Latest / GowayPro Travel Tales / Finding Value in Travel in all the Right Places

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Finding Value in Travel in all the Right Places · GowayPro Travel Tales

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can we get some cash money now?
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plenty dollars, plenty dollars can we get?
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oh
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Money, must be fun in the rich man's world
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Hey there everyone, I'm Don, Professor Goethe and welcome to the GoethePro Travel Tale Podcast.
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uh
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travel far and travel often.
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uh
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Now, Renee or Goway Kapota is a bit more money, money, money, because she has a laptop which has just died and she was trying to log in with us on an ancient one.
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Ancient being four years, which is ancient in technology times.
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And that wasn't working.
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So she's joining us on her phone.
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So if there are any sort of delays there, that will be the reason behind it.
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So welcome Renee.
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As we do with all our podcasts and webinars, people have probably...
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met you already as we are talking to our travel trade partners primarily here today.
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But for those who may not have met you or may not know exactly what you do here at GOWE, can you give us a bit of background on uh your time at GOWE and what you do?
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Absolutely.
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Thank you so much for having me today.
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So believe it or not Don my eight-year anniversary is in two days Just a reminder there to our every everyone out there in our audience.
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So I joined go away eight years ago I have been in the industry for 22 years You can probably tell by our accent that I did used to born and bred in Sydney, Australia Started
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my career there and actually had a two-year stint in the UK where I worked for American Airlines
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But I have done all different facets of the travel industry and my first career was as a travel advisor.
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So I certainly appreciate the hard work that they do every day to bring those leads through to go away.
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Right.
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And Renee also for a short, well, not a short period of time, actually, you can tell us how long it was.
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You worked in our Toronto office where I'm coming from.
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And as I mentioned, she's now coming live to us from Kelowna.
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So she saw the light moved out west where it's a, she's a mad skier.
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ah as the mountains at her back at the moment.
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Um, how long were you here in Toronto with us?
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I was in Toronto for five years.
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Oh wow.
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So you've only been in for three?
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Seems longer.
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Feel like three or maybe it's four.
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Maybe it's my ninth year at GoAway.
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I don't know.
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Maybe 2021.
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Four years, Don.
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You're right.
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2021.
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Four years in BC.
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Right.
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Or mind you, the last four or five years have been a bit of a blur for a whole lot of varying reasons.
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That actually segues nicely because the last couple of months, let's say, or last six months for sure has been a bit of a blur from a political point of view.
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Things have been happening.
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We're not going to get into the rights and wrongs of all that.
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is what it is.
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But it has had an effect on people's thinking and being cautious, contemplating planning on expenses.
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So as I mentioned earlier in the introduction, today's conversation is about value, where you can find value when it comes to travel, how you can maybe overcome you being uh our
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travel partners out there, apprehensions about people wanting to spend money on upcoming travel, be it in the short term or be it in the long term.
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Now, I deal with the outside agents lot via my training, but Renee is out on the road, not as much as our account managers.
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The boys as I call them because they are all male at this stage out there speaking to you on an almost daily basis.
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But Renee, you were just actually back from a travel show last week.
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And if so, where was that again?
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Correct, down in Atlanta.
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I just came back from a conference there.
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Okay.
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So other than Renee looking after and keeping a very close eye, she does, she loves her spreadsheets on all the figures and stuff that come in by GoA for our wholesale team, as
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we refer to it, uh speaking to the travel trade, she has a very good finger on the pulse, obviously recently by being out speaking face to face with the travel industry and all the
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agents out there.
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uh So Renee, what are you seeing, hearing you yourself and through the account managers, what are you seeing hearing on
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the travel industry and their positioning thinking in the current times.
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Certainly.
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So I think everyone had a really great strong start to the year.
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We saw some record numbers produced in January and we were all excited for another record breaking 2025.
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Unfortunately, things came to a bit of a halt mid-February in Canada and in the USA, we did see that slightly happen in March.
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For various reasons, we found that people that had a lot of money in the stock market and things of that nature were a little bit more concerned about pulling the trigger.
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on their vacations and then just other factors in the market at the moment.
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So we have seen a slight change in the different types of countries and the different types of conversations that we're having with travel advisors.
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And one thing that definitely is resonating at the moment is value based travel.
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So what I mean by that is looking at alternative or dupe destinations for clients that perhaps we might see deflation.
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always seeing a very strong currency against their currency.
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um I do think that we typically look at the USD and see how that is trading against, em whether it be the Canadian dollar or the euro, these are the ones that we tend to look at.
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But sometimes we fail to look at other currencies around the world.
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So um that's something that I love.
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I actually have an economics degree.
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So there's a fun fact about me.
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So I do love studying the economy.
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uh
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One thing that we noticed with trends is places where that dollar is showing strength, um people are starting to get quotes for those types of destinations to give alternatives to
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their clients.
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Because we have seen um some of the typical, you know, your sun destinations, your drop and flop uh and things like the all inclusive markets, definitely seen some inflation over
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the post COVID really.
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So we as a company are trying to educate and help people.
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Navigate around to find those destinations where your clients are going to see fantastic value, not only in the cost of their vacation, but also when they're in destination, the
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amount of money that they spend.
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Now, uh GoAE has built its bones, so to speak, off the South Pacific and Australia in particular.
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I was just there recently.
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You go home often yourself and your parents come over to visit you in Kelowna.
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uh And to your point of exchange rates, I believe that the Australian dollar is in a good place as far as travelers that go, particularly US travelers heading down under.
