Working at MyTaiwanTour for more than four years, our business development manager Fion doesn’t work directly with customers who come to Taiwan, but her job still revolves around the most important element of the travel industry: people.
One of Fion’s missions is to develop the business of MyAsiaTour, our new brand that aims to expand the travels of our customers beyond Taiwan. This job involves endless contact and communicating with providers and agents. It might not look like her job has anything to do with individual travelers who need custom tours, but just like her previous task of developing cooperation with hotels and private companies in Taiwan, they are both based on a simple but indispensable foundation – our customers’ needs.
Every year, Fion has to go on at least three trips on behalf of MyTaiwanTour to join international travel fares or trade shows all over the world. By answering countless (and weird) questions about Taiwan from people from different countries, Fion feels her understanding of Taiwan and passion for this job has grown year by year. “Everytime I finished a presentation or answered a question, I could feel people have a further understanding of my homeland, and that just makes me feel like… MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!” she says with a big satisfying laugh.
On the other hand, Fion still finds it challenging when trying to make Taiwan a popular travel destination. The main reason comes from the unfamiliarity people have toward Taiwan. Travelers still have the wrong impressions or ideas about what Taiwan can offer. For example, many guests think this “island” country has beaches like Hawaii does, or think they can do a round-island tour within two~three days, not knowing about the numerous mountain ranges in the middle. Sometimes people’s innocent questions or requests can be quite frustrated to Fion. To be motivated again, she likes to talk to guests who have been to Taiwan and find out their favorite part of the trip. Most of the time, those parts are the best selling points to introduce to first-time visitors to Taiwan and of course, a great reason for Fion to continue her journey of promoting Taiwan.
When it comes to suggestions for those who want to join the travel industry, Fion thinks being passionate and thoughtful are the two very important characteristics. There are too many “accidents” that might happen during a trip. From flight delays to planning a birthday surprise, all the details should be carefully taken care of just to ensure she creates a memory that lasts a lifetime. “There’s a joke in travel agents’ circles,” Fion says. “We always say we need to prepare ourselves for two things: heart attacks and diarrhea!”. Furthermore, you have to love traveling as well. The reason is simple: only when you’re a traveler, will you know what a traveler needs.
Starting her tourism career from being a tour guide to now being a business development manager, Fion finds her calling as a travel agent is very similar to MyTaiwanTour’s. To her, what makes MyTaiwanTour different from the rest is the concentration on travel itself and the profound memories we create for our guests. She knows each customer is unique and special, which is why each tour should be planned according to their needs. From the travel consultant to the tour guide, travel should not be just going to a place anymore, it’s about creating memories. That is what Fion values most and so does MyTaiwanTour.
