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TRAVEL CHANGEMAKERS: Gavin Tollman, CEO Trafalgar Travel

Gavin tollman, ceo of global travel company trafalgar, shares his thoughts and ideas on how we can all do our bit to build a positive travel legacy..

Born into a family of passionate travellers, Gavin Tollman heads up Trafalgar, who began their global journey of travel back in 1947.

While he’s based in Geneva, Gavin spends most of his year travelling the world to help sustain the Trafalgar brand and it’s evolving range of unique experiences as well as grow the company’s own sustainable initiative; The Treadright Foundation.

What was it that inspired you to join the travel industry?

The old adage to “find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” could not ring truer for me.

Across three generations, our shared life’s work is dedicated to this remarkable industry that is travel – an industry that builds understanding, respect, and unbreakable bonds across borders, cultures and ideologies.

As a family, we spend the year travelling the world – predominantly for ‘work’, though it’s always a pleasure.

The demands of running a global business dictate the need to be everywhere, at some point in time. I always feel that the perpetual motion and ability to travel is a privilege, with work and leisure being one and the same.

However, I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t admit life on the road can also occasionally cause me to crave the chance to be still in one place for a short period of time. Until the next day…

What concerns you about the long term impact of travel on people and the planet?

In a singular word – complacency ; far too often I hear too many people within our industry taking the position that topical subjects such as over-tourism, litter on beaches, impacting both humans and sea life or global warming are not our responsibility because we make up such a small percentage of local economies, local tourists etc.

To those who say that my position is simple. Change your perspective before you have to. We are faced with urgency now.

I always say to my team around the world, we’re not trying to change the world, we’re trying to change our part of the world, and make a positive impact wherever we go as we do it. As a business, wherever we can, do it in a way that is acting with conscious thought, not with lofty unachievable goals.

We recognise that we have a responsibility to give back in the places that we go wherever we can, and we have to do it and act consciously now.

Each and every one of us in the travel industry has to pitch in and do their part and if all of us do so, the impact will be significant.

Do you think travel can change the world?

Travel can have a significant positive impact on the communities and people we visit. The simple thing is that it does require conscious thought.

A number of years ago, I came up with a simple philosophy in the way we can fundamentally help the places we visit.

• By looking to see how you assist the local communities economically. What is important on this is that locals should be able to sustain a business around the year through travel as well as key sites and helping the community in its entirety – everyone should have the opportunity to benefit from tourism, no matter how large or small .
• Culturally: This is the very reason we travel to learn and discover the cultures and the uniqueness/distinctiveness of the peoples around the world. To this day, a note that I received a year ago from the last remaining renaissance weaver in Perugia, Martha Cucchia who would not be able to sustain her livelihood without our guests is something that reminds me of this importance and something I really cherish. I encourage others to do the same.
• Being environmentally conscious: we should all be thinking about how we could have a small as possible environmental footprint in the communities we visit. 10 years ago, Brett Tollman founded our NFT TreadRight , a name carefully chosen with a belief that we’ve got to tread correctly in each of the communities we visit .

 In essence, we believe we can make travel matter.

Are you seeing positive change happening in responsible and sustainable travel?

Just last week I received an incredible email from One Tree Planted , an organisation we started working with 5 years ago in lieu of giving Christmas gifts to our guests and agent partners.

Two years ago, we created a paper-free documentation initiative, as we knew in effect that’s what consumers actually wanted. It was so powerful to see the impact we can make by working collaboratively with our agent partners.

One of the initiatives we focussed on was helping rebuilding California’s forests, which experienced a record-breaking wildfire season in 2017, burning a devastating 1.3 million acres.

The reforestation of 316 acres is a small but mighty indication of us stepping up and doing its part. We have now planted and will be planting 359 acres of trees in total, including our other projects in Tanzania and South Africa.

In 2019, we began removing single-use plastics (SUPS) on our European trips including bottles and badges. This was remarkably well received by both our Travel Directors and guests, as well as so energising to see the response from our teams in our offices around the world.

These are perfect examples of the enormity of how quick it is to create positive change. We’re seeing other people within the travel industry starting to make the change too, which is a great example of how standing together as an industry, we can make a difference together.

What advice would you give to people wanting to travel more responsibly?

Sustainable travel is not a passing fad, it’s a must and it has to happen now.

Both as travel companies and travellers, we have a responsibility to ensure that so much of what we can take for granted is available for future generations to enjoy in the same way that we have.

According to Expedia – in the last decade, those who are focussed on making a positive impact within the companies they travel with went from 1 in 5 travellers to 1 in 3 in the past couple of years, and this demonstrates how important this will continue to be as we move forward.

