Travelling in style

IN RECENT years, more and more people are willing to pay a little extra for their holidays, in order to enjoy a more wholesome travelling experience – dining in fancy restaurants, staying in luxury hotels, and going for unique destinations.
And companies like award-winning guided travel corporation Insight Vacations have made luxury travel possible for many guests.
Insight Vacations chief executive officer John Boulding was in Kuala Lumpur recently. This globetrotter and global travel industry leader has over 36 years of experience in the travel industry.
He joined Insight Vacations in 1985 as a tour director, rising to head the brand in 1997.
In that time, he played a pivotal role in ushering the company to greater heights and was also actively involved in introducing luxury travel to the market as well as making this trend more accessible to the masses.
Boulding sat down with theSun to share his company’s commitment to quality and why Insight Vacations has long been the top choice for luxury guided tours.

What are some of the changes you have made to help Insight Vacations achieve success over the years?
“First of all, it was to re-brand the business, to change it and bring it up to date. The first big change was in 2000 when I introduced the tagline: ‘The Art of Touring in Style’.
“The word ‘style’ is the heart of the Insight brand, [to us] it means trendsetting, forward-looking, and quality. It’s an idea in the mind of the customers that they can associate with a quality programme.
“And the word ‘art’ is about hallmarking the product, ­­tailor-making it for our particular focus group.
“Another change is opening up Eastern Europe – we now have a very big programme, and we are one of the operators with some of the most expansive programmes in Europe.”

What sets Insight Vacations apart from the rest?
“One of the most recent things we’ve done is to create a whole programme on VIP experiences.
“Imagine going into the Sistine Chapel in Rome [outside of public touring hours], or doing a private food walk in Paris at the epicurean stores to try the local delicacies only the Parisians know about.
“[Or] picture yourself on a private tour at the Barcelona Opera House when it’s closed and having champagne at the private members’ club.
“These are the things that you won’t be able to do on your own because you just can’t get the invitation.”

What kind of guests does Insight Vacations cater for?
“They’re very discerning travellers; people who are looking for a really good experience. Very often, they are upmarket travellers, but also, they can be travellers who [have saved] up for a really special experience and [want] to have the best holiday possible.
“It’s actually very affordable luxury when you travel with Insight. If you look at the price, you can travel to Spain and Portugal with about US$230 (RM1,030) a day, and it’s not expensive [since] you’re staying in four- to five-star hotels, and you’ll enjoy fabulous dining.
“In fact, every tour in Europe on our luxury programme has Michelin dining now … and that takes months of planning and setting up because you’ve got to make reservations so far ahead just to get your place in the restaurant.”
 
What do you do to keep your offerings fresh every year?
“I’ve got good people working with me, and I work with them to make sure they’re constantly looking at the new trends, and going out and visiting places. We have to do a lot of research and talk to a lot of partners in Europe.
“But the experiences that we introduce are really local experiences.
“We make introductions to local people, which if you were travelling on your own, you wouldn’t or couldn’t do. Whether it’s a farmer, an artisan, chef or art expert, you’re meeting people that you wouldn’t otherwise meet as an independent traveller.”
 
What’s popular now?
“Food hasn’t always been number one, but it is now. Then it’s sightseeing, and followed by learning – people want to learn about the culture and new places.
“We have very hands-on activities, more than other operators in fact, because they can be a bit costly, like an immersive cooking school in Italy, for example.
“We have a proper cooking session where you learn how to cook a full Italian meal and you get to dine with the chef or the owner.
“We’ve got top-rated highlights included, too – if you go to Venice with us, you’ll get to enjoy a gondola serenade, [for which] we don’t charge extra, and which other tour operators usually do.”
 
The global economy hasn’t been too kind to us lately. Has that affected business?
“It affected business last year quite a bit, but I think our market’s not too affected by it.
“People are still willing to pay [because] they understand the value they are getting. The prices we offer for the experience you get are still of much better value than travelling on your own.”
What’s new for next year?
“We have a new itinerary that takes you just to the Baltic States like Latvia and Lithuania.
“We’ve got a new tour of Southern Scandinavia called ‘The Country Roads of Southern Scandinavia’, and this is a very interesting area because you get to visit some of the fjords.
“New also is South America – it’s a long 30 hours from Malaysia, but a fabulous experience to go to Peru, Argentina, Chile, Brazil or Ecuador.
“Indochina, Australia and New Zealand is also new. We’re always changing itineraries and bringing in new cities and destinations to make it exciting.”
For more, visit the Insight Vacations website.