TORONTO — Time is a gift, and when people come to that realization, many opt to devote as much time as they can to travel.

For award-winning travel advisor Lois Barbour, the ‘aha’ moment happened on an early family trip.

“It was travel with my family that drew me to the travel industry. I remember taking our first family trip when our first child was just two years old. I can still recall the feeling of being ‘present’ on a playground in New Jersey, together with just my husband and my daughter, and enjoying the time immensely. I remember thinking in that moment that this was an experience we needed to have more often as a family,” says Barbour.

Team FAM to Barbados 2023

“With all the daily tasks set aside, away from our normal environments and work responsibilities, we were just focused on each other. We continued to do family travel over the years, and one of the most memorable is probably our family trip to Peru, where we got to stand and see the wonders at Machu Picchu on New Year’s Day, 2018.”

Barbour’s 20+ years in nursing had her looking for a change of pace. “My motivation was brought on by the small amount of travel I had been able to do, and my desire to do more!” she tells Travelweek. All through 2023 Travelweek is featuring interviews with travel industry professionals, as part of Travelweek’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

In 2005 Barbour landed in travel. “The opportunity came along to get the support and training needed to enter the travel industry under the host agency Travel Professionals International [now Trevello]. That was a great decision, and I have never looked back! They provided just what was needed to enable me to succeed and grow my business year after year.”

Just two years later, with her St. John’s, NL-based Travel Time travel agency well up and running, Barbour took a trip that would change the trajectory of her travel industry career.

Team FAM to Saint Lucia 2018

“In 2007, just two years into my travel career, I had the opportunity to experience a Sandals Resort stay. Everything about it was ideal for us, and I came away from that trip with the desire to help other couples create those sorts of experiences as well. The rest, as they say, is history! Sandals Resorts has proven time and time again to be an amazing partner, and myself and my team feel valued and appreciated for the work we do, and by the number of repeat Sandals and Beaches clients we have built over the years, they think so too!”

Barbour’s agency is a perennial winner at the annual Sandals Travel Agency Recognition (S.T.A.R.) Awards. She’s also a member of the Chairman’s Circle, and the exclusive Chairman’s Royal Club, an honour reserved for top performing agents selling Sandals and Beaches Resorts.

Looking back on almost two decades in the travel industry, Barbour says some of Travel Time’s best FAM trips were private FAM experiences with Sandals Resorts, to destinations including Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Antigua. “The value of the knowledge gained was able to help us soar to even greater heights to promote the products and destinations we believe in. There is so much more achieved when it is tailor made for us and our business model and interests, so they are well worth the time, as well as great team building opportunities,” says Barbour.

Speaking of great teams, Barbour had a chance to find out just how wonderful her team is, during a very challenging time. In summer 2022, Barbour was called away to South America where her 27-year old son was in an ICU after having suffered a stroke. “Our travel agency’s team members stepped up and handled all of the business that was on the books, and we never missed a beat for the 10 weeks that I needed to be away. That isn’t a trial anyone wishes to go through, but having been through it, I am even more convinced of the value that our entire team brings to our agency,” said Barbour.

She adds: “The amazing team members that make up Travel Time Agency deserve full credit for our success over the years. 2023 is proving to be a banner year for us. Part of this is the so-called ‘revenge travel’ which has come from the pent-up demand where people are making travel a priority, to take some of the big trips on their bucket list. Still, I firmly believe that our amazing team has done all the right things for growing our business, including putting emphasis on continuing education of the many wonderful travel experiences available, and we are reaping the fruits of that effort by creating amazing itineraries for each and every client. Travel continues to hold appeal, both for our personal experiences as well as those we are able to create for our clients.”

Want to take part in Travelweek’s 50th anniversary celebrations with your own industry memories? Email kfolliott@travelweek.ca  or cindys@travelweek.ca. Images are welcome! Plus, try your luck with our contest, ‘It Happened This Week’, featuring a new headline (and a new chance to win!) every week from Travelweek’s 50 years of travel industry news coverage.