What is imperative in business is that this has got to be genuine – not just saying it, not doing it as a cool and exciting marketing message, this has to flow through the entire business and this our greatest challenge.

This is an excellent opportunity for all of us to make a difference, to change the narrative, and should be approached with privilege, and in doing so allowing travellers to travel today and sustain tomorrow.

Find out more: www.trafalgar.com / www.treadright.org

How can you travel to change the world?

Congratulations! By reading this post and taking some of these insights on board, you’ve already made a difference.

Now you can easily create your own impact by sharing your new-found knowledge. Share this link to a friend who you think would be interested or post it on your own social media.

Ultimately, it all comes down to staying curious, keeping yourself up-to-date and making yourself accountable for your actions on your travels.

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We are the worlds leading and most-awarded tour brand. Spanning seven continents we are dedicated to connecting our guests to the depth of the places we go, and ensuring a positive impact on the people, places and wildlife of destinations we visit. We MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®. Spanning all seven contin... Read more

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The Scoop: What to Know About Trafalgar Tours

With 300 itineraries in 72 countries, trafalgar tours casts a wide net..

The Scoop: What to Know About EF Go Ahead Tours

Here at TourScoop, we’re all about using our real-world, real-person travel expertise—honed over decades of travel—to help travelers make great decisions about travel. Today we’re going deep on Trafalgar Tours, a tour company that’s been around for nearly a century. In this article, we’ve gathered up everything we think you might need to know to decide if Trafalgar is going to be the right tour operator for your next trip.

Trafalgar Tours is one of the grande dames of the tour world, one that has escorted five million guests on trips around the world over the last century and has a solid track record. Today, it has 300 itineraries in 72 countries. Its strength lies in its ability to deliver both standard coach tours and also small group tours and specialized tours that highlight nature, history, food, and other specific areas of interest.

TourScoop Takeaways : Trafalgar

• Countries: 72 countries on six continents
• Tour Size Average: The standard group size is about 40 guests. Trafalgar also offers Small Group Active Tours that have no more than 17 guests. 
• Tour Type: Coach

How to Book

To book a Trafalgar tour, you can go a few different routes. The easiest is to book through Trafalgar ; but you can also opt for a tour-specialist online travel agent like Travelstride , Tourhub , or TourRadar .

Credibility Check

Trafalgar has a Feefo rating of 4.6/5 and received the company’s Platinum Trusted Service Award for 2022. On TourRadar , Trafalgar has a rating of 4.5/5 and is a gold partner, meaning the brand has a high rating and is recognized to promptly respond to queries. According to Trafalgar, it has a repeat guest rating of 53% with a 97% satisfaction rate.

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The brand has won over 80 awards including Travel Weekly’s Readers’ Choice Awards and USA Today’s 10Best Tour Company. It also hosts unedited reviews from its customers on its site. 

Tour Destinations

Trafalgar offers trips to 72 countries across six continents, with over 300 itineraries . Among its most popular tour destinations are England, Italy, the Iberian Peninsula, Egypt, Ireland, Argentina, the United States, and Thailand.

Trafalgar offers both general guided vacations and special interest tours. Its special interest tours include food and wine tours such as Taste and Sound of the South , family tours including Pioneer Adventures of the Old West , religious tours such as Land of the Gods , battlefield tours including WWI and WWII Battlefields , safaris such as Wonders of Kenya , and women’s only tours in destinations such as Turkey and Egypt .

Trafalgar also offers active travel tours with options for more rigorous hiking and biking activities than the average tour. These trips include Trafalgar’s new Small Group Active Tours that include itineraries such as Yellowstone, The Tetons and Glacier National Park and California Coast Food and Wine Trail .

Tour Guides

Tour directors come onto the job with three to five years of road experience, and receive a ton of training including diversity and inclusion training, well-being training, customer service instruction, and administration. All of this is geared to help these tour guides be as professional, organized, helpful, and personable as possible.

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In addition to all that training, each year, travel directors also receive a week-long professional development program in which they are placed in the position of the guest for a week of touring and training on the ground and in the classroom. Trafalgar has travel directors who have been with the company for 30 years; the longest serving Travel Director has been with Trafalgar for 45 years .

Inclusions/Extras

Trafalgar trips include all accommodations and transportation during the trip plus most meals. Most activities are included in the itinerary, though Trafalgar also offers optional experiences for additional fees. Transfers to and from the airport are offered in the majority of overseas countries free of charge. Trafalgar can help arrange flights (not included in the base price) at the beginning and end of a trip.

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On select trips featuring Be My Guest experiences, Trafalgar includes one-of-a-kind experiences such as meeting with locals for lunch and learning about their way of life, staying in accommodations such as castles or historical hotels, or gaining early entry into bucket list attractions such as the Vatican.