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So do you concur that looking at Australia at the moment would be a good value option?
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Absolutely, Don.
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think the South Pacific not only Australia, also New Zealand.
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In fact, we have seen the Canadian and the US dollar trade at 20 year highs, which is incredible.
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We have seen the dollar obviously it always has its wave.
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But in the past quarter, the Australian dollar has definitely struggled, which is fantastic for our North American travelers because we're seeing fantastic value down
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there.
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Not only obviously for the accommodation and things of that nature.
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We're also seeing a much more increase in Lyft.
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We're seeing so many more airlines fly over to Australia, in particular from the US, more so than what we had pre-COVID levels.
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And then when you're actually in destination, I'm sure you enjoyed yourself whilst you're there because firstly, you've got a very strong dollar.
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And when I'm talking about a strong dollar, you get about a dollar 50 to your US.
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So it's very strong.
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A cup of coffee would probably set you back $2.
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And when I say coffee, I mean a true cappuccino, not uh a drip coffee.
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A beer, you're probably looking about three US.
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A wine, maybe three to four.
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ah These are the things that I measure myself personally.
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But the other lovely thing about both New Zealand and Australia is they're a non-tipping culture and taxes are embedded in the cost.
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So whatever price you see is the true cost.
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You don't have to add 25%, 30%.
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to that cost for tax and tipping.
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So I think our North American audience would be very presently surprised on the value that they would see in Australia and New Zealand right now.
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Yeah, that's an important point in regards tipping.
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I'm heading overseas in a couple of days uh to Africa and we calculated our tips, which, you know, they're not expected in Africa either to the degree that's expected here in
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North America, but still tips will add a lot to a trip.
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But in Australia, New Zealand, particularly, yeah, tipping is not, it's not custom.
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You can, if you want always, of course, but to your point, it's not a huge addition to your trip.
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ah when you calculate what you need to take with you or to spend when you're down there.
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And that extends also, I've had a few podcasts and webinars with our South Pacific friends recently.
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We have one on Samoa coming up.
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ah I've spoken to Fiji and Tahiti recently, and they're also that sort of same cultural aspect.
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The tipping is not a huge part of a trip down there.
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So there's another thing to be considered when a client is considering value, that that is something they can take off uh as an expense.
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for them.
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I have to ask, was your economics degree based around beer and wine?
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Absolutely.
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think the, you know, people go by the big back index, but not I, it's the, it's the wine or the beer index that really truly gauges the cost of a country.
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Right.
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And actually as a complete aside, because I love my history and I recommend this book to anyone.
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like it has some relation to travel.
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But there's, I always get the title wrong, but if you search along these lines, you'll find it.
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It's the history of the world in five drinks or five beverages, something like that.
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And it's a amazing book on how economies were structured and built around in particular parts of history, beer, wine, tea, pop or soda in modern times.
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uh
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as well.
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It's a really good, interesting book.
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um So there you go.
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There's a bit of an insider's reading guide for you.
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Nothing to do with today necessarily.
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Now that you said that, Don, I have to mention, you just got back from Fiji and I'm heading there in December.
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So naturally the first thing I did was Googled the cost of a cocktail at my resort.
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And it came up at about 10 US just to give everyone, the audience an idea here.
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And I know on average you're probably looking at what, 16 to 18 US, whether it be in the Caribbean or even on a cruise.
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So Fiji, another South Pacific destination that we didn't mention.
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The Fijian dollar once again, we have a very strong currency against it and that just shows you that you can go and have one of those exotic beach destinations and it'll be a
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bit nicer to your wallet.
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Yeah.
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And that's also a nice segue into the fact just on value in travel in general, be it the current times or any time ah when you were quoting beers and wine costs in Australia.
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One thing I did naturally has also growing up in Sydney, I went ah to a few pubs, local pubs down there with my son who was in Australia, which is why I went down there.
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And we ate in the local pubs and things like that.
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So if you want to eat local anywhere in the world, there's another way.
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of looking for value if you don't go to the big five star popular restaurants, which are fine as well.
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But eating local is also one of the great experiences of travel.
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But it's also a good way to save money, particularly in sort of Asian countries, Latin countries.
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If you eat off the street, which is perfectly fine and safe as well, you can save some money there as well.
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So that's one little tip when traveling in any period of time.
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there any others you would suggest uh in regards to?
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Like off season is always awful shoulder season is always a good time to look at going if you want to save some money.
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Absolutely.
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think one thing as well that I've noticed, especially in the North American market, is don't be turned off by the distance of the air or how long it's going to take a particular
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client ah to get there.
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If you look at Asia as a region, it's probably one of the most cost effective value based regions in the world, really.
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Both Don and I have traveled extensively throughout Asia, especially being Australian, that tends to be our go to.
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And honestly, it's one of those regions with the exception of Japan.
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That's probably a country that's more so North American priced.
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But when you go to Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, you will have not only such an amazing authentic experience whilst you're there, but the cost of food, cost of eating locally,
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all of those types of things is so incredibly affordable to the point where you actually feel like you're living like a king or a queen.
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land and
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It's really nice to look at a menu and not have to think.
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And that is what happens in Asia.
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You don't have to do any converting because you know that pretty much anything on this menu, you're going to be able to afford.
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I actually had a very similar experience that sorry to segue a little bit when I went to South Africa.
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Now, Don is about to venture there next week.
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ah I was fortunate enough to do my very first go away experience to South Africa back in 2018.
