Deborah

Back to school….. Who will be in the class, how old would they be, am I not too old for it, what are the backgrounds…. It was quite exciting but oh so relieving to discover that I ended up in a group with like-minded people…. People who each have their own reasons for making a career switch and choosing a profession they really like and want to follow their hearts. And no with my almost 50 years…. I certainly wasn’t the oldest! For myself, this is where all my work experience came together, social skills, psychology, group dynamics, organisational skills, creativity and, of course, a great sense of adventure. What interesting items, and the role-plays caused mostly hilarious learning situations in which you also have to face yourself, you learn to give and certainly also receive constructive feedback and not to forget to reassure ‘Mr Pietersen’ to enjoy a relaxing holiday… after all, you are the ‘manager of expectations’. It was a very instructive learning experience in many ways and almost a shame it was already over, of course we were the most fun group! In this class, I made friendships for life.

Via IVOR, we went to the holiday trade day with a large delegation, which was enormously useful for networking and making contacts. On that day, for instance, I already had a very good click with a tour operator and an invitation in my pocket. Also, an urgent vacancy from the IVOR network suddenly came up via Facebook. To my great joy, I immediately got a supervisor of my exam on the phone, a feast of recognition, and within a week I had left for Italy! What an adventure that was!!! …… and yes ‘Mrs Pietersen’ was there from the very beginning! The familiar diving, jumping and swimming, but in a warm bath, what a support and fine colleagues who helped me so much in my initiation process.

With my ANVR Tour Manager ID still fresh off the press, I am lucky to already have 2 tour operators who have the confidence in me to be represented by me and I thank IVOR for helping me spread my wings.

Deborah Vogel

IVOR comment: Deborah is ANVR certified tour manager