Amsterdam – My Travel Stamps

December 1, 2016December 1, 2016

Jobs with Travel Benefits: E-Commerce & Business Development Manager

Great news! My Jobs with Travel Benefits feature is back this month, and I’m super stoked because I get to kick off this new set of career-inspiring stories with a fellow Jamaican wanderlust maven. I’ve known Tara Bradshaw for 10 years, and during that time two things have been constant: she’s either been off exploring some far-flung destination, or she’s been diligently planning her next vacation.

Travel is definitely high on Tara’s priority list. I’d say fashion and shoes (the latter being another shared interest) are too. It’s very likely she will beat me up for even mentioning this, but good food ranks high for her as well. You would never guess her MAJOR foodie status just by looking at her, though. That’s because with her svelte frame, she could give Chanel Iman and Kendall Jenner a run for their money on any lifestyle magazine shoot!

But enough with the ribbing. Here’s what she had to say…

So Tara, you’re the E-Commerce & Business Development Manager at one of the most established and respected travel agencies in Jamaica. What does that role involve?

My role focuses on the e-commerce and development side of the business. Trafalgar Travel has always embraced technology, and we have a number of proprietary e-commerce solutions for corporations. My team and I are responsible for the development, roll-out, marketing and maintenance of those products. In addition, I also book flights, hotels, honeymoons, cruises, and family reunions on behalf of clients. However, the majority of my work surrounds projects related to technology, and any electronic commercial transactions that relate to travel. On a regular basis, I prepare proposals, make presentations, do demos of the products, write contracts, and sign on new accounts.

I love it when I get asked “do people still use travel agents?”, because I’m proud to call myself a well-rounded travel consultant, and I’m confident of the value my colleagues and I have to offer.

I heard US TV personality Steve Harvey say something in an interview some years ago that has stuck with me for some time. He said, “your career is what you’re paid for, but your passion is what you’re made for.” Would you say this role gives you the best of both worlds?

I think when you have the opportunity to work in an industry that you love, you do get the best of both worlds. Before this job, I spent a maximum of a year and a half in any position I was in. I even disclosed that fact in my interview, and warned my employers that I may not be around after six months! Close to five years later, I’m still here… and that says it all to me. I love to travel, and I also love helping others to plan their trips. I feel very lucky to be able to get paid to do something I’m so passionate about.

What are some of the destinations you’ve been to as a direct result of this position?

I’ve been fortunate enough to go on a few work-related trips since I’ve been at Trafalgar. In my very first year, I went to Nice, France for a supplier visit. I’ve been to Cancun for a trade show, Toronto for a training course, New York on a new airline’s inaugural flight, and Amsterdam for a conference. The business development aspect of my job also allows me to travel to events and conferences if I identify potential opportunities for Trafalgar.

Having fun at the botanical gardens in Amsterdam — Having fun in the botanical gardens in Amsterdam

I’ve known you long enough to guess you’ve squeezed some sightseeing time into those trips. Tell us about some of the fun things you got to do in those destinations.

I try to make the most of any business trips I go on, whether it’s exploring the city after the work portion of the day has ended, or adding some personal days before or after. I usually compare costs of the “official” dates versus the cost for the dates including my personal days. If there’s a difference in cost, I pay the balance. It almost always works out cheaper than if I had to buy a ticket on my own.

I research the destinations (and weather) beforehand so that I have an idea of what’s happening around that time. I like getting a feel of local life and am always on the lookout for any special events happening during my stay. I’ve been to museums, food festivals, wine tastings, art galleries, botanical gardens, and lots more.

About to sample some xiao long bao (food dumplings ) in a Beijing hutong (alley). — About to sample some xiao long bao (food dumplings ) in Beijing.

In addition to work-related travel, you globetrot quite a bit in your spare time. How far in advance do your plan trips, and what tools do you use as inspiration to build your itineraries?

I tend to plan my trips way in advance, sometimes even up to nine or 10 months beforehand. I have booked a few spur of the moment trips, though. My personal motivation is just always having a trip to look forward to. I don’t really use a particular tool to build my itineraries, I just research several destinations and websites and seek out things that interest me.

I follow a ton of travel accounts on Instagram, so I’m inspired by many of the posts I see. I seek accommodation that’s in a central location or very close to public transit. I also read local destination blogs in addition to the usual sites like Lonely Planet, Frommer’s, TripAdvisor. I especially like the local blogs to get information on what and where to eat.

You have a fantastic Instagram feed. How do you decide what images to share? Also, when you travel solo, how do you get the best destination photos with you in them?

Thanks! Honestly, I don’t have a strategy to which images I share. I just post the pictures I love. My preference is to take photos of the destination itself, so having travel photos with me in them aren’t usually my priority. I absolutely do not own a selfie stick. If I really want a photo with me in it, I’ll usually offer to take another traveler’s picture, and then ask him/her to return the favor. The exception was my very first solo trip, which was to Beijing. I booked a 30-minute private shoot with Flytographer, a company that contracts local photographers in several destinations around the world. That was awesome.

