I’m Julie, business owner and your Personal Travel Consultant and Sustainable Travel Ambassador at Earthwise Travel, a franchise of Hays Travel.
I have a genuine passion for travel, passed onto me through my parents, who never shied away from taking me to experience new destinations and cultures. I’m pleased to say that my husband caught the travel bug from me, and our children have wanderlust running through their veins too, so our exploration of the world continues.
I have many years of experience within the industry, having studied travel and tourism within my degree and then having taught geography and travel & tourism in schools and colleges for over two decades, before opening my own travel agency as a way of redressing the work-life balance and preserving my health (which at that point was deteriorating following the diagnosis of several chronic illnesses). So between my widespread previous and ongoing travel experiences, my qualifications, and my regular industry based training, I’m well placed to deliver your holiday dreams, however simple or complex they may be.
My passion for sustainability is built into the heart of my business. I’m a strong believer that humans are stewards of this beautiful planet that has been loaned to us. It is our job to nurture it and enhance it so that it can be passed on to future generations in a better condition than we inherited it. As we are highly aware of with the current environmental situation, we as humans (generally speaking) haven’t been good stewards of the earth.
I aim to use travel as a force for good and right as many of those wrongs as I can, helping to create a planet that I can be proud to pass on to future generations. I will look for holiday options that meet your requirements and enable you to broaden your horizons and enrich your life, but that also create a more positive impact on the environment and local communities that you visit.
As an independent travel agency, I am not obliged to use any particular tour operator, so I genuinely have your best interests at heart, as well as those of the
planet! I focus on using suppliers who share my sustainable travel ethos. Working from home (in Thornaby on Tees, North Yorkshire) gives me the luxury of being able to work around my family and around you, so if you need my service outside of typical office hours, I’m here to help when travel shops are closed.
Your holiday is as important to me as my own, so I’m keen to get it right. You can trust me to do a memorable job for you. I’ll use my qualifications, skills and first-hand travel experiences to put as much thought and love into crafting your holiday as I do into my own. You’ll get expert personal service with many added touches, and importantly, your life is made easier through this personalised service. You also have the added benefit of always dealing with the same person, so I know you and your holiday booking well.
I hope that in return, I gain your loyalty so that I truly become your very own Personal Travel Consultant, who you can confidently recommend to
family, friends, colleagues, and neighbours.
Some Travel Facts About Me
Favourite country: Maldives, Thailand, and Spain.
Favourite city: Marrakech, Bangkok, and New York.
Favourite foreign cuisine: Italian
Favourite holiday reading: Take Me With You, by Brad Newsham
Favourite hotel chain: Iberostar
Favourite holiday experience:
- Taking the train along Death Railway in Thailand, along the banks of the River Kwai, up to Burma (as it was then). The views were breathtaking.
- Visiting San Sebastian in Mexico and being really immersed in local life. We stayed at the mayor’s house and had a meal there with the villagers, and we also went to local homes to find out more about their way of life.
- Thoughtfully being invited into someone’s home for a child’s birthday party on a local island in the Maldives. The family were so hospitable, and the children thought it was incredibly fun and amusing to have English people at the party!
Favourite thing to do on holiday:
To go beyond. I love to explore down the side streets and off the beaten track and get into the real heart of a destination with my family. That’s where you see real life happening and where you get a wonderful welcome from the locals. It never ceases to amaze me how we can converse with people, each of us speaking a different language, and yet there is a mutual understanding. Despite our many differences, we are all quite similar!
Top of my bucket list:
Climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which my Grandad helped to manufacture in my home town, before it was shipped out to Australia.
Working With Me
Why choose me over any other Personal Travel Consultant or Travel Agent?
Sustainability Specialist offering Responsible Travel
In 2023, I was hand-picked by TTG (Travel Trade Gazette) and Kiwano to be a Sustainable Travel Ambassador for both of them. I promote sustainable and responsible travel practices, and I have a range of suppliers whom I can use to build sustainable holiday options.
Many travellers (81% – source: Statista, 2023) are increasingly conscious of their impact on the environment and local communities, so this is now a key quality that my clients look for. As well as building sustainable and responsible practices into the day-to-day running of my business, I also use sustainable travel suppliers, including world-leading sustainable travel brands such as Iberostar Group, Hurtigruten, Intrepid, G-Adventures, and Avis, and I promote sustainable destinations such as Greece, Costa Rica and Scotland.
