By Alita Singh

Travelling is an age old passion. It is a passion that only a few can indulge and immerse in completely. Others have to be content with sometimes mundane holidays or live through photographs. This is changing for a few who have learnt to blend the necessity of work and the joy of travelling in the role of tour directors. To date, some 37 people on St. Maarten have trained with Carib-A-Travel, a Canadian based company with an office here.

 Professional Tour Director/Travel Counsellor Alcira Ansano attached to the Carib-A-Travel University has been in the travel business for more than 22 years. She has channelled that experience into filling a niche that existed with the multi-lingual personality of St. Maarten. Since opening the Carib-A-Travel office in Cay Hill four years ago, Ansano has worked on building up a steady stream of online clients and training tour guides to meet clients’ particular needs.

Everything with the company is carried out online. With no store fronts and no handling of cash, the travel business is able to keep costs low for travellers. “We have a large number of clients from the Netherlands.” Explaining why this is, Ansano said it’s about 30 per cent cheaper for a Dutch group to book through Carib-A-Travel than to go through an agent in Europe.

A bonus for a Dutch travel group booking through Carib-A-Travel is finding a tour director who has a command of Dutch and enjoys travelling. Eighty-five per cent of Carib-A-Travel’s business comes from groups. Those groups are a mixture of United States, Canadian and Dutch travels.

As the world financial crisis appears to wane a little, the travel market is picking up again slightly. This move in the market has also allowed the company to contract group business in Guadeloupe, Martinique, Anguilla and St. Barths among others.

Cruising along

Training to be a tour director is hard and fun. The once-a-week class, held usually on Thursdays, lasts for four months with the final examination taken at sea on a seven-day cruise. The cruise allows aspiring tour directors to learn the ropes of the job outside the classroom. “We are training travel specialists. We are service oriented so when a group or a family books with us, we are there from start to finish. If a tour director is chosen to go with the group, his/her job is to take care of all paperwork,” Ansano said, adding that the goal is seamless and worth-free travel.

Another training course for tour directors will start on February 16 and cost US $1,575 (payable instalment). That amount also covers the cost of the seven-day cruise. Deadline for registration is February 2. A similar tour director’s course, the first of its kind in St. Eustatius, is in its final weeks. Requests for a new course to start are pouring in, but Ansano still has to work out when this would be possible. The course, which ideally accommodates 15 participants, is a tool to educate aspiring tour directors on airport and harbour regulations, and hotel, train and cruise ship procedures. “They have to learn all medical and security procedures.”

Following the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster off the coast of Italy, the cruise industry has quickly responded with new procedures for passenger and crew safety. Those procedures will be imparted in the upcoming course to make sure tour directors are properly equipped for any emergencies.

Each section of the course is taught in the field or in the classroom. If the topic is airlines, an industry certified official conducts that segment of the course, said Ansano. What’s the benefit of four months of training? Once a tour director is certified via Carib-A-Travel, he/she can be hired to travel with a group anywhere in the world. Several of the locally trained tour directors have already embarked on their own adventures; one has enjoyed the chilly breeze of Alaska at work and play.

Carib-A-Travel has also held travel expos since opening shop here to educate and offer the residents an insight into stay over and cruise package to suit any budget or taste for adventure.

Tour directors crossing

Macressa Donna Simon (34), assistant manager at Texaco Starmart Bush Road, is one St. Maarten resident who wanted to broaden her horizon; she took the tour director course. She’s a part-time tour director and was drawn to the tagline in Carib-A-Travel’s advertisement: “Get Paid to Travel.” While her current job is not directly termed as one on the frontline of tourism, Simon said the course has taught her how to cater to the questions and needs of the tourists she comes into contact with.

“As a tour director, you are actually helping to make people satisfied by helping them get their money’s worth; making their tour or travel relaxing and enjoyable without the worry… I like learning new things and getting new experiences that I can pass on to my daughters someday.”

June Skinner (53) was also drawn to the course and has become a certified tour director. This part owner of a car rental/van service put her training to work with her VIP van service. As for her best experience so far, Skinner said: “I got paid to travel. I did my first escort job to Europe and it was quite an experience as I was able to use the skills taught from the tour director’s course.”

Taking the course has opened the possibilities for her to meet people from different parts of the world, to hone in her people’s skills. “Besides that, I have the travel bug.” Proving that the travel bug knows no boundaries, construction contractor Changa “Ras Changa” Hickinson (54) also felt the allure of training as a tour director. His present job allows flexibility to travel and as a tour director he gets to indulge in his passion and get paid.

The course has aided his familiarization sectors of Colombian culture, architecture, literature, history and attractions. “The wealth of social diversity against a backdrop of contrasting historical positions has created a blend of living worthy of any traveller’s visit.”

Island link

Ansano, a native of Curaçao, came to St. Maarten from her adopted home of Canada to visit relatives and saw the potential in the travel market for the services of Carib-A-Travel. “We were looking to expand and St. Maarten had the potential.” Travelling is in Ansano’s blood. Her father was always very keen on his children travelling and exploring the world.

For more information about the upcoming course, call Carib-A-Travel at 1(721) 586-6999 or (305) 608 9907.