The Jamaican dollar is not very strong on the currency exchange market right now, yet you’ve been to some truly long-haul destinations on your own dime. What are the top three tips you can share with persons who are on a tight budget and do not believe that travel is affordable for them?

This is such a timely question. Just last night I had a friend say to me, “I need to do what you do to rack up your miles. Or do you get passes? What do you do?” I replied that what I do is purchase tickets and she said, “Oh, for your office?” I said no…. for myself. Like a regular person. LOL. I think most people are under the impression that I travel for free, but I pay full fare just like everyone else.

My top 3 tips are:

1. Try to save in a foreign currency that’s stable and strong, if possible. Travel from Jamaica is less affordable than travel from other parts of the world, but it is still attainable. Have a travel goal in mind and save monthly towards it. Research your destinations – airfare may end up being the most expensive part, but meals and accommodation are usually very affordable.

2. Understand the difference between cost and value. Just because something is the cheapest, doesn’t mean it’s the best value. You could book a hotel that’s dirt cheap, but then that also takes you 45 minutes plus taxi fare to get to any major attractions, which will waste your time and money.

3. Be flexible, especially if you’re traveling alone. Be willing to make more than one connection. Be willing to travel in Economy class. Be willing to leave from a different airport. Be willing to travel in off-season. Consider traveling mid-week instead of on the weekend. I have persons who ask me for the absolute lowest cost, but yet have exact specifications on date/time of departure, which hotel to stay in, and which class to travel in. Again, it comes back to cost vs. value.

Thanks for that great bit of advice, lady! The best thing about your tips is that they are easy principles to apply, wherever you live in the world.

You can follow Tara’s adventures – at home and abroad – on Instagram. Her handle is @tarabarrra.

(All photos used in this story are courtesy of her.)

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About Trafalgar Travel

Trafalgar Travel was founded in 1995 and has enjoyed 21 years of success in the industry. The agency has been recognized by the World Travel Awards as the Caribbean’s Leading Travel Agency for 10 consecutive years. They are the largest travel agency in the Caribbean, with offices in Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, St. Kitts and the Bahamas. Trafalgar Travel also has an in-house software development team focused on creating technological solutions for the travel industry.

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Editor’s Note:

My goal is to make this a monthly feature, so if you know someone who has a cool job with travel benefits and he or she wants to talk about it, please email me at [email protected]. Thanks!

October 14, 2015August 28, 2017

Traveling For Work: Guinness World Records Attempt Judge

Meet Tavia Levy, a perky twenty-something marketing executive who was born in Jamaica but is now living in New York City. With her millennial “I can do anything I set out to do” mindset, she already has a built-in formula for fun and career success but when you add an anything-but-routine job at the US headquarters for Guinness World Records to that, a life that’s already good gets noticeably better.

Tavia, please tell my readers what you do.

I work on marketing programs that target businesses and consumers. So, for example, I promote our services to companies that may want to attempt a record to launch a new product, celebrate a company anniversary or create a once-in-a-life-time customer experience. I also design marketing campaigns to promote the Guinness World Records 2016 annual book and Gamer’s Edition.

Okay, that sounds like you have an important role to play and clearly there is variety in your tasks but forgive me for being so candid, it also sounds very normal. At a company that verifies records like the Heaviest Weight Lifted by a Tongue and Fastest Half Marathon Pushing a Pram, some days must be extra-ordinary.

(She chuckled and chided me gently about my rush to get to the good stuff). Well, you didn’t let me finish. Sometimes, I also get to judge world record attempts around the country and overseas.

Outside the Roman coliseum — Pinch me,Is that really the Roman Colloseum?

(Like an animated kid, I started rubbing my hands together in glee.) Yes, tell us about that, please!

My office covers North and South America and the Caribbean but the company only has three full-time judges on staff so their calendars book up quickly. When that happens, other team members get to travel to verify that world record attempts have been performed according to the guidelines.

Where has work-related travel taken you and with the range of records out there, how do you prepare for that?

It’s a steep learning curve. Shortly after I started here, I began working alongside full-time employees who have been judging record attempts for a while. By ‘shadowing’ them I learnt how to carefully review and familiarize myself with similar records. I was later sent to London for a week of intense training where I attended media training and stage presentation classes.

Many focal points in London — The budding jetsetter capturing many focal points in London

After the week, I continued to understudy the full-time judges before I could go solo. A little over a year has passed since then and already I have been to Dallas once and Canada twice to adjudicate events. I’ve also traveled to Las Vegas and San Francisco for conferences.

Enjoying Toronto's harbor front — Enjoying the sights and sounds on the harbor front in Toronto

Tell us about some of the most memorable records you’ve observed and/or officiated at.