For every booking that departs, I make a donation to one of my charity partners (The Future Forest Company, Wild & Free – Rehabilitation and Release, Lendwithcare, Ecologi and Mossy Earth) to support an animal conservation or environmental project, and I also provide sponsorship and donations to local, national and international charities and organisations to support their projects. I am Carbon Literacy certified and my website is green hosted by Google. To further my green credentials, am working towards a green accreditation through Green Tourism and a sustainable accreditation with the Sustainable Wedding Alliance. I have signed the Glasgow Declaration and I actively strive to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in all areas of my business.
Passion for Travel
I have a passion for travel. I’ve been travelling since I was a young child and I find nothing is more enriching than seeing a new destination, experiencing different ways of life, and spending time with people from different cultures and backgrounds. I personally want to experience as much of the world as possible with my family, and I hold the same desire for my clients.
Expertise
I have travelled to countless destinations worldwide, giving me first-hand experience. In addition, I attend regular industry-based training, which gives me valuable insight into current travel trends and insider tips. I have qualifications and experience within the travel sector dating back to the 1990s, as well as up-to-date travel-related qualifications. Clients often choose me because I can provide valuable insights and recommendations as a result of my extensive travel expertise.
Free Personalised Service and Attention to Detail
I am committed to tailoring travel experiences to my clients specific preferences and needs. Creating customised itineraries that match the interests of my clients, providing cost-effective options that align with their budgets, and itineraries that fit with their schedules, as well as offering off-the-shelf package holidays with sustainability built in, is all part and parcel of my free personalised service. I provide my clients with value for money. Furthermore, I offer meticulous attention to detail when planning trips, thoroughly researching them and dedicating time to the planning process, to ensure that every aspect of the journey is carefully considered. All of this, and more, is free of charge to my clients.
Availability and Responsiveness
Although I have fixed hours for my normal working day, I am available for my clients around the clock (unlike many high street travel agencies and online agencies), which really provides my clients with the convenience they need to benefit from my personalised service. They know they will always get a fast response to any communication. When I am away on my own holidays, I ensure a customer support team is available to look after any clients with imminent departures, as well as clients who are already on holiday, so you are never alone.
Added Value
As part of Hays Travel, I have hundreds of suppliers, partnerships, and affiliations that allow me to offer exclusive deals, upgrades, or discounts that clients can’t find elsewhere. Every holiday booking benefits from added value of some kind. I also have strong relationships with airlines, hotels, tour operators, and other travel industry players, who are very willing to do their best for my clients.
Time-Saving
I can save my clients time by handling all the logistics, including booking flights, accommodations, activities, transportation, and a variety of holiday extras. I also do all of the reconfirmation of bookings, updates on any changes to travel legislation, and distribute travel documents.
Safety and Security
I am dedicated to ensuring my clients’ safety during their travels and security regarding their booking. To mitigate risks and provide peace of mind, I always check the current FCDO guidance for a destination before making a booking, and I keep a close eye on updates. When something goes wrong (e.g. natural disasters, political situations, etc), my clients in destination become my first priority, and I work alongside tour operators and other industry bodies to ensure their immediate safety and security.
I am also ABTA bonded, and flight-inclusive packages also benefit from ATOL protection, both of which give that additional peace of mind. As an appointed representative of Rush Insurance, I can also provide clients with a comprehensive travel insurance policy. In terms of data, I abide by GDPR, so your data is always stored securely and only shared with necessary organisations (e.g. the tour operator or airline).
Your holiday enquiry and booking are always treated in confidence, and surprise bookings can be arranged.
Flexible Payment Options
I offer flexible payment plans to make it easier for clients to afford their dream holidays. Direct Debit options help to spread the cost, with an extended balance due date to help with budgeting, and automatic debits to make life easy.
Customer Reviews and Testimonials
My website and social media pages highlight a range of positive feedback and testimonials from previous clients, showing my credibility. You can see some of them on the testimonials page. My clients trust me with their most expensive annual purchases, and you can too!
For a free, no-obligation quotation, please call me. If a call isn’t convenient, please contact me via any of the methods on this link.