Media Updates
PEG HASKINS TOURS DUBAI & SOUTH AFRICA FOR
FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE OF EMERGING VACATION OPTIONS
Customers to benefit from stronger supplier connections, new business ideas
V
iking Travel/The Cruise Shop was recently honored with the “Top 25” award from Ensemble Travel Group, one of the travel industry’s oldest and most respected affiliated travel agency organizations.
As a member, Peg Haskins, president of Viking Travel/The Cruise Shop in Naperville, Westmont, and Katy, Texas, recently returned from a 10-day trip to Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa where she was a special guest of several major travel industry suppliers, including Arabian Adventures, Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts, Big Five Tours & Expeditions, Lion Sands Private Game Reserve, and South Africa Tourism.
Mrs. Haskins was joined by nine other members of Ensemble Travel Group, a professional organization of nearly 900 travel agencies in the U.S. and Canada. Many of Viking Travel/The Cruise Shop’s special travel products and exclusive perks are due to its affiliation with this leading North American travel powerhouse.
In addition to experiencing these emerging destinations first-hand, Peg participated in a series of strategic luxury travel meetings focused on social media participation, agent specialization, and the latest travel trends.
“The travel landscape is changing so rapidly and dramatically,” said Haskins. “If you’re not up on the latest developments in the marketplace, we would not be considered a leader in the industry and our clients would not get the most out of their vacation."
“Participating in these Ensemble Travel Group meetings with other travel executives around the U.S. gives me great ideas to share with our travel specialists, which ultimately ends up benefitting our clients. The opportunity to meet face-to-face with specific and preferred travel suppliers is invaluable for delivering the very best travel experience to our customers.”
Among the five-star properties visited during the trip were Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Madinat Jumeirah, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, and Burj Al Arab (the world’s tallest hotel) in Dubai; Table Bay Hotel, Twelve Apostles, Grand Roche, and Taj Cape Town in and around Cape Town; and The Westcliff in Johannesburg. Also while in South Africa, a two-night stay at The River Lodge of Lion Sands in Sabi Sands Game Reserve featured four game drives, which were highlighted by very close encounters with the “Big Five,” also known as leopards, lions, cape buffalo, elephants, and rhinos – considered the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot.
For more information about Dubai, South Africa, and other vacation options, contact our offices in Westmont, Naperville or in Katy. We look forward to sharing with you, the travel discoveries, the experiences and the benefits of our long standing relationships throughout the world. It's our reputation and affiliations that enable us to do more for our clients than most of the travel agencies out there.
About Ensemble Travel® Group
Founded in 1968, Ensemble Travel® Group is a proactive, member-owned international organization of nearly 900 professional travel agencies in the U.S. and Canada. With a membership that represents billions of dollars in travel sales each year, Ensemble Travel Group has achieved a 40-year record of boosting members' profits and delivering high-volume sales to its preferred suppliers. Ensemble members are known for creating extraordinary vacations for their clients traveling domestically as well as around the world.
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Viking offers personal and professional award-winning service to individual travelers, families, and groups of all sizes, who rely on their expertise when planning to travel -- everything from luxury vacations to golf getaways, family vacations, worldwide journeys, Alaska adventures, cruises, reunions, destination weddings, honeymoons, honeymoon cruises and faith based travel, and more.
Email or call a location convenient to you for more information:
Westmont, IL: 800-622-6456
Naperville, IL: 800-344-4388
Katy, TX: 800-459-3996