SIDNEY — 2019 was a banner year for Creative Vacations, the strongest year to date. The annual summer slowdown that normally occurs didn’t happen and new reservations where consistent all year long. Many people booking a year or more in advance.
“Referral and repeat business have remained very solid. I can’t thank my clients enough for the wonderful gift of referral business along with their continued support with repeat business. Those are the highest compliments one can receive.” said Debi Pulfer, of the local office.
Her report continues:
The top destinations such as the Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, Canadian Rockies, US National Parks and Europe remain strong, destinations such as Iceland, Norway, Costa Rica, Cuba, Australia and New Zealand are on the rise. Major cities within the United States are always popular, year after year. The biggest increase for 2019 has been with Viking River and ocean cruises. Viking cruises in many destinations worldwide, however, The Rhine and Danube Rivers in Europe are repeatedly requested. Chicago was in high demand and the annual Chicago Christmas Shopping Motor coach trip sold out quite far in advance for 2019. It’s scheduled again this year and will be Friday, Dec 4, to Sunday, Dec 6, with reservations being accepted. Each year, this trip is back by popular demand and it’s been going strong for over 25 years.
The vacation types that continue to be strong are river cruises, especially within Europe, honeymoons, anniversary trips, group trips, all inclusive vacations, ocean cruises and multigenerational vacations.
Travel insurance sales have been increasing, with most clients purchasing policies and realizing the importance of having insurance. Travel insurance protects your travel investment from many unforeseen circumstances that may arise. That could be anything from lay off to a death in the family along with many other covered reasons, including weather problems causing cancellations. They also want to have medical coverage for themselves when outside of the United States and it provides coverage for that as well. Many may not realize that if you travel out of the United States and have Medicare, you do not have health coverage. A welcomed change in 2019, you can now add coverage to your main policy that includes cancellation due to major illness of your Dog or Cat, coverage for participating in adventure sports while on vacation, and even coverage if you plan to attend a destination wedding in the event either the bride or groom calls off their engagement/wedding leaving you with a non-refundable vacation, it can now be covered.
In 2019, I completed many courses, including the “Signature Travel Expert” refresher course and the ASTA Verified continuing education courses, both a standard for educational excellence. Pulfer also completed the Viking River and Ocean Cruise specialist courses as continued education training is a must to keep up with the ever-changing travel industry.
In the fall of 2019, Creative Vacations partnered with The Historic Sidney Theatre and Viking Cruises to host a Viking Cruise Cultural Exchange event held at the Historic Sidney Theatre. The event was well attended by many from Sidney/Shelby County along with other surrounding counties. It was a fun educational evening learning about cruising with Viking. If you were not able to attend, but are interested in a Viking Cruise, contact me.
With 36 years of experience as a travel advisor, I’m looking forward to another year of meeting and exceeding customer’s travel needs and expectations. If you’re planning a trip, call 937-498-7448 You can also reach me by e-mail at [email protected].
