Where Do YOU Want To Go???

Where Do You Want To Go?

As you can imagine, we have some real interesting encounters with potential clients. One recently came in and when asked if we could be of service, he said he would like to go somewhere. Well, for sure, he came to the right place for an answer!!!

When we asked “just where would you like to go?” He said “oh, I really don't know, I just thought you might be able to help me, I'm just looking for a good deal”. Well, we certainly can help, but first let me ask a few relevant questions to help me recommend a destination that would fit your interest..... like how many days can you be gone, where have you vacationed before, do you have a passport, how many people are going to be with you, do you have a date in mind when you can be gone, are you interested in going to a beach destination or an all-inclusive vacation, or possibly a cruise, what is your approximate vacation budget? Once all those questions are answered we can pose several vacation options without wasting a lot of time for both of us.

According to a recent survey (everybody does surveys, don't they?), one surveyor asked those interviewed which international area or region would they be interested in visiting during the next two years. Europe garnered the highest percentage of response at 49%. The Caribbean at 41% and Canada at 32% were in the top three. What surprised me was that interest in Mexico was only at 20%.

From another survey source, Virtuoso, which is a network of luxury travel advisors, they were looking for the top destinations for upscale clients. The top location from that survey was Italy, and I could have guessed that because we have already had several requests for trips to Italy this fall. Interestingly, France, South Africa, Israel, and Germany rounded out the top five. United States interest was only number 8!!!

A study of travel motivations by youth, student, and millennial travelers was also an interesting read. 59% of those interviewed wanted to explore other cultures. Some were interested in how they experience everyday life, some were motivated to increase their knowledge of the location, some were interested in interacting with the local people, and one motivation that received 47% in response was they wanted to “learn more about myself”. I'm trying to figure that one out.....how that can be a legitimate motivation for travel.

Anyway, the four travel advisors at The Travel Factory have over 125 years of planning vacation experiences for our Big Country travelers, so give us a call and let us help you manufacture the vacation of your dreams. And, if you don't have any travel dreams, we'll help you dream one up!!!

Our office is at 4150 Southwest Drive in the Plaza at Park Central between Rosa's and Chick-Fil-A. Or you can give us a call at 698-1421 or toll-free 800-760-4040. We also have a nice website at:

www.thetravelfactoryabilene.com. Lots of folks visit it every month; even some pretty pictures by guests who have been on one of our trips. But beware, if you look at them you'll start dreaming!!