Home to the most powerful and formidable empire in ancient history, Rome is a city that still embraces its past. From the Colosseum, to the Circus Maximus, to the Pantheon, the fallen Roman empire is still alive and well everywhere you look. Let Shore Trips guide you through Rome, and discover a world you’ve only ever read about!

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Railtours Ireland First Class, operating since 1998, is Ireland’s premier rail touring operator. Trains are the most comfortable mode of travel in Ireland, and our Tour Hosts will enhance your experience as we cruise towards our destinations, and remain with you through the complete tour. Over half a million visitors to Ireland have enjoyed our tours, and we have achieved a “Certificate of Excellence” four years in a row with TripAdvisor, thanks to our first class customer service and legendary hospitality. Sit back and relax as your train glides through the ancient and historical heart of Ireland! Read the rest of this entry »

I could wax eloquent on this boast, but in the interest of time, I will immediately address the subject at hand.

I believe this to be true and I say this for five very simple reasons: Read the rest of this entry »

These six words hit me last night in my sleep some time around 3 a.m. They woke me up, and I began to reflect on the truth of these three options.

We are always thinking to ourselves, about how things could be, might be, should be.

When we are alone, we even talk to ourselves about what we would do if we hit the lottery. “If only…” Read the rest of this entry »

The Czech Republic is a modern and dynamic destination, with a rich history and unique natural beauty.

The CzechTourism agency, along with its offices abroad, ensures its successful presentation on the domestic and foreign markets. The Czech Tourism Authority is a contributory organization of the Ministry for Regional Development and was established in 1993. Its significant partner agencies include domestic tourist regions, cities, municipalities and businesses. Read the rest of this entry »

I have a friend who once joked, “I’ve decided to stop chasing those get-rich-quick schemes to concentrate on the get-rich-instantaneously schemes.” I think of him from time to time when I happen to come across yet another pitch from a host agency.

Now mind you, I have nothing against host agencies. They fill a valuable role in the travel distribution system and they can be invaluable to home-based travel agents just starting out in the industry. Read the rest of this entry »

The largest of the Caribbean islands, Cuba is a charming mix of colonial aesthetics, vintage cars, and a local musical blend that is unrivaled. During its heyday in the 1950’s, Cuba was a popular destination for American tourists because of the distinctive European flair of the country. The architecture is exquisitely preserved from the days of colonists and Caribbean pirates, with cobblestone streets, huge, bombastic town squares, and opulent buildings. Beautiful beaches and crystal-clear waters top off all the amazing sights that the island has to offer! Read the rest of this entry »

I see it all the time. Sometimes multiple times in a single week. And when I am party to it, I see red. I feel the hair stand up on the back of neck, and my heartbeat seems to shoot into overdrive.

Why don’t more people realize that it takes months, even years, to earn a customer, while a single mismanaged phone call can put a dent in your income without saying a word? Read the rest of this entry »

Built by the visionary Maharaja JaiSingh in the 18th century, Jaipur is a beautiful city full of colorful buildings and amazing history. From the world’s largest stone sundial to ancient palaces, Jaipur has something for the explorer within everyone. Come and see the “Pink City” at its best with Adam Travel!

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Lately, a lot of people have been asking me for travel advice. Not much of a surprise, really, what with me being a travel agent and all. My specialty is currently cruises, but I’ve been doing travel for a very long time, so I’ve gathered quite a bit of information outside of my niche. That’s good, because the questions I’ve been getting recently haven’t been cruise-related. Read the rest of this entry »

“A human life is a story told by God and in the best of stories told by humans, we come closer to God.” – Hans Christian Anderson

What is your reaction when someone says “Let me tell you a story?” Most likely you listen attentively. The human mind loves a good story. Some portion of our psyche seeks a beginning, a middle, and an end. Every story has characters, a setting, and a series of incidents resulting in something memorable. Sound familiar?

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Sales today is as competitive as ever. The old style of selling simply doesn’t work as good as it used to. Buyers, customers and clients are too smart, too street savvy, too educated to fall for any text book trick from some fast-talking sales goon with the gift-of-gab. Buyers have too many options to have to settle. They also are being inundated with lots of distracting “noise” in the form of advertising, promotions, special deals, 2 for 1’s, and bait-and-switch gimmicks. Enough all ready! Read the rest of this entry »

Gregg Truman has been working with Venere since it became a premier travel agent online hotel booking tool in North America. His 20+ years of experience in promoting international travel has become a valuable asset as he personally assists travel agents through the Venere travel agent program. Gregg has long believed that travel agents are the key to any industry success and the results since he has been working with Venere are impressive. There are now over 3,000 travel agents in the Venere program in North America, and the support team, led by Gregg and based in New York, helps travel agents on a wide range of issues. Gregg also leads scheduled Venere webinars on for professional travel agents on a regular basis. Read the rest of this entry »

In the interest of keeping this professional site, well…professional, I think we all are familiar with the term BS. When I was a kid, my father used to tell me, “Never try to BS a BSer.” And while maybe not the most politically correct advice, it is certainly solid. In the travel industry, it is particularly valid. Read the rest of this entry »

The Greek island of Corfu is the second largest of the Ionian Islands. In some ways, Corfu feels more Italian (thanks to the Venetians and the Italians who occupied the island) than it does Greek. Certainly the many pine trees that we saw during our visit reminded us of the Tuscan landscape as does some of the dialects we found around the island. The island, also known by its Greek name Kerkyra, remained in Venetian hands from 1401 until 1797. The Venetians erected fortifications to repel Turkish invaders, and indeed, the historian Will Durant claimed that Corfu was one of the few parts of Greece never conquered by the Ottomans thanks to the Republic of Venice. Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s message is a message based on a true story. It contains an important reminder for all of you.

A particular industry conference was on my calendar for over a month. I knew as a professional speaker that good things result from my wandering trade show aisles. This alone serves as a walking example that “Marchev is alive and well.” I was not attending this show as a conference speaker. I was a paid attendee. This was a few years ago and the conference was conducted by the Cruise Association. Read the rest of this entry »

After years of attending networking events, I have learned to really scrutinize business cards that I have collected. I have also watched what others have done with the business cards that they collect. One particular gentleman in my networking circles is very pragmatic: if someone’s business card doesn’t fit into his business card binder, he tosses it. Nothing annoys him more than oddly shaped business cards. He also discards any cards that do not easily describe what the business does. For example, my business name (Ships ‘N’ Trips Travel) makes it easy for him to know that I’m in the travel industry. If my business name was The Schaefer Agency, without a tagline describing my business, no one would know what kind of agency I operate (Insurance? Real estate? Talent acquisition?). Read the rest of this entry »

So, you still want to be a travel agent, travel the world and make a lot of money. Not so fast. There is a lot to learn before you are ready for that first client.  Before the commissions and fees start to roll in, you really need to know a little bit about yourself and how you fit into the industry. What’s next? Let’s start with the basics–where, when, how, what and why. Read the rest of this entry »

This phrase hit me like a ton of bricks as I was watching the TV show Blue Bloods.

The detective (the commissioner’s son) made a decision that he knew was a step or two out of bounds. When he was called in to explain his actions things became very uncomfortable. He knew it was coming. Read the rest of this entry »

Founded in 2004, Jetairfly has already, despite its young age, become the second largest airline in Belgium. With a fleet of 22 aircraft, Jetairfly is well equipped for medium and long-range travel. They began in 2004 with 5 aircraft, but thanks to its intensive fleet renewal program, Jetairfly has the most up-to-date and modern fleet in Belgium. Read the rest of this entry »