What our Travel Counsellors are saying...

Gillian McLornan

I've worked in the travel industry my entire career. Travel is my passion it's what inspires me. My background is in luxury hospitality and I was working for a large travel company when I heard about a new company that was moving into the market Travel Counsellors. The company was getting lots of coverage in the press and was creating a real stir in the industry. I followed its launch in the travel trade press and was incredibly excited with everything I read. To me, Travel Counsellors presented...

I've worked in the travel industry my entire career. Travel is my passion it's what inspires me. My background is in luxury hospitality and I was working for a large travel company when I heard about a new company that was moving into the market Travel Counsellors. The company was getting lots of coverage in the press and was creating a real stir in the industry. I followed its launch in the travel trade press and was incredibly excited with everything I read. To me, Travel Counsellors presented a fantastic opportunity, and most of all a unique one. There is no other travel homeworking company in Dubai and the business model really appealed to me. It offered a unique flexible working opportunity in our industry.   Travel Counsellors joint venture with Dnata really gave it the edge. Dnata is a big player in the industry so the partnership offered me the added confidence that this was the right decision for me. It felt the right thing to do so I acted on my gut instinct. I have been privileged to work for some of the leading luxury world class hotel brands which provided structured corporate environments; this provided me with a more bespoke approach.   Right from the word go I was impressed with how well thought-out Travel Counsellors business model was. It has been such an enabler for me on so many levels; from initial start-up, to back office support and the fantastic supplier contacts. It isn’t hard to see why the company has done so well in the 6 other countries in which it operates. Travel Counsellors has created an impressive ‘recipe for success’ and I was eager to get on-board. I couldn’t talk about joining Travel Counsellors without mentioning the network of support which is available. It is just fantastic and was a big deciding factor for me. Head office were behind me offering support every step of the way. Their number 1 interest is to help you to succeed and to make sure you have all the support you need. Yes this was my own company and I was making the decisions, but if I ever needed some guidance or advice I knew someone from head office would be at the end of the phone-line ready to help.   So what was my first three weeks like? Daunting, yet empowering. It’s a big commitment and I was anxious at first but I powered forward and soon got in the swing of things. I have always worked in large organisations. I now enjoy the freedom of managing my own time and my own workload. I had to invest a lot of time in the first few months of set up, it was challenging but extremely rewarding. I knew if I was committed to my business then the results would show, and I was right. It was great to see my hard work pay off as I succeeded all my goals and my business really took off! I’ve been lucky to work on some incredible itineraries which is what I enjoy the most. I get a real thrill from putting together the perfect holiday to suit my customer’s needs. It is that personal service which I’ve always believed in and what Travel Counsellors is all about.   I am proud to tell people that I’m a Travel Counsellor. It’s a privilege to be a part of a well-known, respected, international company. It’s given me a great sense of belonging and I’m thrilled to have so many like-minded colleagues across the globe who all have the same ethics and beliefs as I do. My life has completely changed since joining Travel Counsellors – and definitely for the better! I’m so glad I went with my gut instinct and followed my dreams. Now I’m happy doing what I love, what I’m passionate about, and having the freedom to do it the way I want to.

Adele Engelbrecht

As a child, I always dreamed of exploring the world. I loved watching travel programmes with my dad, dreaming about the day I could visit these countries. Fast forward a few years, and I ended up in the hospitality industry. I met my other passion - customer service. I studied Tourism Management and also worked in the travel industry for a while, before taking the "big step" to join Travel Counsellors in Dubai. Yes, it was frightening moving to a commission-only salary, as well as the thought of...

As a child, I always dreamed of exploring the world. I loved watching travel programmes with my dad, dreaming about the day I could visit these countries. Fast forward a few years, and I ended up in the hospitality industry. I met my other passion - customer service. I studied Tourism Management and also worked in the travel industry for a while, before taking the "big step" to join Travel Counsellors in Dubai. Yes, it was frightening moving to a commission-only salary, as well as the thought of dealing with problems as they arise, and the concern of where I'd get my clients from. In hindsight, I look back and realise these concerns were unnecessary. Today, I don't regret making the decision to set up my own business as a Travel Counsellor. It gives me the freedom to choose my clients, choose my income and best of all choose the amount of time I spend with my son. Word of mouth and networking is my route to success. Living in Dubai, my supporting structure is still in South Africa. And as I wanted to be both a career woman and stay-at-home mom, Travel Counsellors was the obvious choice. They took care of the red tape and allowed me to have a home-based office. The support is amazing. From IT to accounts to marketing, there is always someone to assist you. And our amazing 1,300 TCs in 8 countries around the world are always just an instant message away to dig into their wealth of travel knowledge. The best part for me is not the sales, but the absolute happiness clients experience when arriving at their destinations. You really feel like you're making a difference when you see how parents plan holiday memories for their children, or a wife surprising her husband with a birthday trip or wedding anniversary. "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