Typical Travelers

The majority of Trafalgar guests are 50 and up, though on family tours children as young as five participate. Trafalgar has a robust solo travel program with free or reduced single supplement prices for tours in Europe, North and South America, Australia, and New Zealand. Travelers come from all over the world, and in recent years, post-trip guest-managed Facebook groups have cropped up, allowing guests (and their travel director) to stay in touch. 

Communication 

After booking a Trafalgar tour, guests get access to MyTrafalgar , a gated part of the Trafalgar website where guests can provide details about any dietary restrictions, upload emergency contact information, and connect with their Travel Director. About a week before the departure date, guests receive access to all travel documents for the trip plus instructions for joining a group chat with Travel Directors and other guests.

Loyalty Program

Trafalgar has switched from its former VIT loyalty program to the Global Tour Rewards program, which allows guests to collect and spend rewards across all the TTC tour companies, including Trafalgar, Insight Vacations, Luxury Gold, Costsaver, Brendan Vacations, and Contiki.

Private Options

Groups of 10 or more can work with the Trafalgar team to create customized private itineraries that cater to specific budget and interests.  

Sustainability Efforts

Trafalgar works with the TreadRight Foundation on projects focused on conserving the planet, preserving cultures throughout the world, and protecting wildlife. In 2020, Trafalgar, along with TreadRight, launched the How We Tread Right (HWTR) sustainability strategy that the brand is hoping to achieve by 2025. These goals are in line with the UN’s Global Goals and address climate change, sustainable food production, waste reduction, travel experiences, diversity and inclusion and wildlife. 

Trafalgar offers opportunities on trip for guests to work towards those sustainable goals through its MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences. These experiences are meant to leave a more positive social or environmental impact on the communities they visit.

Trafalgar (and the other TTC companies)  recently became the first global tour operator to “secure validated short and long-term net zero targets through the Science Based Target Initiative – SBTi, a partnership with CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature.”

Health and Safety Practices

Trafalgar’s teams offer always-on support and are always up to date on the latest regulations. Should any issues arise, there’s 24/7 incident response that means the Trafalgar team can and will assist and work directly with local medical support and local authorities. Trafalgar updates its health and safety practices regularly, so check the website for the latest policies.

Family Companies

Trafalgar is a part of The Travel Corporation’s family of brands, which also includes Insight Vacations , Contiki , Uniworld , and about a dozen other brands.

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Trafalgar Tours

Trafalgar Tours is a travel company that provides guided holidays to over 200 destinations worldwide. The company is owned by The Travel Corporation which has been in business since 1947. Trafalgar has offices in Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, the UK and the USA and operates guided tours across six continents. Trafalgar specializes in providing local experts and guides and offers a variety of package options for individuals, couples, groups and families.

Tollman family [ edit ]

The Travel Corporation, which has been trading for over fifty years, was founded by the current chairman, Stanley Tollman. The company is wholly owned by members of the Tollman family, and four generations of Tollmans are currently actively involved with the business. In 2010, Gavin Tollman, Stanley Tollman's nephew, was appointed as the new global Chief Executive Officer of Trafalgar. Gavin Tollman has worked with Trafalgar since 1997. He served as the company's global head of sales between 2003 and 2010 after working as the President for Trafalgar Tours from 1997. Prior to joining Trafalgar Gavin held the position of Executive Vice President of the Buckhead Hotel Management Company in the United States.

Tourism [ edit ]

In 1972, over 4,000 Canadians used Trafalgar's services in international locations. At the time, it was owned by British company Simpsons Travel Service . [1] In the same year, over 40,000 Australians and New Zealanders used the company's services. [2] From the start of the company in 1947 until its 65th birthday in 2012, Trafalgar has served over 2 million customers worldwide. Trafalgar offers a variety of tourism packages. [3] "First Class packages" include first class hotels, VIP entry into attractions and luxury transport. "Leisure packages" cater to travelers who want a combination of guided excursions and independent travel. Trafalgar also offers "Family Experiences" packages catered to the needs of families with children.

References [ edit ]

• ↑ "Visiting Europe?". The Age . 1973-03-05.
• ↑ [1] , Trafalgar tourism packages

This article "Trafalgar Tours" is from Wikipedia . The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Trafalgar Tours . Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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Moscow Tours & Travel Packages 2024/2025

Our 63 most popular moscow trips. compare tour itineraries from 45 tour companies. 308 reviews. 4.7/5 avg rating., popular moscow tours.

