Work With Us
Our Travel Background
We’ve travelled extensively for both pleasure and business and each have over 25 years’ experience working in the travel industry for top-end tour operators in the UK and Destination Management Companies (DMCs) across Asia. We’re widely travelled. Mark has visited 104 countries and Kirsty 101.
Travel is our life and we now focus on freelance projects working with tour operators, destination management companies and other travel-related brands utilising our many skills.
We have a passion for travelling. This, combined with extensive experience in the travel industry, makes us perfectly qualified to undertake projects either individually or as a team.
We really do live and breathe travel!
To see a list of all the countries we’ve been to go here and for all the places we’ve visited within those countries, look here!
What We Can Offer You
The length of time we have been in the tourism business means that we have worked in most aspects of the industry and know it inside out. The expertise that we have incorporated into our freelance consultancy includes the following:
Product Research and Development
Travelling to a specified destination with a pre-determined brief which could include exploring new destinations, researching sightseeing options, designing new itineraries and modules, hotel inspections. The result? A comprehensive report with our findings and recommendations delivered straight to you in easy to understand terms.
Hotel Reports
Inspecting hotels has been a big part of our professional career and we are experienced in assessing hotels for client suitability for a range of markets. We can produce reports detailing whatever is required including opinions on suitability, health and safety assessments and fact sheets.
Copywriting and Editing
We have been responsible for producing brochures. We are adept in copywriting and editing and also writing website copy for top end tour operators.
Competitor Analysis
Want a closer insight into what your competitors are offering? We can prepare a report detailing things such as price comparisons and product overview or a full-blown Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis.
Blog Posts or Newsletter Articles
We can write blog posts, either as guest writers or ghostwritten, for your company blog or newsletter including photographs.
Training
We have both held managerial positions during our careers and, recently, we’ve taken on temporary roles in overseas travel companies supervising reservations teams, training them and helping with general enquiries from clients (who are travel agents and tour operators from overseas). We can also carry out in-house product training for staff.
Programme Creation
Most of our careers have been spent as either product managers or tailor-made specialists. We are adept at creating brochure programmes and itineraries to suit a wide range of markets.
Trade Show Representation
We have represented several companies at trade shows as buyers. One service we offer is “an extra pair of hands” to sellers who need assistance managing their booths, greeting appointments and fielding general enquiries.
Photography
We are available for photographic assignments. Our images feature heavily in our posts, particularly our photo essays.
Our Rates
Please contact us to discuss your requirements. Our project work packages are tailor-made to suit your specific needs.
Examples of Project Work Undertaken
Here are some examples of work we have undertaken during the past six years of nomadic travel. We are flexible and willing to discuss the feasibility of any project you are considering. We spend much of our time in Asia and frequently travel to The Americas and Europe. We don’t have a permanent fixed base so can travel, often at short notice, to any location.
Programme Development in Nepal
A six-month contract tasked with creating a trekking and adventure program for a well-established travel company in Nepal. The role involved experiencing key treks and adventure products, developing itineraries, sourcing staff and equipment, report writing, competitor analysis, training and ultimately producing a twenty-eight page trade-directed brochure.
Training and Team Development in Myanmar
A four-month contract assisting the Yangon-based office of a large Asia based DMC. We helped streamline procedures and documentation and carried out on-the-job training and development of the sales team. In addition, we liaised with local and overseas partners offering customer service support.
Product Research and Development in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia
Several projects involving in-depth product research, competitor analysis and on-the-road fact-finding. On completion, we provided detailed reports including maps and photographs and most importantly, recommendations for ongoing development.
E-marketing and Social Media Management
Handling the monthly newsletter including content creation, production and distribution for a UK-based luxury Tour Operator. Also taking care of social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram), creating engaging content, building an audience and managing social media advertising.
Copywriting
Ongoing freelance work creating website copy including destination descriptions and itineraries for upmarket UK tour operators and South East Asia based travel companies.
Blogs
Blog posts for UK travel companies including engaging travel content and personal experiences.
Photography
Our photography has been featured by several travel companies in printed brochures and online publications. Please contact us if you are interested in using our images or with any questions.
Travel Planning Services for Travellers
Planning that trip of a lifetime but don’t know where to start? We each have almost 25 years’ experience in the travel business and have travelled to over 100 countries (Mark having visited 104 and Kirsty 100). We’ve experienced travel on all sides of the comfort zone. We’ve stayed in some of the best hotels in the world as well as some of the most basic backpacker dives. We’ve travelled by private charter plane and stood on the side of the road with our thumbs out, hitching lifts. We’ve sampled food cooked by a private chef and eaten street food from stalls for less than 20 cents.
We enjoy both sides of the travel spectrum – it’s what makes the experience of travel so diverse and all travel styles have their place. Our experiences travelling both on our own trips and for business means we can be objective, intuitively knowing what’s right for which type of traveller.
We think that makes us perfectly placed to make personalised recommendations no matter what type of holiday you, or your client, is looking for. We offer a range of travel planning services including email and telephone consultations, itinerary planning and even assistance in booking your once-in-a-lifetime holiday using our vast network of industry connections.
Our competitive rates include consultations by Skype or telephone or you can ask us questions by email.
If you have a project for us or would like to find out more about our travel planning services, please complete the short form below with your contact details and a short note on how we can help.