Extra Credit
PROFESSIONAL TOUR OPERATORS OFFER TRAVEL EXPERTISE
Why should you work with a professional tour
operator to coordinate your school trip when travelplanning information is so readily available? “For
the same reasons you hire professional services for
tutoring, plumbing, roofing, legal, medical and send
your children to school,” said Elaine Moulder,
owner of Brilliant Edventures.
Symon Hay is part of the traveler experience
team at Westcoast Connection, which operates
student tours under its 360° Student Travel brand.
He said that offering peace of mind for educators
and young travelers’ parents is a significant part of
what his company provides.
“We have company systems and policies in
place to ensure that safety checks and surveys are
done on all activity suppliers, that they have proper
licensing and certifications, and that we are fully
informed of all international and domestic security
alerts and concerns,” said Hay.
We reached out to Moulder and Hay to learn
more about how teachers can benefit from working
with a professional tour operator to plan an
educational trip.
Elaine Moulder
Symon Hay
Can you tell me a little bit about your company—what are
areas of expertise or destinations that you specialize in?
from start to finish enabling the educator to do what they do best:
teach.
SH: Westcoast Connection/360° Student Travel started over 34 years
ago by running our own trips for individual students to join and travel
with us. We continue to do this, as well as offer custom programs,
giving us an enormous wealth of experience dealing directly with
youth. ... Our strongest focus is on community service/volunteer
experiences and language immersion, and we travel to six continents
with an emphasis on programs in the U.S., Europe and the Spanish
world (Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador).
What are some services or levels of support an educator
would be surprised to learn that your company offers?
EM: The name of the company—Brilliant Edventures—speaks to our
love of learning. We strive to create tours with educational moments
and cultural discoveries that engage minds, enrich lives, surpass
expectations and provide everlasting memories for all students.
We specialize in educational and music performance tours in many
destinations: Orlando, New Orleans, Nashville, Atlanta, Washington,
D.C., Chicago, Dallas, San Antonio, Savannah, Charleston, San Diego,
Anaheim and more.
What is your process for working with an educator to put
together a school group tour—from when you’re initially
approached by the client to when the group returns?
SH: Every school is assigned a director and trip planner. Their role is to
listen to the school’s wants and needs, and then work with them to
create the ideal itinerary within a specific budget. We assist with
marketing materials to help promote the program, information
documents to educate the parents and participants, 24-hour support
while on tour for the group, and [support] through our offices back
home for the parents and school. Once back, we provide a detailed
follow-up with feedback for the benefit of the school and improving the
trip for future years.
EM: We prefer to have a conversation with the educator over emails to
learn as much as possible about their students, the purpose of the trip,
destination(s) they would like to consider, their goals, tour inclusions
and their expectations. We then submit a proposal that can be revised
until it is exactly what the client needs and wants. Once the proposal
is accepted, we create customized promotional materials and trip
registration forms, and we set up individual payment plans and more
based on the client’s needs. We then manage every aspect of the trip
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trip planner
SH: We are happy to be available for questions from parents and
students. Our individual trips require us to speak directly with parents,
so we are very comfortable addressing safety, supervision and itinerary
questions and often work directly with the lead educator to minimize
the pressures that fall on their shoulders. Many educators are also
surprised to hear that we employ eight full-time trip planners and that
one will be assigned specifically to their program.
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