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And such an amazing country, Don, you and I can't wait till you get back because we'll talk about it forever.
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But one thing that I did when I was at the restaurants is when I ordered, I thought I was ordering a glass of wine and this was based off the price, but it was actually a bottle of
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wine.
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And that just shows you something.
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So Africa as well, another region of the world, especially South Africa and the other parts, uh once again, extremely affordable, but
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The experience that you get there is something in itself as well.
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So we really want to be able to educate people to um look at other places around the world.
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And like I said, don't let that air turn you off straight away.
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Sometimes the air can be a little bit more expensive to get to those destinations.
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But once you're in destination, one, you'll have an incredible experience.
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And two, the value when you're there is also incredible.
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So that's my first point.
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Don't let the air turn you off.
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And then another one is obviously the off season.
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I mean, we could talk about this forever, but uh Europe in particular, I don't know if there even is an off season anymore because people are tending to do that.
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so one thing that has started to resonate is dupe destinations.
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And we've thrown that term around quite a lot.
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And what that is at the end of the day is just traveling to a city or a country that's very similar experience to something else.
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So for argument's sake, if you're in
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Florence instead of uh sorry if you're in Tuscany instead of going to Florence you might go to Lucca or something like that.
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So going to these cities that are not as touristy which one will give your clients an incredible a more incredible experience and two it'll still be similar to what they would
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have had and I think the only way you can really find about out about these little hidden gems or dupe destinations is having a strong partner like Go Away.
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who has these destination specialists who can educate you and give you tips and tricks.
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Instead of going here, how about we go here or how about we start the holiday here and so forth.
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um Gosh, they're the two that come to mind.
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My third is the exchange rate.
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Just take a look at it.
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It takes only a couple of minutes.
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Throw it into Google.
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It'll tell you and you can actually look at all time over the last five years, see what the currency is doing against their currency.
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That's straight away gonna show you your buying power.
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you might find that you have a much stronger buying power in that country than you did three years ago, meaning that that trip could actually be deflation.
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So they're kind of the things that I personally do when I'm looking for a trip, how I kind of 2025, 2026 and how I look at where I'm going to travel.
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But yeah, Don, do you have any personal tips of your own?
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One I'll bring up in a minute, I just wanted to uh highlight uh the aspect of the Jupe destination, which is really good advice, obviously, because as you mentioned, you said
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tongue in cheek, you're not sure if there is a uh low season or off season for Europe.
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And that can be said for much of the world these days as it becomes more and more popular.
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Even these current times, people are still traveling.
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They still are.
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They're probably thinking harder about it, but they are still traveling.
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On the flip side though,
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It's going to be very difficult for any travel advisor to how good you are uh to convince someone if they're first time to Paris, not to go to Paris because of the reasons that you
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just brought up in regards to do or not go to Machu Picchu because you can go and see another set of ruins in the north of Peru, which are amazing, but they're not Machu
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Picchu.
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Don't go and see the gorillas now because there's nowhere else to see the gorillas, all that type of thing.
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So that leads, I guess my other bit of advice that you've prompted there is book early.
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So if
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getting to one of the big sites in the world, whatever turns their crank so to speak, it's where they want to go, end of story, not interested in anything else, then to wait, one,
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to get it in general, and two, to potentially save some money, is book early.
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Do not leave some of these big sites to the last minute because one, you may not find availability, which is always an issue, and more so in Europe, but even much your picture
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these days is being booked out months in advance.
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So book early and if you can really book ahead or get your clients to book it early, you may get this year's prices for next year as well.
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If you book deposit and make payments, there's a very good chance you can hold your 2025 prices for 26 or so on.
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Can't be guaranteed, but there's always a good chance of that as well.
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So that'd be another one.
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You mentioned off season.
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There's the shoulder seasons as well are always good to consider.
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Something, a note that you've got down here for our interview today is a lot of airlines are throwing in free stopovers.
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Yes.
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uh many of the Middle Eastern carriers uh who are, now they may have a Haban Doha or Saudi Emirates, Qatar Airways, type of things.
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They want you to go to their countries naturally and they're fantastic.
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And we could talk about those as we have, but more often than not, those airlines are used as a stopover en route to Africa.
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to Asia, to India, so on and so forth.
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But to entice you to see their countries, many are throwing in free stopovers.
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So there's another option as well, where not only do you get some value, you're not paying extra for a stopover with the airlines, you're adding a second or maybe third country as
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it may be to your itinerary.
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So there's your value as well.
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Three countries instead of two, two countries instead of one.
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if I could add to that one as well, John, if I may, I think one other tip is be super creative with your air.
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We actually, I come from an airline background, but we have our own air consolidator and I can tell you the people at Go Away Air, their knowledge is phenomenal.
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Something that is very rare these days is air knowledge.
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A lot of people are just point to point, but you can be very creative.
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I did a flight back in 2019 to India.
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On the way there, I went via
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Where did I go, Don?
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I can't remember.
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I can't remember where I went.
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Paris.
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I didn't stop over on the way there.
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So that was, I just did a straight through fare.
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But after India, I went from Mumbai to the Maldives and then I went from the Maldives to Paris and then I stopped over there.
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So on that particular itinerary, I had India, the Maldives and France all in one.
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And it was literally the same price as what a return ticket to India was.
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And
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The Asian carriers are also very good for this.
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So if you were wanting to go to Thailand per se, use someone like Singapore Airlines, stop in Singapore for a couple of days.
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Really, once again, get that value combo countries in one.
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So be creative with that air, see what you can get out of it because you'll be surprised.
