What Makes Travel Counsellors Different? Our People

Here at Travel Counsellors, we have such a fantastic mix of people from different backgrounds – every member of our family shares the same DNA, but have their own unique qualities.  We’ve asked a handful of our Dubai-based Travel Counsellors to share their story with you…

Naeem Patelia 

 

Naeem’s love of travel began in his home town of South Africa, a beautiful country with unspoilt coastlines, stunning landscapes and awesome nature reserves. Over the years he has explored the world, from Columbia to Lesotho, from Bangladesh to Belgium, and from Yemen to Bahrain, cementing his lifelong passion for travel. Prior to joining the company, Naeem was a full-time stay at home father.  Not wanting to completely give up his family time at home, Naeem decided to become a home-based Travel Counsellor where he could get the best of both worlds – continuing to be a dedicated father AND running a successful business. Since beginning as a Travel Counsellor in 2014, Naeem has gone from strength to strength, and recently achieved the highly acclaimed CrescentRating Accreditation. CrescentRating is the world’s leading authority on Halal travel, and this status puts the leading, independent travel company firmly on the Muslim travel map.   
 

Naeem’s extensive travel experience enables him to provide Muslim travellers with reliable and sound advice on many faith-based aspects of travel, such as the availability of Halal food and prayer facilities whilst exploring the world. Naeem said: “I am proud to be CrescentRating Accredited. I’ve worked extremely hard over my years as a Travel Counsellor to build personal relationships with my customers so I can offer an exceptional, bespoke travel service, keeping Islamic requirements and values at the forefront. That’s why my customers come back to me time and time again, for both faith based and non-faith based travel”.
 

Naeem has a very mixed customer based and his expertise extends beyond Muslim travel, with the majority of his business coming from leisure travellers looking for everything from family beach getaways to romantic city breaks.

 

Anne-Marie Doumet 

 

Anne-Marie is living her dream. Kayaking in Halong Bay, quad biking in the Cambodian countryside, driving Tuscany for a dinner at a Michelin star village restaurant, climbing Adam’s Peak in Sri Lanka, boating around Capri, getting stuck in Beijing traffic, biking Ho Chi Minh, Vienna and Amsterdam, segwaying in Lisbon, savouring Parisian macaroons at Laduree, trying Asian food from street stalls in Bangkok to its fancy Sirocco restaurant (yes the one in The Hangover 2!), celebrating mom’s birthday at the Moulin Rouge, attending a film premiere at the Istanbul Film Festival, getting a palm reading at the Mekong Delta. These are just a handful of the experiences she has been fortunate to have over the last few years. And after over 10 years working for hotels, Anne-Marie made the decision to make her passion for travel planning, her full-time job!
 

Anne-Marie said: “Steve Jobs once said “You’ve got to find what you love” and I finally did when I joined Travel Counsellors! This is a unique concept in travel planning, one I am extremely excited to be part of. It takes the stress, hassle and worry out of researching your options so customers can just sit back, relax and enjoy the itinerary I’ve put together for them. I have access to cutting edge software with the Phenix system - using this enables me to provide my customers with completely bespoke packages at competitive prices, whilst allowing me to act as a tour operator, without having to give away commission to third parties. It’s win, win for me and my happy customers”

SEE ALSO: Who are Travel Counsellors and what do they do?

Andrea Bailey 

 

Based in Mankhool Bur Dubai, busy mum of three young children Andrea joined Travel Counsellors through the Academy programme back in 2013. This world-leading training programme was a fantastic way for Andrea to learn all about selling holidays in the travel industry.
 

Andrea’s passion for travel began in India and grew with her move to Dubai in 2002. Her love of travel and writing saw her become a sought after professional travel journalist working with Gulf News, Khaleej Times and more recently for The Ticket on Dubai Eye 103.8FM. She has swum with whale sharks, trekked up to Pulpit’s Rock in Norway, cruised the Baltic Sea, gone on safari, snorkelled in the Indian Ocean, spent time in the frosty Christmas Markets of Germany, visited the Polish war camps of Auschwitz and travelled Switzerland by train, to name a few of her travel experiences. She took the step forward to be a part of Travel Counsellors in Dubai because it offered her business ownership and flexibility. She was then able to service her clients’ travel requirements with the help of the company’s strong support system and network.
 

“As someone who has travelled to over 43 countries, my clients value my expertise and first-hand knowledge. They keep coming back to me as I strive to maintain excellence in my service levels. Travel Counsellors has been a blessing giving me the freedom to own my business and I love that no two days are ever the same!”