The U.S.-based travel agency, Ideal South America, bridges cultures with dedicated North American professionals, whose lengthy experience working with local tour operators in Latin America allows them to craft and design the best trips to such amazing destinations as Patagonia, Iguazu Falls, Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands. As with most organizations, the humans working there are indeed its most important resource. At the same time, it is often taken for granted all that is done behind the scenes for travelers to experience these incredible places, in the best way possible.
Unfortunately, hard work is not always enough. Even if it’s finally clear when AND where you want to go, and this is communicated to the travel agent, many unanswered questions remain. How long should we spend in each place? Is there a particular order of visits that would make the trip better? Is it worth it to spend more money for a private tour one day, or save a bit with a shared tour another day? No matter how good the communication is, not all potential questions will be answered before travel. Many guesses and assumptions have to be made by the various parties involved – from the local guides and tour operator on the ground, back to the travel consultant working at the agency, and finally, by the travelers themselves.
Which is more important for tourist professionals, knowledge or experience?
Much of an agency’s success comes down to the particular knowledge, expertise and most importantly, the professional and personal experience of those working there. What is their background and upbringing? Have they visited or lived in the destinations you plan to visit? What is their experience working with particular tour operators in the various countries? Fortunately for Ideal South America, not only has everyone who works there actually lived in South America, but also, they have worked in tourism in those countries. In addition, they are from North America, and therefore know what is expected of the best tourism experiences for people traveling from there. But even this is not enough.
These standards must be communicated to the local tour operators and checked and reviewed repeatedly. Each country or culture has its own idea of what a “good” tour is and it is the skill of the travel consultant or agent to bridge this gap and ensure things are being organized correctly in the respective destination country. Potential misalignments as such are more frequent than you might imagine and this needs to be “re-aligned” before travel.
Empathic, proactive communications and shared experience is key to Ideal South America’s success
Fortunately Ideal South America and the good people that work there have nearly 50 years of collective experience organizing trips through this region of the world … and no other! The passenger feedback provided from thousands of trips over the years is truly invaluable. The lessons learned from these data treasures helps Ideal South America provide the very best possible travel experiences across the hemisphere.