St Petersburg & Moscow in Style - Winter

• Explore the majestic St Petersburg & Moscow on private city tours
• Admire the rich Russian history, art and architecture
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• Enjoy the local cuisine in stylish restaurants

Golden Ring of Russia

Lower Volga Voyage

• Visit magnificent Red Square and Kremlin and examine the collection at theKremlin’s State Armory.
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White Russian - 7 days

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• Take in the highlights of St Petersburg including a guided tour of the exquisite Church on Spilled Blood, Peter & Paul Fortress and Cathedral
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Small Group Moscow Tours

Vodka Shot - 6 days

• Explore the beautiful city of St Petersburg, including the exquisite Church on Spilled Blood, Peter & Paul Fortress and Nevsky Prospekt
• Marvel at the dazzling array of art and exhibits in the world-famous Hermitage Museum, at the Winter Palace in St Petersburg
• Discover a lavish residence of the tsars on a day trip to Catherine Palace at Tsarkoe Selo (winter: mid-October to April) or Peterhof Palace and gardens (summer: May to mid-October)
• Take in the highlights of the capital on a walking tour, visiting Moscow's famous Red Square, home to the historic GUM Department Store, Lenin’s Mausoleum and spectacular St Basil’s Cathedral
• Take a guided tour of the Moscow Kremlin, Russia’s political power house. Stroll around the grounds of this fortified complex, visit the Kremlin's cathedrals and see the mighty Tsar Bell

Route of the Romanovs - 10 days

• Learn about the last days of the Romanovs in Yekaterinburg, visiting the sites where Tsar Nicolas II and his family were assassinated and buried
• Straddle two continents at the famous obelisk Europe/Asia border marker in Yekaterinburg
• Experience the Trans-Siberian railway on an overnight train journey from Moscow to Yekaterinburg

New Year's in Moscow - 9 days

• Visit Catherine Palace at Tsarkoe Selo on Christmas Day and marvel at the incredible Amber Room
• Spend a night in Novgorod, an ancient city by the Volkhov River - explore the kremlin, cathedral and other sights and enjoy a traditional Russian banya (sauna)

Back in the USSR - 7 days

Russian Revolution - 9 days

• Visit historic Novgorod, an ancient city which straddles the Volkhov River. Explore the attractive riverside kremlin and experience a traditional Russian banya (sauna)

The Snowball - 6 days

• Visit Catherine Palace at Tsarkoe Selo and marvel at the incredible Amber Room

Mood for Moscow - 4 days

• Head underground to visit a Stalinist-era Soviet Bunker on an optional excursion
• Stroll to the vibrant Izmailovo Market, which lies behind the walls of an ancient Kremlin, and shop for an array of souvenirs

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Moscow reviews & ratings, capitals of the north.

some hotels could have been better

It was jam packed with every place I wanted to go and see. I especially love my photo of us setting out on the night time river cruise in St Petersburg and the Peter...

I really did not buy much and what I did buy was small gifts for others .

Johanna-Marie

Good hotels, some better than others. Interesting itinerary

Too rushed. Optional tour rather too short

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A History of Moscow in 13 Dishes

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Planning a trip to Moscow? Our travel guide contains up-to-date, personal information on everything from what to see , to when to visit , where to stay , and what to eat !

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Why visit Moscow?

Majestic churches, impressive historic fortresses, and palatial buildings: Moscow is a fascinating city whose emblematic architecture reflects the turbulent history that has defined Russia throughout the centuries.

The traces of the USSR can be found around every corner of the city , side by side with the iconic relics of Imperial Russia , like the mythical Red Square , the imposing Kremlin , and the beautiful  St Basil's Cathedral . 

Discover a fascinating world of Cold War bunkers, golden-domed basilicas, world-class art museums, and the legendary "palace of the people,"  as the Moscow Metro has been nicknamed. Whether you fancy watching a classical Russian ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre , perusing the fine arts at the Pushkin Museum , or marveling at the sheer size of the monuments to the Soviet state's achievements at the  All-Russia Exhibition Centre , this travel guide will help you on your way!

Where to start?

If you're going to travel to Moscow and you don't know much about the city yet, the first thing to do is to dive into its legendary history - understanding the past will help you understand the present. Next, check out our practical hints and tips on traveling to the city before discovering which of its most important museums , monuments , and attractions pique your interest.

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Booking your accommodation in advance is the best way to get great discounts. Our detailed guide on where to stay in Moscow  will help you decide which neighborhood you'd like to look for hotels or apartments in, and our hotel search engine will find you the best deals!

Why is our Moscow travel guide the best?

Introducing Moscow is a  city guide written by travelers for travelers  and contains personalized advice to help you make the most of your trip to the city.

All the information in this guide is valid as of December 2022. If you find any errors or have any comments, please feel free to contact us .

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