70 WISE COUNSEL Team talk at Selling Long Haul
BARBARA WAS VOTED MOST HELPFUL TRAVEL COUNSELLOR OF THE YEAR FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE YEARS. EACH MONTH SHE SHARES THE UPS AND DOWNS OF HER LIFE IN TRAVEL.
BARBARA.CHARLTON@
TRAVELCOUNSELLORS.COM T: 0845 0587 290
A DAY AT THE SLH OFFICE Amazingly, It's seven years this month since I fi rst
met Selling Long Haul's editor Steve Hartridge and started writing this column, so I thought it was about time I made a visit to the BMI Publishing offi ce in Croydon to meet all the other lovely people who put the magazine together each month. It turned out to be something of a traumatic day for me: I forgot my phone, the train was delayed, I arrived without my directions to the offi ce and it was raining! I was surprised by how many
people are involved in putting together this fantastic magazine and the supplements that go with it. Not long ago the team moved into
new offi ces – and they're huge! Even with plenty of staff away –
travelling to get us the best features and research the great Travel Uni training courses – it was good to meet the journalists, designers, sales and production staff involved in with Selling Long Haul. I had a nice tour and discovered that as well as all the magazines for travel agents we know about, BMI Publishing also produces The Business Travel Magazine and another called Onboard Hospitality for buyers of airline, rail and cruise catering and amenities. I took a copy of Onboard Hospitality to read on my train journey home and it was quite an eye- opener actually.
ANOTHER WORLD Having been a travel agent for over 21 years now, I sometimes forget that whilst my part of this industry is the most interesting to me there is in fact a whole other world out there. For example, who would have thought that there is an international award for the best airline amenity bags! And not just the one award. There are all sorts of categories: best 'children’s kit', most 'ethically- sustainable bag' and 'most innovative' to name but a few.
There were other things that caught
my eye in there too, such as the brand new leisure Pullman service now running from Chicago to New Orleans with restored 1930s/1940s and 1950s carriages. It leaves once a week, at 20.00, and the 19-hour journey allows the passengers to enjoy dinner, breakfast and lunch before rolling into New Orleans. That’s a new one for my bucket list and apparently there's a Chicago/New York service to come this autumn! There was also an interesting piece on a proposed new fi rst-class cabin to beat all cabins. This one has a double sofa bed, a massive TV, ensuite and, what will be a massive attraction to many: luggage storage. Which I assume means that if you
have the money, your baggage does not have to go with the masses via the arrivals hall. I look forward to the concept being taken forward from the design stage – along with my Premium Bonds win.
AFRICA CALLS As I write this, I am just about to leave on my South African adventure. I've seen the itinerary and I'm really excited about the new experiences ahead of me. Boulders Beach, near Cape Town, with a million (or maybe a few less) penguins for company; up to Table Mountain on a cable car, and
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SELLINGLONGHAUL.COM
Hot tips galore!
One of the Chicago/New Orleans Pullman service's restored carriages
"THE NEW PULLMAN
SERVICE FROM
CHICAGO TO NEW ORLEANS IS A
NEW ONE FOR MY BUCKET LIST"
a game drive at Pilanesburg whilst staying at The Palace at Sun City. Next month I'll let you know how it goes, assuming, of course, I didn't land my dream job a game ranger. It’s slightly old news now, but in case you hadn't already heard, Travel Counsellors recently won The Queen’s Award for Enterprise for the second time. We are still the only travel company to win it and now serve clients in eight countries, quite different to when I joined in 2002 when we had just a couple of hundred, only in the UK. Sales certainly seem to be growing year on year for us. I hope it’s the same for you.
“There’s no more romantic way to travel through Southern Africa than the luxury Blue Train and bygone-era Rovos Rail” CHRIS FORTESCUE, AFRICA COLLECTION
“Check out the Restaurant Australia campaign involving 700 restaurants stressing the culinary experiences of the destination” JOHN O'SULLIVAN, TOURISM AUSTRALIA
“In Buenos Aires a tango show is a must. Tell clients they should book in advance and point out that good seats are expensive” ARNIE WILSON, TRAVEL WRITER
www.sellinglonghaul.com
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