After my London trip, I ‘shadowed’ the record for the Longest Dance Relay at MTV here in New York City, an event that lasted 24 hours. That was crazy fun! And perhaps the most unusual record I’ve observed to date, was the Fastest Time To Type A Text Message On A Touch-Screen Mobile Phone. To break the record, you had to type a sentence that had every letter of the alphabet in it. Brazilian teenager Marcel Fernandes Filho, the guy who held the record for doing it in 26 seconds, did it in 17 instead. He was sponsored by Syntellia, a software company that designed a new Fleksy keyboard you can download to your phone.

He was so fast, it was amazing! I mean, could you type this sentence in 17 seconds? The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human.

SURE I could. (Yeah, right.) Days like that sound like so much fun. Do you get to fit any destination experiences into those trips?

Absolutely! After that trip to London, I took some personal time and extended my trip so I could visit Paris, Rome, Barcelona and Amsterdam – in a whirlwind nine days. Europe was such an amazing experience, I’ve been bitten by the travel bug ever since. In fact, I’m headed to Hong Kong, the Philippines and Thailand soon for vacation.

Do you do anything differently when you are traveling for work versus pleasure?

Well, the truth is, I mix business with pleasure whenever possible but I pack much less for work trips that’s for sure! Everything else is pretty much standard. I troll TripAdvisor for reviews; research restaurants on Yelp!; download DuoLingo if I’ll be in a foreign country ( and sometimes it can be helpful even if the mother tongue of the country I am visiting is English); and I find great map apps.

What are your top two travel tips?

Become Flightdeal.com obsessed like I am. The site publishes glitch fares and is a great source of daily updates on the best discounts. Plus, sign up for an airline credit card and use it for everything you can, even your rent!

One final question because I know you will soon have to go pack for your next trip. What would you say to that person who is sitting at home and dreaming of seeing the world but isn’t sure where to begin?

Don’t be overwhelmed; it’s possible! I’ve always wanted to travel – ever since I was little kid – but I didn’t think I could ever afford to do so. Thankfully, I landed a job with travel benefits but I’m also learning how to be resourceful about traveling on my own. Take my word for it, you don’t have to be a millionaire or work in a travel-specific role to see far-flung lands.

Look at me, I have a bachelor of science in journalism! I thought I would be writing newspaper and magazine articles or writing, editing and publishing books. Who knows, the best-seller lists and Pulitzer prizes may come at a later date but right now, I’m snapping pictures, collecting memories and relishing this chapter of my life 100 per cent.

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If your company is interested in attempting a world record, you can connect with Tavia on LinkedIn. Or if you want to keep up with her travels, you can follow her on Instagram @taviaxcx.

To read more travel stories from Jamaican travel blogger Tommie, you can visit her blog here or connect on FaceBook, Twitter or Instagram. Just type in My Travel Stamps.

December 5, 2014December 16, 2014

Amsterdam Part 2: Dutch Windmills, Clogs and Cheese

I saw my first working windmill in Holland in a village called “Zaanse Schans”. Did you know that at one time Holland had close to 10,000 windmills? They were used for industrial purposes (dyes, chalk, barley, rice, etc.) and for pumping local water. Today that number is down to about 1000.

At the village, a shoemaker demonstrated how to make Dutch clogs. In less than five minutes, my tour group observed an automated process that previously lasted at least two and a half hours by hand. (Click here for video)

According to our tour guide, clogs are still relevant today. The country has a humid climate and it rains frequently, so the shoes come in handy when people are working in the garden. They leave them outside when the work is done and when it’s time to get new ones, the old ones are filled with earth and plants and they are hung up as decoration. Feeling to purchase your very own multi-purpose pair of clogs? Caution: Buy them a half size bigger and make sure you own extra thick socks.

Homes in Mraken, Holland — Traditional Dutch homes in Marken

The tour also took us to Volendam where we sampled poffertjes; must-have junior pancakes that are smaller and fluffier than their American counterparts. They are treated more like snacks or desserts than breakfast items and are served with various things on the side. I had mine with raisins in brandy, but you can try other combinations like pistachio ice-cream. Yummy! Smoked eel is a local favorite but I opted out of trying that delicacy.

typical dutch pancakes in volendam — Dutch pancakes topped with pistachio ice-cream

The Cheese Factory tour was rushed but the Dutch products were a hit. I had no idea that they were so diverse …and tasty! There was spicy cheese, cheese with chives and herbs, chilli flavoured cheese, smoked cheese, low fat and full fat cow’s milk, goat’s milk and sheep’s milk varieties.

I also learnt that Holland has four million cows and uses approximately 30 liters of their milk daily to maintain its famous industry.

cheese, cheese and more cheese — A variety of tasty Dutch cheeses

Editor’s Notes:

I’d like to share a few other general observations from my time in Amsterdam. I noticed that the Dutch really like ice-cream. Locals feed their daily dairy obsession, no matter how chilly the weather.

Also, the nonchalant use of male outdoor urinals were something to behold – and smell.

Plus, be prepared to encounter manic bicycle riders who have more rights than motorists and pedestrians, multiple street theatre entertainers, and pickpocket warning banners across streets.

Finally, I am positive that the Dutch have some of the tallest people in the world – or I’m way shorter than I thought!