I thought I’d start a blog to document the planning of our European Road Trip next year. Of course something like this takes a lot of time & planning but being in the Travel industry this is a big juicy challenge for me to get my teeth into.
I must be mad, I spend all day planning holidaymakers trips and yet, I still come home and search for my own holiday. Travel is 24/7 for me & I didn’t quite realise just how much of a difference it would make to my life. I wouldn’t say my passion began at an early age, in fact I never really showed much interest in it until about the age of sixteen, I decided to take Leisure & Tourism as one of my GCSE subjects. Often seen as a bit of ”dossa” subject I thrived off learning about just how tourist attractions marketed themselves & developed a love for the Leisure and Tourism sector quite rapidly, getting myself CC grades at GCSE I had wished I had achieved a much higher grade.
Going into Sixth form I didn’t let my grade affect my love for the subject so I then took Travel & Tourism, again only attaining C grades at AS level.
I wasn’t about to give up on my passion, but I was on Sixth form. After much gruelling debates & discussions I took the decision to leave. It was a hard decision but I knew that staying in a ”school” environment just wasn’t right for me & I would never excel sitting and listening to teachers practice and preach. I was ready for the Big Bad World.
As if by a miracle I was given the opportunity to start a Modern Apprenticeship at a large multiple retailer. The moment I stepped in through the doors for my first day, the peaceful music & the smell of coconut in the oil burners I knew that this is where I wanted to be. Starting in the late July 2007 people swarmed the shop in heat looking for a ”last minute deal” for the summer holiday rush. Listening intrepidly to all my colleagues spiel of their last adventures and why so & so would be a good place for this 4.5 family was mesmerising. I would go on many training days where all my valuable travel knowledge was attained but little did I know then that actually travelling the world would be the most beneficial factor of my job!
After outgrowing the nest & being offered a job much closer to home I began work as a Junior Travel Consultant at a local independant travel agent. This is where I was given my first opportunity to travel. I was sent on an educational to Dubai in the May of 2009, bewildered at the sky high buildings and the blistering heat, it was one of the only places I had ever said I wanted to travel to as a young child. I had never been so dissapointed in my entire life. I can hand on heart say this is the only time I have ever been ripped to shreds over a place I have travelled to. After staying here a year the heartless (expletive here!) went and made me redundant the day before my 20th birthday! I was now completley and utterly distraught. I had a house to pay for, a dog to feed and I had also lost one of the loves of my life. Travel.
Luckily a family friend of my supportive boyfriend managed to get me a job at a local solicitors. It was okay, it paid the bills, fed us, but I couldn’t explain just how much I loved working in Travel. Nobody got my passion.
Again, as if by a miracle I walked past a travel agents in the February 2010 just up the road from the solicitors & there it was ”Assistant Manager/Travel Advisor required full time. Apply within” and now I’m here sat writing this blog still, luckily, employed by that very travel agents.
So, it has been a turbulent time in my career in Travel, but one I wouldn’t change. I’m looking forward to carrying on travelling the world & being able to tell my stories and share my experiences with anyone who will listen.
Thankyou Big Bad World!
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