t was a red letter day in Edmonton, Alta., last week as Direct Travel advisor Sue Pechtel was celebrated at a get together of some 90 friends, suppliers, clients and relatives at an evening at the Royal Glenora Club. The occasion was her 50th anniversary in the travel industry, and it was an evening of congratulations and reminiscences.
Pechtel was born in Victoria, where she started her career at Blaney’s Travel in 1974. Two years later she moved to Edmonton, where she would later meet and marry travel industry colleague Bill Pechtel of Globetrotter Travel. Today she recalls days of early, clunky computers (“Resevec!”), hand-writing tickets, stamping brochures, and a lot of paperwork. The Pechtels eventually sold their agency to Vision Travel, which is today part of the North America-wide Direct Travel.
“I still sell a lot of everything – even some corporate travel – but I really enjoy selling cruises,” she says. “Bill and I have had some wonderful trips: Peru, South Africa, the Mekong, Australia and Dubai all come to mind. And we’ve escorted about 40 cruise groups, including acting as hosts on some Virtuoso departures.”
Are retirement plans in Pechtel’s future? Not yet. “You could say I work seven days a week – but I love it,” she enthuses. The couple’s favourite hobby is enjoying fine food and wine, yet another reason to enjoy cruising. Plus, as she adds with a laugh, “My clients won’t let me retire!”
