Ahead By A Century

Very few tour operators can claim 100 years of experience. In fact, along with Cox & Kings and Thomas Cook, Collette, which is celebrating its centennial anniversary this year, is in pretty exclusive company, reports assistant editor, Ann Ruppenstein in this week’s Travel Courier cover story.

“After 100 years of perfecting the guided tour experience, I always say Collette is old enough to know better,” Ron Lonsdale, vice president of Canada at Collette, tells Travel Courier. “The company has really grown and evolved over the years. We’ve adapted change in the industry over the past 100 years.”

The Rhode Island-headquartered company has indeed come along way from its humble beginnings – the first ever Collette voyage was a jitney bus journey from Boston to Florida at a cost of $61.50 for the three-week adventure – to today, employing over 600 people worldwide, with over 174 tours in 58 countries across all seven continents.

“I think we’ve gone through a transformation of innovation, and have evolved in the tour guide space,” he says. “When we talk about touring, people want to do more sight doing as opposed to sight seeing. We’re finding that people want more of a quality tour, and much more inclusive.”

For the full story, check out this week’s digital edition of Travel Courier.