What was your favorite roller coaster growing up? Mine was one called Shockwave, and it was the first coaster I ever encountered where you were harnessed in and standing up, not sitting. At the time, and we are talking about the early 90s in rural New Jersey, this was the greatest thing since slice bread.
I bring this up because the last six months have felt like a roller coaster to many. Whether its geopolitical events, elections in countries that we knew would be contentious, another disease outbreak, or something personal, the road has not been smooth. Yet, the desire for families to travel has not slowed down. The world keeps turning. Every roller coaster is full of inclines and declines, turns and loops. However they flatten out at some point. And, for some inexplicable reason, when the ride is over, we want to get back in line and ride again!
The same can be said of family travel. With everything going on, and what seems like a full schedule for our children, it’s hard to imagine that there are 120 days left before the holiday travel period truly opens. The team here took a very proactive approach and has been checking where holiday space still exists. In some cases, we were surprised it was even there. Therefore, we are going to keep a list ready of space that is open and each country, which we will keep updated. When your clients are ready, the most updated information is ready.
And don’t worry about last minute requests, our team loves the adrenaline. I believe it keeps them young.
Enjoy the video.
For those of you who travel like I do know the airport boarding process all too well. It feels like zones 1 through 1500 board first, and by the time you finally get on, the overhead bins are already full, let us not forget about the person greeting you who always has a smile, but the only thing missing, I think, is the high five! Well after that, there is also the famous final boarding call, where your luggage will be removed in the next 5.6 milliseconds if you’re not at the gate yet. I’m never part of that final call, yet it still gives me anxiety.
Well, when it comes to holiday space, we’re at that final boarding call too. Now, you’re likely asking why we’re even mentioning this. Here’s a trend we’re seeing that’s worth sharing: we track buyer behavior monthly, with data dating back 16 years. Over a 12-month period, this behavior shifts 9 times, making projections part art, not all science. This year, something peculiar has been happening, which we anticipated as a possibility a year ago. While long-term bookings are up, last-minute requests for the festive season have started as expected. For obvious reasons, there was a slight pause in plans for this season, which is understandable. That pause now seems to be over, so we wanted to share a video showcasing where we’re finding 11th-hour availability. Destinations range from parts of Peru to Egypt to Kenya to Sri Lanka to Guatemala.
One of the many amazing things I’ve seen our team do is their ability not only to find availability when it seems impossible but to make even the most last-minute reservations come to life. They find the proverbial needle in the haystack while ensuring that quality and product integrity remain our primary focus, as always.
Enjoy the video, and remember—34 days left until the festive period. This is your final boarding call…
When we talk about the indigenous people of Latin America, what usually comes up are the Incas, the Maya, and even the Aymara. And the language we hear about the most is usually Quechua from the Incas. However, the language I have always been the most fascinated by is Guarani, specifically in Paraguay. This language is often overseen however variations of this dialect are still spoken in Argentina, Bolivia, and parts of Brazil. Being the most widely spoken indigenous language in Paraguay is what sets this amazing place apart in my opinion.
I remember a conversation with my late father about Paraguay and he was telling me a story of Jesuit history when he was exploring South America in the late 80s. He noticed cultures and dialects that arrived before the Jesuits and the need to not conform the way many in the world do when foreign settlers arrive (Now I was a child when had this talk for the first time, and at that time, what drove the point home for me was our last name not conforming to the more common Indian given names). When we added Paraguay as a destination to the Big Five collection, he and I revisited that conversation because it was the Guarani dialect that drew me in.
Beyond the dialect, I became fixated on Asunción because anyone that knows me, realizes I am a history nerd. Similar to sights in Mughal India, Cajamarca in Peru, Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, and sites in ancient Egypt, the city of Asunción was a center In the 16th century, of the Spanish province after they fled Argentina and later played a key role in Paraguay’s independence. I remember having this amazing conversation with Mahen about the transformation taking place in South America today and how it has evolved over the past decades. My father being who he is, was quick to remind me that as a child, I couldn’t tell Galapagos apart from Botswana and that he was glad to see I learned “a few things.”
How fitting then, that Mahen’s avatar plays a role in the featured video.