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Yeah, for sure.
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And on that note, my trip to Africa uh is using that something when actually staying just due to the amount of time that we have or don't have more to the point.
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But we're flying Ethiopian air, which is a very common carrier that we use to get people from particularly the East Coast into Africa.
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So you fly via Ethiopia, naturally Addis Ababa.
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If you want to stop over, you can again, we can't do the time we have then down into Cape Town and coming out of it falls back via Addis uh and
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In this instance, we're coming, it's a long way, but again, this is where you can add that value to it if you want the stopover.
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After Addis on the way home, we're stopping in London, UK, and then heading back to Toronto for us.
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So had we chosen to extend and do that, there's like, to your point, there could have been three countries, well, three extra countries on our itinerary.
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as you mentioned, Renee, GoAE has a consolidated department.
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For those who don't know GoA, we work in, I don't want to use the word silos, we work in departments, specialization areas.
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So when you approach us about your trip to, let's say Australia, you'll speak to people who only deal in Australia and the South Pacific.
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They're all very well versed in the air as well.
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So to Renee's point, they can advise on value-based trips, air routes that will get you more countries, all that type of stuff.
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And if you only have air.
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Like you have just an air only booking, you would go to our air department.
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They would help you out based on the requirements there as well.
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And of course that works for groups, be it destination or as well as air, we can do group air for you in all aspects.
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Now, another thing I'll let you speak to this though is go away as no one for being customized FIT experts.
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The way I like to put it, you have the idea, you have the dream, we'll make it happen for you almost at Disney.
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expression.
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I bring that up because Renee is also a Disney freak.
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She loves Disney big time.
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So I thought I'd throw that in there.
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we, again, you have the dream, we'll make it happen for you.
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ah And that means we put it all together day by day based on budget, based on time, building as much value in it as we can.
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But one thing a lot of people don't realize is you can, should, even if value isn't a thing to you, you should mix up your hotel accommodation.
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to sample at all.
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again, can you expand on that?
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Absolutely, Dawn.
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And this is one point as well that continually resonates in the conversations I'm having with travel advisors.
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And that is we don't pigeonhole you into any hotel category style.
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So for argument's sake, some of the DMCs perhaps out there or partners that some of the travel advisors might be working with state that they're only luxury and you must stay in
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five stars throughout.
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However,
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I go away where you can mix and match.
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So I always use my trip to South Africa as a perfect example.
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Um, when I traveled there in Cape town being, I was at a city, I decided to opt for, I think it was a three and a half star or a four star property because I didn't see value
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myself in spending a lot of money in a city hotel because I really wanted to save my hotel for the safaris.
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So that is somewhere that we, we did.
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It was moderate.
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So maybe it was three or four.
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I honestly, I can't remember off the top of my head.
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But then we went and did Kapama when we were there.
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And that is where I guess we pimped ourselves out and we put our money towards.
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So, and then sometimes mixing and matching your privately guided experience versus the buy-in tours.
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So once again, when I was in uh Cape Town, we did a buy-in day tour.
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So we had other people with us, which we were absolutely fine.
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Actually, it was kind of nice.
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But then we did privately guided experience in other parts where we just wanted it to be the two of us.
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Now we really stretched our budget a long way by doing this.
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And so that is what we will do.
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It is your trip, your way, provide us the budget and let us work magic with that budget.
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we did, you know, shark cage, cage diving experiences, all of these amazing things because we saved in other areas to allow us to do it there.
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So that is something I call them magicians because they really are.
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they can do some incredible things, the destination specialists, not only from an FIT perspective, but don't forget about our groups department.
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That's 10 or more people, groups only at Go Away.
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Last week I had a conversation and some of the advisors I was speaking to move a lot of groups.
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But one of their pain point was is that they were sticking to this itinerary that was off the shelf.
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They really wanted to be able to customize it, but they didn't realize that's exactly what we do at Go Away.
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So not only do we do it from an FIT perspective,
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We can do it from a group's perspective and once again get you that value that your customers are after.
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Yep.
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The Shed Touring, I guess, what'd call it?
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Buy-in
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Sorry, I shouldn't say that.
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That's right.
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Gatway pushes hard on the private touring because at the end of the day, it's nice if it's private and you sort of have everything to yourself.
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But again, it is more expensive just by the nature of what you're buying.
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It's value for money.
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There are two sides of value.
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There's value for money and just value as in saving money as well.
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But always maintaining a high quality, a high level of services.
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So mixing and matching your touring as well.
26:48
And you don't always need a private tour.
26:51
Exactly.
26:51
Yes.
26:52
the shared tour makes as much sense as a private tour as well.
26:55
So as you pointed out, that's excellent way in combination.
26:59
again, mix and match.
27:00
This is the good thing about Go Way.
27:02
It's all based on budget and to your point of saving funds, so to speak, for the highlights of the trip.
27:09
I don't personally see the need for flashy hotels in big cities.
27:13
They're nice.
27:14
I'm never going to say no to one, but I'd rather have the really nice lodge.
27:20
in the hills of Thailand, like the recent White Lotus series.
27:23
And I bring that up because it's a perfect example of how you can mix and match and how prices can vary for value.
27:30
uh In partnership with the White Lotus series, we have some product online called the Lotus Experiences.
27:38
So it's based on the properties used in the show.
27:41
And we have mimicked or used the properties in the show, like the very super, you know, the Four Seasons in Kosomuie, Antonata,
27:48
lodges around Thailand.
