those days most families would save up all year for a week on the Costa Brava!

I know there is a trend these days to count the number of countries visited, some people aiming to see them all (there are 195 by the way!). It has struck me how well travelled some young travel agents are. Of course, there is no one better placed to advise a client than an agent who has visited a destination and toured around the hotels. I’ve been lucky to travel the world for business and pleasure and my young colleagues were fascinated to hear my stories and perhaps learn something from my experience.

I’ve just returned from a trip to Queensland, and I can tell you that now is the perfect time to travel to this amazing part of Australia. In fact, there’s never a bad time to visit this gorgeous state, as it enjoys year-round sunshine and balmy temperatures. However, the exchange rate is very much in our favour, meaning that everything seems really cheap in comparison to the cost of living in the UK right now. Absolute luxury hotel rooms for £150 a night? Yes, please! Eating out, fine wines, great shopping at half the price you’d pay in London.

My focus was on sustainable travel, and I’m pleased to report that eco practices are very much in place everywhere and there’s huge awareness about preserving the planet and its wildlife. In Queensland, people love the great outdoors and enjoy it whenever they can. They want to keep their beautiful beaches, mountains and rainforests in peak condition and protect the wildlife that inhabits them.

There seems to be an exponential rise in demand for singles holidays, or solo travel as it’s more often referred to now. We are not necessarily talking about hedonistic holidays for the young and beautiful, thumping club music by the pool or unofficial dating opportunities! No, we are talking about people of all ages choosing to travel alone. Why? There may be many explanations for this current trend. With our frenetic pace of life, some people just want to escape and be by themselves. All by themselves, with the chance to breathe in fresh air, take stock, reflect, make plans, shut out the world, forget their problems for a while.

Are you the sort of traveller who cannot stay still in one place for a week? Me, too! I like to move around and see as much as possible of the country I’m visiting. If I’m particularly stressed and worn out, I sometimes dream of lying by a pool for a few days, but I know that I’d get restless after 48 hours.

Two lovely multi-centre holidays spring to mind, a trip around Italy or island hopping in Croatia. I’m going to play them off against each other and let you decide which you’d prefer!

I was delighted to receive a pack of brochures from one of my favourite tour operators last week. There was a time, twenty years ago, when hundreds of brochures used to arrive every week and it was a challenge to know where to store them! These days, a brochure is more of a rarity as so much is now exclusively online. You can’t beat a good quality brochure, though. I used to take a selection round to my clients and the best ones would sit proudly on their coffee tables to be fingered through with a coffee or a glass of wine in hand.

The brochure I received is a work of art, with stunning photography. I have been fascinated reading through it, as many of the destinations are unusual, such as Moldovia, Romania, Albania, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Taiwan, South Korea, and Papua New Guinea. I knew a little about some of these places, but I have certainly learned a lot more from my brochure and it has really whet my appetite to visit some of them.

Over my 35-plus years in the Travel Industry, I have seen some amazing places, had fantastic experiences and am constantly surprised and delighted to discover destinations for the first time. It never gets old and as long as this is the case and we still enjoy travelling, (even though air travel is arguably not the experience it used to be and seems more tiring), then we should continue to travel as far as we feel comfortable, because there will come a time, inevitably, when those long haul trips will just be physically impossible for us.

I always get asked the same question when I announce that I work in Travel, ie. where is your favourite destination? Now, this could mean where is the best place I have been to, or it could mean where would be the place I would most like to travel to?!

This got me thinking about the most remarkable places I have sent my luxury clients to, places I have not been to myself but would really like to! These are all exceptional journeys. So, in no particular order, these are the outstanding journeys my clients have taken.

Clayoquot Sound, Canada

Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge skirts the banks of the Clayoquot Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island and is reached only by seaplane or boat. A small collection of just 25 ultra-luxurious canvas tents allows you to be at one with nature and explore the beauty of this remote wilderness region. This is high-end accommodation and there are many activities on offer to keep you busy if you want to be. Think horseback riding, hiking, boat tours, biking and viewing the incredible wildlife. A very unique place which combines well with Vancouver and Vancouver Island.

Every year, after the festive season, we are encouraged to get healthier by eating nutritiously and exercising more. For some, the new year is a time to make resolutions, to change bad habits and turn our lives around. To every New Year jogger, I say, well done and keep it up!

However, you might be, like me, an all-year-round exercise aficionado and already have a favourite sport you practise and can’t do without. Some of us just need that rush of endorphins!

The thought of lying around a pool or on the beach is still appealing to sports lovers, but you can guarantee we will also be doing regular laps of the pool, swimming in the sea and jogging along the beach!

As soon as the festive season is over, the TV ads start encouraging people to book their annual holidays. So far, so good. I would also urge you to book early and pay a deposit to secure your 2024 holidays. But if this is all feeling a bit deja vu, here are a few ideas to get you excited about travelling again, about looking forward to a new adventure, somewhere different.

January is always a bit flat. How about heading to the Hagar Mountains in Ras Al Khaimah? This tiny emirate, about 45 minutes from Dubai, will surprise you. With five-star hotels and white sand beaches it is already a winner, but add a 1.75-mile zip line, a balloon flight over the mountains, a thrilling toboggan ride, nature reserves and excellent food and you can see why this is a great choice.