A trip to remember
> Get the most from a holiday by experiencing a new side of a destination with Trafalgar
TRAFALGAR recently celebrated its 70th anniversary with a Trafalgar Holiday Sale, offering guests even more valuefor-money tour packages featuring Europe and the Americas.
Over the years, the company has earned itself a strong reputation among travellers, achieving a 97% satisfaction rate, according to the independent rating company Feefo.
The recent Trafalgar Holiday Sale launch in Kuala Lumpur was officiated by Liesa Bissett ( right), the European product development director of Trafalgar.
Bissett has been involved in the travel industry for 22 years, serving various global travel companies.
Now at Trafalgar, she finally gets to do what she does best with the amount of experience gathered over her extensive career – crafting itineraries for travellers.
“When it comes to crafting itineraries, for me, it’s about authenticity,” she said in an interview with theSun.
“We want to give our guests the opportunity to tell their friends about the amazing things they did with Trafalgar – things they couldn’t have done if they were travelling by themselves.
“We firmly believe that we offer our guests fantastic opportunities to experience Europe like an insider.”
She also shared some of the reasons why Trafalgar is the perfect companion for those wanting a memorable travel experience.
Countless choices Take one look at the brochures and you’ll be spoilt for choice.
When asked to personally suggest options for both the young and adventurous, as well as for older travellers who prefer a slower pace, Bissett came up with a few thoughtful picks.
“In my opinion, young people like to be kept busy. The European Whirl package allows them to see a lot of cities in a short period of time, and get a [taste] of each country as they travel,” she said.
“For the older clientele who want to take it easy, we have an itinerary called At Leisure, which means more overnight stays and an itinerary that starts later during the day.
“I’d propose the Great Italian Cities package, which spends three nights [each] in Rome, Florance and Venice. It is well-paced and truly an immersive experience.”
Cheaper alternatives While Trafalgar rolled out the brand new Europe and Britain 2017 brochure, it also released a costsaving alternative, which offers almost the same itinerary. “The great thing about Trafalgar is that [the] CostSaver programme ... is our value-driven proposition,” Bissett said. For example, guests who want a cheaper alternative to the European Whirl package can opt for the European Experience package. It covers the same cities within the same number of days. The only difference is that the European Whirl includes more meals, upgraded hotels, and exclusive experiences into the local culture.
By My Guest experiences Bissett considers the Be My Guest experience to be one of Trafalgar’s unique selling points, allowing travellers to experience local culture as an ‘insider’. Travellers are given the opportunity to enter local homes, farms or castles, and to spend over two hours interacting with local hosts ( pixs above). “The biggest game changer for Trafalgar is Be My Guest, and we have over 70 of those experiences which are completely unique – they can be found on the majority of our itineraries and it is an opportunity for our guests to interact with local people, and literally sit around the table and break bread with them,” she said.
Bissett adds that Be My Guest is a win-win situation, whereby Trafalgar gives back to the community, while giving guests a more personal experience.
“It’s a completely two-way proposition – our guests are getting an amazing experience by being introduced to somebody local, and these local people are benefiting from our guests’ visits financially, [because] the money is given back to communities, to restore incredible buildings or to provide a livelihood for their families,” she explained.
Exclusivity Imagine skipping the long dreadful queues outside the famous Missionary Ethnological Museum in the Vatican, and walking along a VIP lane just for Trafalgar guests.
On top of that, when the museum closes for the day, travellers under Trafalgar will get to enjoy an exclusive dinner in the midst of three centuries of art and history.
“Once we’ve planned the itinerary that we’re going to deliver, we set out to find insider experiences and special accessibility VIP entrances to many sights for our guests to enjoy,” Bisset said.