The internet has been great for travel…but how would you be feeling now if your bookings to New Zealand include Christchurch immediately after the Earthquake?

My heart goes out to anybody impacted from the recent earthquake in Christchurch New Zealand…it will reach far beyond the victims with property damage and or business disruptions.

More specifically right now there are at least 50,000 Australian tourists in New Zealand…a high number of these people would of planned on either staying or departing from Christchurch airport.

Those plans are all turned upside down now…thanks to the earthquake and the state of emergency being declared for Christchurch.

What would you be doing and where do you turn if you had booked your travel on the internet? Or even worse you did not take out adequate insurance?

If you are reading this then I would say it is very possible you are not impacted so probably you are thinking …I am glad this is something I don’t have to work through.

Right!!!

What I can share is that we have already taken calls from New Zealand this morning from our clients and WE will be sorting out their options with minimal stress to them.

View Christchurch- New Zealand in a larger map

Here’s to a speedy recovery to our Kiwi friends and a minimal impact to all travellers enjoying the magnificent “land of the long white cloud”

Feel free to share your comments  or personal experiences as you may just be helping a fellow traveller.

Cheers

John C Spark

Expert Travel Planner

We are so proud of you…Kelly

Most of us know that parents can be bias towards their children…

well it now looks like a bosses can be just as proud!

You have checked out the video haven’t you?

What may not be clear is just how incredible Kelly has been for her clients as a Expert Travel Planner second to none.

10 years ago this month Kelly joined Jetset Albany as a consultant. Little did we realise that Kelly would not only travel the world  to many exciting and rewarding destinations but she would develop into one of Australia’s premium travel planners.

Kelly’s  awards list include Jetset consultant of the year  for 2007,2008,2009,2010. National consultant of the year for Jetset 2008, 2009 and an Avis scholarship finalist 2010.

While the awards say one thing about Kelly what can’t be fully demonstrated in a video is the PASSION and COMMITMENT Kelly’s  clients all feel every-time they seek her input to their travel.

Just last week a client wrote to me a  two page thank you for the way Kelly made her feel about her travel.

Let me share just a small part of that letter: “She has an open, friendly manner and a really lovely personality.  She obviously has a gift for making her clients feel ‘special’.  I felt as though I was her ONLY client and the only person she cared about.”

Nilla and I have very proud and have enjoyed her journey to where she is now…we just wanted to share our joy with you.

Please feel free  to pass on any comments and or contact Kelly on her email kelly@travelwithjetset.com

Thank you for allowing me to share  my excitement and joy.

Cheers John C Spark

Expert Travel Planner

We are so excited…Kelly Spinks has just learnt she is a National finalist in the Avis Scholarships awards where on the 5th August the she will possible be named the winner.

Click on the picture below to read all about it.

Fantastic reward to a top class travel planner...Go Kel!!!

Our team are all so proud of Kelly and her achievements.

Please feel free to pass on to Kelly your best wishes and congratulations in the comments box below.

Go Kel…

John C Spark

Expert Travel Planner

]]> http://www.yourtravelplanners.com/kelly-spinks/albany-australia-travel-agent-finalist-in-avis-awards/feed/ 0 http://www.yourtravelplanners.com/cooking/travel-planners-cooking-class/ http://www.yourtravelplanners.com/cooking/travel-planners-cooking-class/#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 10:33:08 +0000 admin http://www.yourtravelplanners.com/?p=574

I know it's in here somewhere!

Last night marked the end of the financial year which means an annual tradition for the team at Jetset Albany.

Little did we know that we had a fun and exciting night ahead of us!

Our simple instructions for the mystery night: “Please be at 24 Munster Avenue, 6pm sharp on 30th of June”

And of course Kelly guessed it… we might be having tea cooked for us by Nilla & John’s friend, Daniel Sharp. (By the way who is the 2007 Australian Nestle’s Young Chef of the Year) .

She wasn’t very far off the mark either!

