Rediscovering Our World
As the world opened their borders, our operations team went into overdrive to open our tours for travel again, whenever and wherever possible. By the end of this year, we will have operated over 900 departures across more than 80 different tour and cruise itineraries on four continents. Our river fleet is operating on the Douro, Seine, Rhône, Rhine and Danube rivers. Our small ship programs have explored Iceland, Greece, the Galápagos, the Mediterranean and the Dalmatian Coast. After all was said and done, our amazing guests who put their trust in us confirmed that our return to travel was a resounding success.
What was it like to restart after the world had virtually shut down? We asked our VP of Operations, Joanne Gardner, for her take on what it took for Tauck to get back out on the road again.
“Restarting tours after no operations for over a year and during a global pandemic, and navigating staffing and supply shortages was not an easy feat. As we began operations in earnest, the one common sentiment I would hear from our guests, our Tauck Directors and our supplier partners over and over again was that they all felt like pioneers. Isn’t that appropriate! Guests commented that they were on their first trip in over two years, our Tauck Directors had to brush up on their commentary and many of our partners had shuttered their doors and were re-opening and welcoming guests for the first time in months. We were all starting over in a new world where all the rules had changed.
It wasn’t easy but I’m so glad we did because we learned from it and will be that much better positioned for operations in 2022. During all this chaos, we were reminded from the great guest feedback we received, of the importance of what we do. That travel is a human need and that need for connection is fostered through meeting and being with other people and through those travel experiences that we create. We all felt that pioneering spirit and appreciated all those moments of joy that we experience on tour, and that now, more than ever, it is those moments that matter most.”
Tauck 2021 Rewind
Like our guests, we couldn’t wait to get out in the world once again as travel restrictions slowly began to lift. Join us on a virtual journey as we prepared to restart our trips and rediscover some of our favorite places as they re-opened for travel in 2021. Watch the video below!
