18/09/2026
🥂 30 years in travel. How did that happen?!
30 years ago this week, I kicked off my career in travel with a training week in Kensington High Street.
I’d struggled to get a job in the sector I thought I was meant to be in – Marketing. Then, more out of desperation than anything, I responded to a newspaper advert looking for widely travelled graduates to join a well-known high-street travel agency.
At the time, I thought I wasn’t really using my degree to the max. This would get my foot on the employment ladder, I thought, and I’d give it “a year or two” before moving into the sector I’d intended to pursue.
How wrong I was!
I started in Birmingham and gradually realised I’d accidentally landed exactly where I was meant to be. I’d been fascinated by travel for as long as I could remember, and helping people experience amazing parts of the world turned out to be what I was born to do.
I worked hard, travelled whenever I could and, most importantly, fell in love with Donna – a colleague who became my best friend and, 22 years ago, my wife ❤️
We moved to Nottingham, started a family and carried on working hard and travelling whenever we could.
Then, after 20 years, I took the leap and became a Travel Counsellor – achieving Gold status in my first year. Working from home has given me so much more time with Jake and Eleanor as they’ve grown into the incredible young adults they are today. We couldn’t be prouder.
And now, as I raise a glass to 30 years, I can honestly say I wouldn’t change a thing.
I’m proud I didn’t feel compelled to chase a “proper job” simply because it aligned more closely with my degree. My parents always said: do what makes you happy.
What started as a job became a career – and ultimately a vocation.
I LOVE being a Travel Counsellor. It’s who I am. Every day is different, and at the heart of it all are the relationships I’ve built with my wonderful customers.
And there’s another chapter ahead…
With Jake already at university and Eleanor hopefully following next summer, Donna and I have grand plans for some amazing travels as empty-nesters! ✈️🌍
Of course, we’ll be doing everything we can to keep the kids interested in future family holidays too – but we’re excited to watch them spread their own wings and write their own adventures.
30 years. A career I never planned. A vocation I couldn’t imagine being without.
Here’s to the next chapter. 🥂