27:50
And if you want that, if you have the money, if you have the budget, I think off the top of my head, it's about 28,000 Canadian, 24,000 US on ballparking on the exchange rate.
28:00
We have the same exact itinerary.
28:02
Well, you have the same wonderful time for about $5,000 Canadian.
28:07
And again, if you want a bit of both, back to Renee's point, you can mix and match in there as well.
28:12
So that's how varied it can be and how we will work with you based on
28:18
budget and the value you're looking for.
28:21
Now, my son was in Thailand just recently and as any young person should, least in my opinion, he went around on the cheap backpacking around.
28:31
So let's do a bit of reminiscing here and we can talk about how we both roughed it for want of a bit of term.
28:39
We were both very value conscious as most young people are when they're traveling and how our tastes have changed because we've been spoiled without a doubt working in this
28:46
industry.
28:47
but how it's gone from the rough-tie-tough-tie as I term it ah to the higher expectations of value in travel now.
28:55
So ah give us one of your first memories of traveling pre-GoA, pre-travel industry.
29:03
Sure, goodness.
29:04
We have so many travel stories, don't we, Dawn?
29:06
You and I can um definitely sit down over a beer and talk for hours.
29:11
the one that I guess my very first memory I have of traveling, and this is outside of the country, was when I was 10 years old.
29:20
was, my parents, my mother worked for Qantas at the time, so I was very fortunate growing up.
29:26
But her and dad were going on a trip to Thailand.
29:29
Now,
29:29
We're going back over 30 years ago.
29:32
So traveling back then was extremely exotic and especially going to somewhere like Thailand.
29:37
So the plan was that my sisters were going to take care of me.
29:41
One was 16 and one of 17 and one was 15.
29:44
So the kids were all going to stay at home and mum and dad were going to go on this incredible trip to Thailand.
29:49
So being the youngest of three, I was going to the airport with my mum and dad in the car, Sydney Airport.
29:55
And then my two sisters were going to come and meet up at the food court.
29:58
were going to say our goodbyes because these were the days, Don, when you'd actually drive people to the airport.
30:03
I'm lucky now for my husband to pick me up.
30:06
He's always like, just get an Uber.
30:08
But, ah you know, these were the days where you'd get dressed up and it would be quite a big deal to go.
30:14
So I remember being at the airport in the food court with my mum and dad and dad pretended to take a phone call.
30:20
And I said, who was it?
30:22
And he's like, it was your sister.
30:24
she's the cars broken down.
30:26
So she's unable to come and pick you up from the airport.
30:28
And just to give everyone an idea, the airport was at least an hour away from our house and I'm 10.
30:34
So my dad looked at me and said, we'll just have to get you a taxi.
30:38
And I started freaking out saying, how could you do this?
30:41
I'm only 10 years old.
30:42
It's not safe.
30:44
And then dad said, Oh, I guess you'll just have to come with us then.
30:47
And I looked at both of them and I can't come with you.
30:51
we were
30:52
Don knows this and anyone that's been to Sydney airport, you go through immigration before security.
30:56
And he was walking to the immigration area and I'm like, I'm not allowed to go there.
31:00
And he's like, yes, you are.
31:02
Follow me.
31:02
And then he pulled out paper tickets, pulled out the tickets and wow, what an incredible surprise to have.
31:10
And I remember walking onto the 747-400 double-decker aircraft and just amazed by the sheer size of this aircraft.
31:21
10 hours later, we landed in Bangkok airport and I just remember the doors opening and this distinct smell.
31:28
Anyone that's been to Asia or Thailand will understand.
31:31
It has this smell to it plus the noise.
31:34
is honestly, it's sensory overload because you've got the noise, the smell and also the heat, this humidity.
31:42
But honestly, it was instant love because I was somewhere different.
31:46
wasn't in, where was it?
31:48
Toto anymore?
31:49
We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.
31:50
Yeah, just a little bit, yeah.
31:52
was in a different country and that from 10 years old is what my parents embedded in me.
31:58
So when you travel, you want to feel like you're somewhere new, you're somewhere different, you're learning something.
32:04
ah We had so many crazy stories.
32:07
I remember being in a tuk-tuk with a nun at one stage.
32:11
My dad knew a nun over there and we met up and we were racing in tuk-tuks like...
32:15
just crazy fun stories that um I'll never forget from when I was 10.
32:19
And I think that was the trip that got me to where I am today because I'm constantly seeking out a new adventure.
32:27
Yeah.
32:28
And I'm going to go back to something I said earlier.
32:30
Like value is not necessarily in the dollar value.
32:33
It's in the experience as well.
32:35
And to echo some of your story is my dad also worked for Qantas.
32:40
So I was also very spoiled.
32:42
And for those who joined us on our Canadian road shows recently, I gave a little story of my background and how travel became my life for a whole lot of different reasons.
32:53
But
32:54
having the availability to fly as easily as I did as you did through the connections at parents working at Qantas.
33:01
For me though, it was a value thing too.
33:04
uh I used to be a courier in Sydney driving around doing deliveries.
33:07
And I remember distinctly, I do this delivery on Pitt Street, which you'll know the reference there.
33:12
It was like on the eighth floor and it was to some company, but right next to it was a travel company.
33:17
And this is on the eighth floor, downtown Sydney.
33:19
Don't know how they got business, but they survived.
33:22
And on the front of the window were all these
33:24
beautiful photos of Africa.
33:26
thought, right, I want to go to Africa.
33:28
Long story short, went in there one day and said, I want to go to Africa.
