with Lesley Keyter, owner of The Travel Lady agency in Calgary
Lesley Keyter
How long have you been in the business? 12 years. Before that I lived in England and Swaziland in southern Africa. When we got to Canada I thought it would be easy and fun to be a travel agent (laughs).
When was your first airplane ride? When we emigrated from England to South Africa in 1967. We were dressed up to the nines and unbelievably uncomfortable!
Do you have a specialty? I specialize in southern Africa, cruises and FIT.
What drives you crazy? People who try to take our information away for nothing.
How do you keep up on industry affairs? My bedtime reading - the trade papers. And I really rely on Open Jaw’s faxboard for content for our weekly newsletter, which has 8,000 subscribers.
What was your biggest individual sale? Three couples who went together to Africa - they did the works! The sale was over $100,000.
Do you have any time management strategies? We use “Client Base” linked to TRAMS - we’d be lost without it
How do you continue to build your business? I do weekly appearances on the local Global TV station, and we have a very effective website (www.thetravellady.ca).
If you had to spend six months in a destination, which one would you pick? Sydney, Australia because I love the town, the people, the lifestyle, the food. A gorgeous city.
Who would you like to sit next to on a long-haul flight? Nelson Mandela. He’s a special guy who’s done a lot for South Africa.
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