Over four generations, my family has lived and breathed travel. That’s what makes us different, our passionate moments which our network of experts worldwide create every day. We make holidays what they should be, the best you can ever have,” writes Trafalgar CEO Gavin Tollman in the brochure of his travel company.
For a while there, I thought I was reading my own advocacy on the passion for travel but instead of Tollman’s four generations, I’ve only experienced traveling for four decades of my life. I agree that there is still so much to experience — the world beyond me is endless. It’s not enough to just travel it. The way to discover the world is another thing. Trust me, Trafalgar knows how.
As I write this, I am on a seven-day, six-night pilgrimage adventure of Trafalgar’s familiarization tour of Spain. Highlights of our trip include visiting cathedrals and other places of worship in Barcelona, Zaragoza, Pamplona, and even Lourdes in France. I will have a detailed account of my experience in my next column.
Meanwhile, let me continue telling you that the best way to see the world is through Trafalgar guided holidays.
Imagine enjoying the ferryboat ride in Mykonos, Greece while you bask under the golden sun. Travel to Prague in Eastern Europe and be mesmerized by a thousand spires that seem to kiss the ethereal heavens. Try a slice of Turkish delight in the spice market in Istanbul. Allow yourself to be pampered in a relaxing, traditional hammam or Turkish bath. Be amazed by the fascinating castles in France. Drive through the tulips in Holland during the Floriade that take place once every 10 years. Get stunned by the expansive and heavenly rocky mountains of Canada where air and water are cleanest.
Trafalgar, which has been at the forefront of travel for the last 70 years, has guided holidays prepared for every type of traveler. Imagine when the young ones are introduced to this travel lifestyle, they appreciate it and become customers several generations later till they hit their prime. I embarked on my first European trip in high school on Contiki tours with my sister Yvonne D. Romualdez. Contiki is a sub-brand of Trafalgar Tours.
Our group of print and broadcast media had the opportunity recently to meet the dynamic, youthful and intelligent Nicholas Lim, president of Trafalgar Asia and India, who shared that the Philippines is a major market for European tourism and they expect a bigger surge of Filipino tourists this year and next year. Trafalgar offers only the best of unforgettable guided holidays — not just simply tours.
Nicholas was also director of sales and marketing for Contiki Holidays in 2005, a position he held till July 2011 before he transferred to take on the role of regional director for Trafalgar when TravCorp decided to open a Trafalgar office in Asia. While at Contiki, he undertook the task of mapping out the organization brand positioning strategy, identified new business opportunities and helped develop its product offerings.
Drawing from over 10 years of experience in the hospitality and tourism industry, Nicholas Lim has a dual portfolio as president for Trafalgar (Asia) and president of the Travel Corp. (India). He is responsible for expanding the footprint of the Travel Corp.’s brands in India, while spearheading the continued, successful growth of Trafalgar in Asia.
Under Nicholas’ leadership for Trafalgar, the Asian office won the sales office of the year award in 2012 and Lim was promoted to president of Trafalgar (Asia). Born in Singapore, Lim is schooled and trained in hospitality and tourism, and has won numerous academic awards and scholarship throughout his tertiary education.
As president of the Travel Corp. in India, Lim is responsible for business expansion for the rest of the company’s award-winning brands such as Insight Vacations, Contiki and Uniworld. The range of travel products are designed to offer guests unique experiences, moments and insights that they would never be able to discover on their own.
Nicholas shared that as the global leader in guided holidays, Trafalgar offers over 230 global trips featuring quality hotels and 1,300 of Trafalgar’s unrivaled, authentic insider experiences. Traveling with Trafalgar allows guests to see the world from the inside and its 2015 Europe and Britain brochure features the widest range of in-depth itineraries all carefully crafted to provide guests with an authentic insight into the local culture of each destination.
The choices of traveling are now brought to you in style and at your comfort, leisure, your exclusive guided holiday and time by Trafalgar, as you see the world from the inside. You can travel with your families, a small group at leisure with 26 unique itineraries, small exclusive groups tailor made for you and even individually where you can have your own room. You can have cruise and rail destinations, hidden journeys to the road less taken like the Piedmonts winery with a group of only 26, or special interest guided holidays that focus on a particular theme or interest.
The Trafalgar advocacy says that what sets the company apart is that it is a “real insider,” which means it truly offers Insider Experiences — choices that feature more guided holidays and trip styles. It offers flexibility that shows that the trips are unique and you are a VIP on the trip with selected sights, no queues in major attractions, benefit of luggage porterage, and stays in selected hotel accommodations close to major attractions.
What sets Trafalgar from others when it comes to guided travel? The indefatigable and gracious Helen Hao, vice president and GM of Pan Pacific Travel, who arranged the interview/ presentation at the Solaire Hotel in Manila, said Trafalgar is dedicated to giving the most enjoyable, insightful and fun holiday one could ever have.
Nicholas said it’s so heartwarming to see groups of Filipino families with grandparents, parents and children on guided holidays mostly to popular destinations like London, Paris and England. These are the family destination trips besides the guided holidays of bigger groups like the one I took in Sorento, Italy where we dined in authentic homes, sipping homemade lemoncello and endemically culture cuisine.
He added, “Trafalgar, known as the United Nations on Wheels, considers getting lost in a destination as a waste of time and money.” The Trafalgar guide reveals the cultures of Europe as efficiently and safely as possible. “Safety is of topmost priority to us.”
It even has new offerings like “At Leisure Guided Holidays,” where you can start later, stay longer and have more free time. It depends on what you wish for and trips can be tailor-made for you. And can you believe, there are individual holiday packages where you can have your own room, and if you avail of the early bird discounts, you can get 50 percent to 100 percent discounts on these trips? Actually, they have early bird discounts for all their guided holidays. It depends on what you want, how you plan, trips can be tailor -made for you.
As we listened to Nicholas and viewed his presentation, we were fascinated even more about the Trafalgar lifestyle and were certainly convinced that it is the market leader.
Without leaving any stone unturned, Trafalgar has created everything that you can ever think of to make your holidays the most fun and organized they can ever be.
If your passion is to travel, Trafalgar will definitely satisfy you with the best holiday you will ever have and truly deserve.
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Pan Pacific Travel Corp., the general sales agent of Trafalgar in the Philippines, and BDO Credit Cards tie up for a promo so you can enjoy a European holiday for as low as $340/month. Packagaes are available on zero percent interest installement for three months. Book on or before Dec. 31 to avail yourself of the promo. For more information, call 536-1265, 243-6666 or 810-8551 or visit www.trafalgar.com and www.panpacifictravel.com.ph.
Email the author at miladay.star@gmail.com.