33:31
And she said, right, well, here you go.
33:32
You can do it this way for cheap or you can do it this way for a lot of money.
33:36
I was all like 21 or something.
33:38
Cheap, give me cheap.
33:40
And I ended up booking a trip with a company called Dragoman, which is an overland company, which is basically driving everywhere in Africa in this instance.
33:49
And you camp every night, literally put up a tent.
33:51
Um, or pull into a campsite in a nearer bigger city and camp.
33:56
And yeah, it was value for money at the time.
34:00
It was fantastic, but I would have paid more for in hindsight, of course, I would have paid double for the experiences I had because it was just amazing.
34:09
Um, in the value of the experience.
34:12
Now, as I said, as I introduced us into our conversations about past travel ideas, um, I still see value in.
34:21
doing it.
34:21
I don't say on the cheap, but again, as we've discussed today, looking for value for money, maybe not doing everything high end all the time.
34:29
But I also now have grown to appreciate the value in the nicer things in life.
34:35
And again, through our, excuse me, our employment, we have been spoiled, we get to stay in nice properties as well.
34:42
But I like to think I'm still on a snob about it.
34:44
I always enjoy a luxury accommodation, but I'm just as happy setting up a tent.
34:50
in the savannas as I am staying in a beautiful lodge in Thailand.
34:54
Excuse me, my voice is coming.
34:58
That's better.
34:58
Are you of the same mindset?
35:01
Now, I know that you're a little bit different in that respect that you're not a camping girl.
35:05
So I'm not sure if pitching the tent is your thing.
35:09
But have you okay, let me rephrase a question to you.
35:12
Have you seen a shift in your attitude of what value for money is when it comes to travel?
35:17
Yes.
35:18
Look, I am similar in that I am more than happy to camp.
35:22
Now, it's more an RV these days than a tent.
35:26
But one of the best road trips I ever did was three months across the US visiting all the national parks.
35:31
Another thing that Go Away has introduced to our portfolio is self-drive itineraries and things of that nature.
35:38
And honestly, waking up in the Grand Canyon, seeing the sunset there right on the rim, you can't beat it, really.
35:43
You can't beat it.
35:44
And sometimes those
35:47
The locations of the 10 sites are obviously a lot better than what you can get otherwise.
35:53
But what I try and seek out, Don, because I do like the nicer things in life as well, is accommodation that offers something, a point of difference.
36:02
A good example might be the Belmond in Machu Picchu.
36:05
So yes, a very beautiful property, don't get me wrong.
36:08
However, it offers a really fabulous experience.
36:11
even though the price point might be a little bit higher, it's giving you
36:15
something else.
36:16
It's not just a bed.
36:17
um I'm very fond of the Fairmont properties here in the Rockies.
36:23
I travel to them a lot as well because I feel like I'm getting something else out of it when I'm there.
36:28
to your point, I definitely over time have probably upscaled the properties that I've stayed in because I have done four, five months since in South America and things like
36:41
that.
36:42
But I just try and look at what I'm getting out of that.
36:45
particular property.
36:46
What is it that I'm going to get out of this particular vacation?
36:49
What is it that I'm looking for?
36:51
And honestly, some of the properties around the world I wouldn't have known about unless I was in the industry or I had someone that had recommended or a partner and things like
36:59
that.
36:59
And I'm sure you've got a lot of unique stays that you're doing on your upcoming trip as well.
37:04
And that's one thing that we have an actual section on our website of unique stays around the world that I would highly encourage.
37:13
Even if every itinerary you do just throw one in if it's in the place that you're selling because if you do that for your customer, I guarantee you they will forget about the price
37:24
and they will come back with stories to tell and that will be their story.
37:28
even if you know, maybe they have that four star price and this is going to cut, a couple of nights in that unique stay is going to make their experience so much better.
37:40
100%.
37:40
And it's even if they don't book it, this is now just from a purely selling point of conversation here.
37:46
And again, you mentioned the Belmont in at Machu Picchu, which is right by the gate to Machu Picchu, the only hotel right there.
37:54
And it offers that uniqueness.
37:55
So a lot of people will pay the extra money because of that.
37:58
And to your point, that's the value.
38:00
It's not so much the hotel, which is beautiful, it's the location.
38:04
And on that note, ah
38:06
In the valley, in the Soka Valley in Peru, these things are called sky lodges and these are hanging tents off the side of a cliff.
38:14
That's what I the Belmont.
38:15
Yes, exactly.
38:16
Now, are they for everyone?
38:18
No, they're not.
38:19
Is it unique?
38:20
Is it value?
38:20
Is it an experience?
38:21
Without a doubt.
38:23
Now, so that one highlights difference in options just within the Soka Valley, within Machu Picchu.
38:28
Then you have things like the Monasterio and Cusco, or Monastery.
38:31
again, and that's it.
38:34
back to the uniqueness of the property.
38:36
It's high priced, it's worth it, but you're staying in an old monastery in what was once a university or an old hacienda, which was once traipsed by the original conquistadors in
38:48
Cusco.
38:49
So there's to me a historic value.
38:51
So that's me personally.
38:53
But back to the point of the selling aspect of it, even if you throw in, why don't you stay at the Inca terra in Cusco, which is an old hacienda?
39:01
or why not consider the Skylodgers for the more adventurous?
39:04
The client might say no, because they don't want to hang off the side of a cliff.
39:08
The fact that you've brought it up shows your expertise as well, that you know the options available.
