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Reality Check

Home Opinions Reality Check

Richard Turen is the managing director of the Churchill and Turen travel consultancy and has been named to Conde Nast Traveler’s List of the World’s Best Travel Consultants for the past 11 years. He has also been named one of the nation’s top “bespoke” travel planners by Travel+Leisure. Turen, a former cruise line executive, is a nationally recognized speaker, trainer and consultant specializing in the development of extraordinary service practices in the travel, restaurant and hospitality industries. He is the author of three books, including a compilation of his Travel Weekly “Reality Check” columns.

February 09, 2012
Smelling the world on behalf of our clients
I am an incomplete adviser: I have not advised clients how to smell when they travel. More»
January 26, 2012
Lessons from the Concordia
The Concordia incident raises questions that will haunt our industry a long time. More»
January 19, 2012
Avoid a mission of self-destruction
We should pause to consider lessons in the decline of the 'travel agent' in Britain. More»
January 12, 2012
Chinese cruising, North Korea-style
Western cruise execs aren't losing sleep over North Korea's new cruise ship for the China market. More»
December 27, 2011
Christmas for the 1%
The 1% are beginning to understand the true meaning of Christmas. More»
December 08, 2011
The silence of the travel lambs
The truth is that some travel agents are best characterized as lambs walking to their own vocational slaughter. More»
November 10, 2011
The endangered middleman
This is not our parents' playing field. "There's an app for that" is now the literal truth. More»
November 03, 2011
Pan Am flies yet again
'Pan Am' offers a reminder of the sexism that defined a 'stewardess' in the '60s. More»
October 20, 2011
Luxury reconnaissance
A recent agent event in Las Vegas opened my eyes to a host of luxury products. More»
October 06, 2011
Lost in cyberspace
I'm skeptical about the number of clients suppliers assume can be reached online. More»
September 15, 2011
The surprise at the Bellagio
The most critical agents, who eat bad hotels for breakfast, descend on the Bellagio. More»
September 08, 2011
Church steeples and seersucker
Against all odds and amid sweltering heat, Charleston managed to seduce me. More»
August 22, 2011
Warming to the city that beat San Francisco
My quest: to find out how Charleston, S.C., could replace S.F. as the second-best U.S. city. More»
August 11, 2011
Looking for love in all the wrong places
As I struggle to fill a staff position, I wonder if this is karma come home to roost. More»
July 27, 2011
Luddites need not apply
It's time we stopped fighting the Internet and technology and instead mastered them. More»
July 14, 2011
An uplifting chat with a client
I had to set a shrink straight on the pathology involved in being a travel agent. More»
June 30, 2011
I politely decline
Why you should just say no to rubbing elbows with rebaters. More»
June 08, 2011
Learning from the Apple Store
Agents can learn a lot from Apple about creating a compelling retail ambience. More»
May 26, 2011
Responsible tourism and the real world
Responsible tourism and the pursuit of bling. Are we ethically obliged to advise clients about how to travel ethically? More»
May 12, 2011
Standing up for personal service
There is something simple, elegant and important about meeting a customer face to face and rising to the occasion. More»

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2/28/2012
International Association for Travel to Africa introduction webinar
Online
3/1/2012
ASTA International Destination Expo
Lima, Peru
3/1/2012
National Plan a Vacation Week events
Online
3/1/2012
American Cruise Lines webinar on the Queen of the Mississippi
Online
4/3/2012
HSMAI's MEET Mid-America
Navy Pier, Chicago
4/15/2012
13th annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism (STC13)
Guyana International Conference Center, Georgetown, Guyana

4/15/2012
Mountain Travel Symposium
Squaw Valley, Calif.
5/1/2012
Meetings & Conventions/Successful Meetings event: Destination California
Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa, Monterey, Calif.
5/5/2012
Vacation.com's 2012 International Conference
Aboard the Oasis of the Seas
5/9/2012
TravelAge West webinar: Mexico Connection
Online
6/1/2012
Successful Meetings event: SMU Colorado
Brown Palace & Grand Hyatt Denver, Denver
6/6/2012
Thailand Travel Mart
Impact Muang Thong Thani Exhibition Center, Bangkok

6/17/2012
Travel Weekly CruiseWorld & Home Based Agent Show
Seattle
7/9/2012
Successful Meetings event: SMU Caribbean
Gran Melia Puerto Rico Golf Resort

Travel Weekly Poll

Voices

CruiseOne and Cruises Inc.: We'll pay customer deposits
'I was very surprised by the boldness of the action and then pleased with the scope. I hope it is a success to this company, because it is certainly a forward-looking step.'
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