The best part of being in the Tourism industry for many years is the people I meet. Our industry has an endless list of talented, hardworking, fun-loving and creative professionals. I interview my friends because I want to give you a peek into their lives and careers. This week we hear from Dutch tour operators José Kraan and Wolfgang Hendrix. We met many years ago and became friends; they even came to my home for a July 4th cookout one year! Their boys learned how to make s’mores over the fire and our kids enjoyed learning some Dutch words. Feel free to ask questions in the comments section, and I will follow-up with them to get answers for all of us.
Tell us a bit about how you got started in the tourism industry.
Wolfgang: I started in the tourism industry in 1980. For the first years couple of years I worked for a travel agency and in 1983 at age 24, I started my own business as a travel agency and tour operator for Portugal and North America. For the last 15 years I’m also working as a tutor at the University for Travel and Tourism and as the manager of a cooperation of travel agencies.
José: I started working in tourism in 2004, doing some projects for Wolfgang and still working in the funeral business, my former career, but 3 years later I decided to change the ‘one ways’ into ‘returns’ and make a career in tourism.
What is your current job and what are your primary responsibilities?
Wolfgang: I am the owner of Wolf Consultancy and manage UStravel.nl/Canadatravel.nl and ZRN, a cooperation of Dutch travel agencies and also working as a tutor at the University for Travel and Tourism in the Netherlands.
José: I am working for UStravel.nl/Canadatravel.nl as product manager and at sales.
What are some of the changes you have seen since you began your career?
In 1980 I started with only a typewriter and 2 telephones, so completely offline and nowadays almost all communication is online, but basically the product hasn’t changed.
Your clients still need a flight and/or car rental and a hotel room.
Where first the client totally depended on you getting their information, today the client is very well informed, thanks to the transparency of the internet.
What tourism trends are you seeing that will impact your job and how you work in the next 2 years?
Websites like Booking.com and Expedia offer more and more a dynamic product, which makes it easier for clients to combine products and create their own itinerary. So for us it gets more and more important to convince clients that our knowledge and experience, combined with all of the dynamic product we have, still is something they can benefit of, without being more expensive than these websites. After all, it is still a people business and we make it our priority to give them great memories!
It’s vacation time – where do you go?
The USA of course!
What is your favorite app and tell us a bit about it.
Wolfgang: I like the news app’s, like USA Today, to keep up with what’s going on the world and especially in the USA.
José: I don’t have a favorite app, although I do like to read E-books!
What is your favorite tradeshow and why?
Wolfgang: My favorite tradeshow is the IPW, which I attended over 20 times. It is the place to meet with all of our suppliers and get lots of information very fast.
José: I like the IPW a lot, for the same reasons. It is also the only tradeshow we attend together, not only to be able to have more appointments and make the most of of it that way, but also because we always combine it with a litte FAM trip of our own.
But I also like to visit the smaller tradeshows, like Travel South for instance, because you meet a lot of suppliers whom you never see at the bigger shows like IPW and you really get a good feel of an area, as I always try to visit the area for a couple of days.
What advice do you have for someone just getting started in the tourism industry?
If you want to start your own business; make sure your website and especially your back office, is working in every way and be as close to the product as you can. And of course; just go for it, you will love it!