39:13
again, this is getting away from the, well, actually it's not getting away from the value.
39:16
This is now highlighting the value of you as a travel professional and your knowledge.
39:21
So even if the client doesn't literally bite and book on high-priced, exotic, adventurous properties,
39:29
The fact you throw it into the mix shows them your value and your expertise as well.
39:34
So that's a
39:35
I add to that one as well, Don, which I think is another really important part of showing value, and that is the value of yourself and what you can bring, is that Go Away does
39:45
offer a three-way call via Teams or Zoom, whatever it may be.
39:57
So if you have got a client that's coming in to the office or perhaps virtually, because the majority of us work from home these days, and you don't know that country very well,
40:06
you can actually opt in for a complimentary three-way conference call with one of our destination specialists who is well-versed in that destination.
40:17
you
40:21
so we can have a consultation with you there as well and answer some of those questions.
40:26
And one big tip that I leave with every travel advisor, especially if you're new to the industry, is ask what your clients' passions are.
40:34
What are their expectations when they go to Italy?
40:37
What is it, why do you wanna go to Italy?
40:39
It could be that they're keen photographers or they absolutely love cooking.
40:44
Maybe they want that Instagram photo.
40:47
There is reasons why people are traveling to those countries and what their expectations are when they come back.
40:52
Now, if we can be that matchmaker and make that happen for them and we can do incredible things, then they're going to get that trip of a lifetime every time when they book rather
41:04
than it just being off the shelf.
41:05
This is what everyone else does.
41:07
We really want to customize it for you.
41:09
So please let us know what your clients passions and interests are.
41:12
Don, you're an avid history uh lover.
41:16
You know, that's something perfect that we can intertwine into people's itineraries.
41:20
for sure.
41:21
And I want to do a shameless plug here.
41:23
As Renee said, if you're not sure of a country or have never sold it before, before you do the three-way call, check out the GoWay Pro Travel Academy, because we probably have a
41:31
module on that country there for you.
41:34
So you can get up to speed on that first as in do the module, get an idea of everything you need to know about, let's say Peru, where it is, how to get there, bit of history,
41:42
love my history, all the practical things you need to know when selling that destination to a client.
41:48
Then,
41:49
of course hop on the three way call.
41:50
And again, I do, Jess, if you want to the three way call first, go for it.
41:54
But we do have that there because, whereas a client will see value in you when, you know, when you show your expertise, there's value with Go Way.
42:02
Cause we offer you all these tools to help you make that sale.
42:05
Three way calls.
42:13
The Academy, destination specialists themselves.
42:17
So as we start to wrap up here,
42:19
wrap up here, Renee.
42:20
I'm going to divide the world roughly in two.
42:24
So I'm going to take, let's say, I'm not going to include North America.
42:30
But on that note, just as a complete aside, I know there's a lot of stats out there about how travel to the US particularly has dropped because of reasons out there.
42:38
But if I'm not mistaken, Renee, we just had one of our best couple of months for people traveling into North America.
42:44
We certainly did.
42:45
was actually just off a call then with one of our partners and a lot of people's sales have doubled, doubled, not gone up 10, 15 points.
42:52
So we are seeing a huge surge and you know what?
42:54
It's the Americas in a hold on.
42:56
we're even finding people, Latin America is very popular at the moment as well, but Canada and the US, people are wanting to travel locally.
43:04
Right.
43:05
Okay.
43:05
So let me divide the world.
43:06
I'm to talk to Latin America and some of Africa.
43:09
If you want to talk to Europe and Asia, I'm going to go through and just name off the top of my head.
43:14
Now this is if someone comes to you and says, I'm looking for an affordable budget value is my biggest thing.
43:20
So I'm going to highlight the cheaper, cheaper countries within Latin America.
43:24
So I would look at Guatemala.
43:26
I would look at Panama as well, which is sort of like, you know, an up and coming Costa Rica.
43:31
They've been saying that for years, but it's still
43:33
still relevant.
43:34
Honduras, Nicaragua, perfectly safe to travel into, stunning countries, very, very affordable.
43:40
In the South America area, I would definitely look at Guyana for affordability, without a doubt Bolivia, of course, is a fantastic one.
43:48
And the two Guays, Paraguay and Uruguay, often ignored, which is a shame, but they're also very affordable.
43:55
Looking at Africa, Morocco, West Africa in particular, will be good affordable destinations.
44:01
And when I say good and affordable, I'm talking
44:03
compared to the other countries in the region.
44:06
uh Uganda is also a good one, also Rwanda and the Congo, the DR Congo is starting to open up.
44:13
So if you're looking for literal new frontiers, new horizons, there's a lot to offer in Western and South Western Africa.
44:23
So there's a few off the top of my head.
44:25
So Renee, can you throw a few out there?
44:27
I'll give you all the South Pacific, Asia and any Europe ones you have in mind.
44:33
All right, so look, I think Australia right now is incredible value for the way your dollar can be much, much more stretched than what it has in the past.
44:42
So I would definitely uh throw Australia into the mix.
44:46
When we're moving over to Asia, Indonesia, Bali offers fantastic value and other parts of Indonesia now are starting, dupe destinations are starting to show some traction.
44:58
Vietnam, I absolutely love Vietnam.
45:01
Some of the best.
45:02
cuisine in the world.
45:04
Fabulous style accommodation, just so much history, great value there.
45:10
And Thailand, they're probably going to be my three key ones in Asia that I would point out.
45:15
Moving across the world into Europe, Portugal.
