Virtuoso for professionalism

Serendipity must be the theme of this trip!

Aside from reconnecting, by chance, with my long-time Canadian friend Jennifer, who now has a store selling beautiful hand-woven, organic textiles, I had another chance meeting yesterday … this time with a travel planner from Israel with whom I have been communicating for a couple of years and had never met!  We just happened to sit beside each other en route to the convention centre!

I’m here to learn.  ASTA, the organization behind this international destination exposition, is, in their words,  an association of travel professionals and the companies whose products they sell, providing education, training, representation, and advocacy.

I am not a member of ASTA but I have to say I am quite disappointed by the lack of polish I see all around me.  Important details keep changing (like the time the bus leaves the hotel or event) and even between individuals one can receive four different answers to the same question and  depth of information (what I was looking for) is desperately lacking.   Imagine, the “free sightseeing” part of the program that included a belly-dancing course (yet it is commonly held that belly dancing originated in India, Greece and Egypt) and an escorted shopping trip to a large carpet store!  So NOT what my clients want to experience in Turkey and I abhor the practice of charging little for a tour (or nothing in this case) and then taking in up to 40% commission on sales of inflated-price carpets etc.  Oh, and by the way, many of the “Turkish carpets” you are shown may be made in China. So buyer beware.

The Trade Show at the exposition is excellent, however, and I had an opportunity to learn more about the services and people of three hand-picked suppliers I was curious about.  Hotels and tour operators opened their arms to delegates, often tempting them to hand over their business cards in return for a gift (or two, if you’re identified as a real prospect!)  In Turkey, obtaining the best service is, for me, all about face-t0-face communication.  Email can be really deceiving since while they may speak excellent English, the written form is more difficult for them, and often lacks the cues and subtleties that suggest context and therefore the written ESL words can come off as abrupt, brusque without that intent.

However, it’s Virtuoso for professionalism. Virtuoso members are selected luxury travel supplier companies from around the globe and the organization has a paid staff that delivers exceptional service in every way.  This results in a level of professionalism that speaks directly to the luxury branding of that organization.  The annual conference for Virtuoso members is impeccably organized, from beginning to end, and while the annual conference is exhausting (speed-dating up to 400 suppliers at 3 minutes each, over four days!) there is no doubt that this is the organization that delivers at all levels.

I know that it is not easy to organize a conference in another country and that the folks at ASTA have done their best.  However, for me, this trip provided an opportunity to reconnect rather than to learn.  I learned nothing new about Turkey.  And I always want to learn something, i.e. take something home other than beautiful linens and a new supplier contact!

Gule gule.