20th Year Anniversary

Howdy folks!

Today is our 20th Anniversary!!

Yup, 20 years ago we opened up our travel agency so I thought for this newsletter I would perhaps just enlighten you as to how we have evolved into the travel company we are today 🙂 So, saddle up, grab a bottle of your favourite vino, crank up the fireplace (It’s winter here in SA) and let me tell you a story about a little travel agency called Checkout Travel 🙂

Checkout Travel was started by myself in June 2003. At the time it was called Club Travel Fourways and was one of the first branded franchises to come out of the Club Travel consortium. I had cut my teeth in youth and student travel when Club Travel approached me to work for them. It was time for a change and under the proviso that I could open up my agency eventually, I moved over to Club Travel in 2002. I was 28 at the time, young and ambitious and thought opening up a travel agency should be easier enough  (HAHAHAH) and so began the beginning of this crazy adventure.

I chose a new shopping centre being built just outside of Dainfern called the Valley shopping centre and on the 1st June 2003, I opened our doors with my now lovely wife, Lorraine, but then a colleague who was mad enough to join me on this wild ride! As with all new businesses things were tough, lots of sleepless nights but then in walked a student named Holly! She had just finished her studies and although she was late for her interview (yes even to this day we have to wait for her at our weekly meetings 😉 she still outshone all other applicants, got the job and away we went! As most of you know, Holly is one of the hardest workers I know with a work ethic second to none so without further ado she quickly moved up the ranks from student to junior consultant, senior to office manager and eventually an equal partnership in the business in 2014! Tammy climbed on board the ship in 2015 and together we have travelled, explored and managed to navigate both world events such as the global financial crisis and most recently the devastatting effects of COVID as well as support each other through several personal challenges. Above all we have stuck together through thick and thin to become great friends and develop the rock-solid travel agency we are today!

We stand here stronger than ever, rejuvenated (living in the garden route), renovated (working remotely)  and ready for the next 20 years! It has been an incredible journey and I could never have done this without these two lovely ladies. In equal measure, we also could not have made this journey so far without YOU, our wonderful clients! A large number of you have been with us for the greater part of the last two decades and we are proud to say, in many cases, have become friends and part of our travel family.

We will continue to nurture these relationships for as long as you will let us so with that, thank you so much and here is to a bright future ahead of us! Tjing Tjing 🙂

Take care