Page 9 - AAA Now! – AAA Akron Auto Club – Spring 2020

TRAVEL
TRAVEL MATTERS
AAA Akron Escorted Tours Continues To Grow
Eric Wertz
As Escorted Tours Manager,
I would personally like to thank everyone who has traveled with me to destinations worldwide over the past 18 years. At AAA Akron, your support of our escorted tours program is vital and much appreciated.
I have been privileged to manage the escorted tours program over the past 10 years and am pleased it has grown substantially to more than 1,500 travelers each year, many of whom take multiple tours annually. On average, 30 escorted tours are offered per year to domestic as well as international destinations. While many of our escorted tours are motorcoach tours that do not require air travel, several group cruises are planned each year, with some involving air travel to the cruise ship and one always offered as a “no-fly” cruise, which is still our most popular option.
Many of our escorted tours are custom designed to ensure our AAA Akron groups experience the best that a given destination has to offer. Whenever I get the chance between my group touring schedules, I enjoy scouting out new destinations and venues to visit. I especially enjoy hearing from travelers that have new ideas for an escorted tour.
AAA Akron is committed to offering you unique escorted tours with the highest quality of service and excellent accommodations, all at a competitive price. This has been a prescription for success over the years and my mantra has always been to focus on quality, not quantity, of tours. Over the past seven years, 213 escorted tours have departed and I have been on every one of them. AAA Akron has not canceled any planned escorted tour over that time, which is one factor in this program’s growing success, in terms of the number of trips offered and our increasing number of travelers.
Our escorted tours sell out 80% of the time and
it was so gratifying to see so many travelers at the recent AAA Travel Expo on Feb. 29. The AAA Travel Expo always provides an excellent opportunity
to showcase all of the AAA Akron escorted tours planned and allows everyone the chance to sign up for tours that have not already sold out.
For those who were not able to attend the AAA Travel Expo this year, there are three easy ways
to keep apprised of all the escorted tours being offered. Everyone is always welcome to stop in one of our AAA offices – in Akron, Fairlawn or Hudson – to pick up detailed itineraries on our escorted tours as well as a summary of all of our escorted tours. You also can call me at 330-762-0631 and request information on our escorted tours to be mailed to you. A third option is to visit AAA.com/grouptours.
SPRING 2020
From there, you will be able to see all of the escorted tours and detailed itineraries presently being offered.
I do regularly update a mailing database for AAA Akron escorted tours as well as an email database, so if you do not currently receive an annual mailer about all of our escorted tours, or emails throughout the year on new escorted tour offerings, please contact me by either calling or emailing me directly at ewertz@akron.aaa.com.
There are many benefits to traveling on an escorted tour with other people from the same region. It is a great way to meet new people and make new travel friends. It also is the epitome
of stress-free travel as I take care of all the travel arrangements while out on tour and our hand- picked bus drivers take us to our destinations safely in clean, fully equipped deluxe motorcoaches with a restroom on board.
I grew up in a family that loved to travel and I began my travel journeys many years ago at the age of 8 traveling to England. I have been very fortunate since that time to go to many more destinations and visit the seven continents by age 30 and have toured in 75 foreign countries.
I have visited 49 of the 50 states and am only missing Idaho, so there’s an idea for a future tour destination!
I am frequently asked what my favorite travel destinations have been over the years. I have especially enjoyed visiting America’s National Parks, leading escorted tour groups and going on safaris in Africa with my family.
I also am asked what I consider to be the most exotic destination I have ever visited. My reply has always been Antarctica, a place I love to visit, and was just there a third time on Dec. 12-22, 2019, visiting emperor penguin colonies, a research station and the South Pole!
All of these travel experiences have greatly helped me to manage and plan an annual escorted tours program for AAA Akron, which offers our travelers memories that will last a lifetime.
If you have never experienced an escorted tour offered by AAA Akron, I encourage you to consider taking one and seeing for yourself that, “it’s not just another tour, it’s an adventure!”
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