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Anna Yasinskaya: I Can Offer A Good Holiday Option

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Anna Yasinskaya: I Can Offer A Good Holiday Option
ST. CONSTANTIN HOTEL, CRETE, GREECE

The tourist business in Belarus seems to be going through hard times, whereas the traveling industry in the neighboring Poland is at high ebb.

charter97.org correspondent took a vacation in Crete recently.

The two weeks he spent in the St. Constantin Hotel in a place named Gouves have probably become the best vacation ever of our journalist, who visited many countries before. This was the first time when all the promises made by the travel agency were fulfilled precisely: the rooms, the service, the food – everything was first-class. The heartedness of the Crete natives, the Greek cuisine, the cozy beaches and the clean sea contributed to this wonderful rest.



The journey was organized by the Warsaw agency “Travel Factory”, the charming hostess of which Anna Yasinskaya we are interviewing today.



– How long have you been in the tourist business and why did you decide taking it on? 



– I have been working in the travel industry for about ten years. As for this precise agency, which was opened over 8 years ago, I have been working here for the fourth year by now. I always enjoyed traveling, so when it came to the question which university to choose there were no other option for me so I started studying tourism. Then I went practicing to a tourist company and worked there for two years instead of the required one month. The company owners trusted me and allowed me to work in all the company’s departments to find out what I really wanted to do. 


I enjoy working with clients most of all. Of course, sometimes it may be hard, but nothing brings me more joy than a smiling client who returns after a good vacation to thank us and to tell about the wonderful time they had.  This inspires me and gives me strength to continue working. 


– In what areas does your agency work?



– We can organize a journey to almost any place of the world. The number of clients and tourist directions depend on the time of the year. In the season of vacations people often choose Greece, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, and Portugal. In winter, the most popular places are Egypt, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the Canary Islands. On the whole, however, the people’s interests are changing. If a person visited the neighboring countries, he tends to choose more distant places of the planet further on. 

– My friends used the services of your agency several times. I was very pleased myself: everything that your agency promised was even over-fulfilled. Do you have many permanent clients? 



– Of course. I can tell you this is what our agency stands on. There is a group of clients who return to us all the time and we just change the direction of their vacation once or twice a year. It is also easier for us to work with such clients, because in this case you know a person, understand what he or she needs and pick a corresponding route.  


Another plus of our agency is that I fly to different countries myself quite often and can offer a good rest option to my clients, based on my personal experience. 





ST. CONSTANTIN HOTEL, CRETE, GREECE

– Have the Poles started going abroad more often or more rarely recently?



– The situation looks like this: the clients who went abroad still do it. The biggest change that happens concerns the direction of the tourist journeys. I see this from my clients. However, using services of namely the travel agencies decreased a little, because the tourism itself changed. The youth, for example, like to travel independently. However, traveling with an agency remains more comfortable and more reliable, because the company provides the insurance policy and gives guarantees.


In general, the tourism sector is booming. Traveling becomes more accessible with each passing day. Previously, most people went on holiday once a year, but now some travel two or three times. 

– What about the directions with an unstable political situation?



– People started flying to Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt more rarely, but the interest still remains. Turkey used to be the most popular direction among tourists until last year, because it was possible to organize a high-quality trip for relatively small money. However, due to the events that happened the interest to Turkey reduced, but still, there are enough clients who continue flying to that country as they feel excellent there. 


The agency doesn’t send anyone to a vacation by force. Everyone decides which country to go to by themselves. 

– Has anything changed in the Polish legislation in the recent years? What are the conditions for managing a business? 



– On the whole, the conditions for managing a business have been unchanged for many years. However, when I just started working in the tourist business, which was about ten years ago, there were laws that prescribed one should have at least two years of working experience in this field or to have a university degree in tourism to open a travel agency. However, now it has become easier. 


Now everyone can open a travel agency on their own. There can be different consequences and effects as most people who want to open a travel agency have no experience in this sphere. They think it is very easy to open a firm if they like traveling themselves. They think this is some goldmine which would bring them huge profits. However, the sad reality comes next: no clients, not enough knowledge, the process of finalizing a holiday package may last for weeks or even months… And the clients are getting more and more demanding with each passing year. Coming across the problems, the touristic business newbies are forced to close their agencies. 


I had such experience in my career. I educated potential franchisees – the people who buy a license and open their agency under a well-known brand. I trained them under different systems, giving the necessary information to show how the business works. So what did we have in the end? Out of the ten trained people who opened their agencies in different parts of Poland, only one is still working today. This woman first got tourism-related specialty, worked through all the nuances and really understood what tourism was. The result of her studies was opening her own businesses. She realized her dream.


As for all the others, it happened the following way: the people thought, like, I have money, what shall I do with it? Or the parents gave their kids money to open a business. Some businesses survived for a year and some closed even sooner. The reality turned out to be harsh.


In general, as I said, every person who has a start-up capital can start their own business. And it's not just about tourism. The only question is how long and how well they will be able to manage this business. The main thing is to love what you do and to develop professionally. Then you will succeed.

– There is competition in every field. How does it happen in the tourism sector in Poland? What are the advantages of your particular company?



- There are clients who trust my opinion, because I travelled a lot and can recommend good options. It is hard to say why some people come back to us, and others do not. I think that everything depends solely on the individual needs of a person. With some clients we have the same vision and trust, while others are looking for something completely different.



I have a various experience. I can say that the customers' requirements are very different from each other. It's like with doctors. One person likes a doctor and he heals well, while the same doctor is not suitable for another person. In tourism, the situation is almost the same.



The main thing is that promises should be kept, then the clients will have trust, and they will return. That's how we are trying to work.

Contacts of  “Factory Travel” (please address in Polish or English):


+48 22 405 80 06


+48 510 130 408


biuro@travelfactory.pl


St. Constantin Hotel (Crete, Greece) (please address in English):


+30 28970 42753/4


+30 28970 42726


reservations@stconstantin.gr,


info@stconstantin.gr


www.stconstantin.gr

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