Andrea Bailey

I was looking out for a business opportunity with flexible hours when I found Travel Counsellors. It has been a really great decision! From having access to hotels and resorts worldwide to the amazing support from the administrative teams, it has been an exciting ride with Travel Counsellors so far. I can work around the busy schedules of my three little girls, giving them the attention they require and finding time to look after my clients' requirements. I'm proud to be part of Travel Counsellors,...

I was looking out for a business opportunity with flexible hours when I found Travel Counsellors. It has been a really great decision! From having access to hotels and resorts worldwide to the amazing support from the administrative teams, it has been an exciting ride with Travel Counsellors so far. I can work around the busy schedules of my three little girls, giving them the attention they require and finding time to look after my clients' requirements. I'm proud to be part of Travel Counsellors, who are definitely game changers in the travel industry!

Ramona Rusu

After 12 years of building up a career in Dubai, I reached a point in my life when I had to decide what I should do with my future in order to be able to find a balance between my personal life and my career. While looking for some interesting part time jobs I came across an advertisement about the home working system offered by Travel Counsellors. Travel has always been my biggest passion and the idea of being able to work from home immediately made me decide to learn more about it. It was the...

After 12 years of building up a career in Dubai, I reached a point in my life when I had to decide what I should do with my future in order to be able to find a balance between my personal life and my career. While looking for some interesting part time jobs I came across an advertisement about the home working system offered by Travel Counsellors. Travel has always been my biggest passion and the idea of being able to work from home immediately made me decide to learn more about it. It was the best decision I ever made, as I have enjoyed every single moment of this ride. Every day since then has been a pleasant challenge for me, a great learning experience and an amazing surprise to discover the great support that is behind each one of us. While I have a great passion for travel and I was able to find the flexibility I need to offer my family the time they deserve, this is an actual business and it requires a lot of investment from my side, especially as it was a big sacrifice giving up my previous salary for a monthly commission. It takes energy and a lot of determination to make it work and to achieve the results I planned. But, in spite of this I believe I have all the necessary support I need to make it work. There are a few areas that make Travel Counsellors different and an amazing company to be related to: the great focus on customers, the amazing internal culture, the focus on continuous improvement and the support given to Travel Counsellors to help them become as successful as they choose to be. I started this thinking that I will do it for a while due to my family situation, but now I am absolutely sure that I will be doing it for as long as I can to make it become a successful business.

Frederic Bardin

“Becoming a TC is the only solution I found to start my own travel business without having to actually set up a company. We benefit from Travel Counsellors’ brand, purchasing power, supplier connections – from train to cruises and from DMCs to hotels – as well as from their excellent systems and their permanent support in the areas of marketing, sales and IT “

Sarah Pickford, Travel Counsellor

“My partner and I moved to Dubai for the lifestyle. If we both had jobs where we worked the kind of hours we did in the UK, we wouldn’t get the opportunity to enjoy our new surroundings together. So we made the decision for me to become a Travel Counsellor where I can work flexible hours and take time off when my partner does. It works brilliantly for us, giving me a full time focus but we both get the leisure time together that we want. Back in UK I was a customer of Travel Counsellors. Moving to...

“My partner and I moved to Dubai for the lifestyle. If we both had jobs where we worked the kind of hours we did in the UK, we wouldn’t get the opportunity to enjoy our new surroundings together. So we made the decision for me to become a Travel Counsellor where I can work flexible hours and take time off when my partner does. It works brilliantly for us, giving me a full time focus but we both get the leisure time together that we want. Back in UK I was a customer of Travel Counsellors. Moving to Dubai was a daunting experience in itself without the stress of starting to look for a new job. It was great for me to be able to join a company that I already knew and trusted rather than joining the jobs market. And knowing that I could work the hours that suited me in this new environment rather than hours to suit an employer”