So as we all arrive to Nilla & John’s, we are greeted by Daniel and his waitress Mary with a fully prepared kitchen of… 9 chopping boards, knives, tongs and aprons! After a few minutes we figured out what was going on, WE were the chefs of the night!

After getting familiar with our 3 course menu of the evening, we settled into the kitchen for a night that was sure to be very entertaining.

Surprisingly there were no major hiccups, except for the fact that John and Nilla need a new set of scales!! (Just ask Tammy-Lee and Nilla about that one…) Everyone had a blast helping each other and working together outside of the office for a change, it was great!

Mmmm.. Pistachio praline semifredo served in a brandy snap

So as the night went on, we sat down and enjoyed our various courses we helped prepare while sharing a drink or two in between.

Our personal “Master Chef” Daniel did a great job in making sure everything was done perfectly!

He did an awesome job for his first cooking class at Munster Avenue.

As the night came to an end and everyone was satisfied on a full stomach, we had a lot of laughs and talked about nothing in particular really. It was awesome to have everyone in such high spirits as we all received graduation certificates from Daniel for his first ever class… which in my opinion was a great success!

What a fun and unforgettable night to mark the start of a “new financial year”.

Please feel free to leave comments if you have any questions!

Cheers

A very proud Tahlia with her Certificate

Tahlia Lloyd

Travel Planner

"A big thankyou to all my clients"

Kelly Spinks can certainaly be considered an expert travel planner after recently being awarded the the top revenue consultant for Jetset in Australia for the 2nd year in a row.

Kelly and her team at Jetset Albany have won many awards over the years in recognition for work well done. But this one was extra special so…

To celebrate I cooked a special lunch which we shared as a team.

Kelly is not one for the spot light, in fact I consider her a rather modest person who has achieved incredible results for her clients since she became a travel planner just over 10 years ago. So when I said I wanted to feature her along with a photo and video…well let’s just say Kelly agreed!!!

When Kelly was approached recently by a local newspaper reporter and asked what is her secret, she said it is simple really…PASSION... “I love travel” and everytime I help clients I think of  how can I make this travel special.

Kelly goes on to say…let face it anyone can book travel…however, what I love to do is create an experience…something that you will be excited to talk about for years to come.

Kelly’s passion and love of travel stems from her own extensive travel experiences gained in places like Antarctica, Africa, Nepal, China, Vietnam, Eygpt, Canada, USA and Europe…just to mention a few places dear to Kelly.

Travel Planners are expert at asking questions.

Next, she says you must ask the right questions while listening carefully to your responses. Many times people come in thinking they would to do one thing and then end up choosing something completely different. Because through Kelly’s expert questions and knowledge they discovered an even more rewarding option.

Has this ever happened to you while researching your travel plans…if so please feel free to share. We would love know more.

I could go on but really I just wanted to say that we are so proud of Kelly and what she does for her clients.

Thanks for allowing me my little Kelly indulgence…I just could not keep this to myself.

Until next …

enjoy good things.

John C Spark

Expert Travel Planner

Well...what do you think of the South Pole?

Approximately 40,000 South Pole tourists in 2009 were either ignoring or ignorant of claimed scientific evidence that supports they contributed through the cruise ships they traveled on to increasing CO 2 emissions in this pristine environment.

Firstly I think we need to ask…“can scientists be believed when it comes to travel destination advice?”

Now I want to say I do not know if the studies done by Michiel Lamers, a Dutch Scientist reflect a true picture or not. I am a travel agent not a scientist.

What does interest me though is whether people will  knowingly travel to destinations even when they understand that their very presence may in fact be contributing to it’s  destruction.

Over the  years many people have come into our business wanting to visit somewhere before it is too late or not permitted. I have been guilty on a personal level of supporting such travel by offering travel advice. Now I wonder…was this the right thing to do?

What would you do in my position if someone asked you to arrange travel to the South Pole?

Maybe you can share whether you would personally take such a journey to a threatened destination…

Remember Your Travel Planners is here to help you make even better informed travel decisions…the key is sharing to gain.

Until next time…

enjoy all things good.

John C Spark

Expert Travel Planner