45:19
We're starting to see that definitely pick up.
45:21
have some fantastic long stays there as well.
45:23
If you have clients that maybe want to be in destination a little bit longer, escape the winter, those types of things.
45:29
uh Croatia.
45:31
So that is popular, it's becoming more popular.
45:36
I kind of think of, know, Greece is definitely extremely popular.
45:40
What's a dupe destination that kind of mirrors that?
45:42
I would look at Croatia and then we've got some of those movies.
45:46
What's that movie?
45:47
of, what's the?
45:50
Game of Thrones, not Crown of Thrones.
45:52
I think that's a drink, but uh Game of Thrones.
45:55
So that's obviously very popular there.
45:57
ah So they are the countries that I will highlight in Europe.
46:01
And I think that was it.
46:02
We've done, have we done the world now?
46:04
Don?
46:04
Pretty much on the way, again, that was a very general sweep.
46:09
Off the back of what Renee mentioned, another good value for travel, again, obviously this is more for the semi-retired retired people.
46:16
Great value is long stays.
46:18
Now, GoA pioneered the long stay uh in Australia, Snowbirds heading down that way, apartment rental for six weeks, six months, even if you want.
46:27
And that's where you live like a local.
46:28
So it's basically the apartment rentals and then you get out and explore and dine and live.
46:33
as we discussed earlier on, I don't want say on the cheap, know, affordably because you're living like a local.
46:38
But now we've expanded from that.
46:40
Rene mentioned Portugal.
46:41
think we have some in Spain.
46:43
Their availability, believe, in Argentina.
46:45
ah
46:46
Australia, New Zealand, Kukai.
46:49
New South Korea.
46:50
have quite extensive portfolio.
46:54
there's another value option for someone who wants to get away and truly live like a local, wherever that locality may be.
47:01
And another literal big country that neither of us mentioned and Corey would kill us from a value point of view is India.
47:11
absolutely.
47:12
huge.
47:12
is a, back to your point of arriving in Thailand at 10 and
47:16
being blown away by the hustle and bustle and the smell and just, you know, the Asia vibe.
47:21
The subcontinent of India is great, great value.
47:24
Going back to the hotel connoisseurs, you can stay in Raj palaces for unbelievably affordable prices and India, as I said to Corey before he went.
47:32
And again, you don't know this until you've been, I led trips through there and until you've been there, it doesn't make sense.
47:38
is truly another world.
47:40
And I mean that in a very positive way.
47:41
It is just literally out of this world.
47:45
and
47:46
the value in experiences, immeasurable.
47:49
Just look at Corey's posts that he's putting on our Facebook group.
47:52
And the value for money is fantastic for what you can see and do in that big, beautiful country of India.
47:59
So on that note, Renee, is there anything else you'd to leave our listening audience with in respect to value in general or anything in general?
48:07
Look, just leverage our destination specialists.
48:09
They're here to help you.
48:11
Their knowledge is phenomenal.
48:12
I always joke to people that they can do a better job on putting an Australia trip together than I can.
48:17
So please call them.
48:19
Don't call me.
48:21
We send them into destination every year as well, just to keep their knowledge up to date.
48:25
So let's be creative.
48:27
That is what we're here to do.
48:28
We're travel designers.
48:29
We want to create something.
48:32
It's their trip, their way.
48:34
ah So please, we would love to partner and work with you if we're not already.
48:38
Excellent.
48:39
So in current times, the best of times, the worst of times, it was the best of times.
48:46
was the worst of times.
48:49
Message, Spong?
48:50
None that I'm conscious of.
48:52
You'll always run into challenges of people approaching about the value of the quote you've given up or they're asking you for value for money.
48:58
There are many ways, I don't want to say around it, but many ways to tackle that question.
49:03
There are many options on the table.
49:05
If you, again,
49:06
listen to this and you forget some of the tips, give us a call back.
49:10
Our destination specialists live and eat and breathe this every day.
49:13
So they always know the ways to not talk people out of things, but to show them the value of an experience in a country, it a dollar based value or an experiential value.
49:24
they're both as equally important to each other.
49:26
So don't be put off by those questions.
49:29
Don't feel intimidated by those questions, particularly if you're new to the industry.
49:34
People rightly so they want value for money.
49:36
They want their doll to go as far as it can and go away.
49:39
We'll help you help them.
49:41
It sounds like the Tom Cruise movie.
49:45
Help me help you.
49:50
you are hanging on by a very thin thread.
49:55
We will help you to help them make that trip not only the trip for a lifetime but a trip that is affordable.
50:04
ideally, they're happy with that.
50:06
They come back to you again for the next trip and the next trip after that.
50:09
On that note, as always, thank you very much for your time today.
50:12
We really appreciate you taking time to listen to us go on and on about it.
50:17
again, thanks for joining us from
50:20
Is it sunny in Kelowna at the moment?
50:24
well, we'll see.
50:26
It's actually sunny and warm here in Toronto, first time for springtime.
50:30
So that's good.
50:32
So on those very positive vibes from both of us, any questions, please reach out to your destination specialist or your account manager.
50:38
As I say, the boys are out there.
50:40
They're always happy to help.
50:41
They're always happy to advise or expand on any of the points we brought up today.
50:46
And of course they're out at all the road shows having a chat to you.
50:50
And as always, your destination specialist and or your account manager can drop in on a phone call to help you advise your client if they do have any questions or doubts.
51:00
On that note, thank you everyone.
51:01
And we will talk to you soon.
51:12
you