Arnie Weissmann
"For instance, do you know Arthur Tauck?"
I was meeting with Bob Sullivan after I had accepted my former position as editor in chief of Travel Weekly, and he began probing who I knew that was important within the travel industry.
Bob, now president and chief commercial officer of Travel Weekly parent Northstar Travel Group, was publisher of Travel Weekly at the time. His reflexive mention of Arthur as the most important industry figure he could think of gives some indication of the status Tauck held 25 years ago. When I answered in the affirmative, he didn't probe any further.
I had met Arthur and, in fact, a few of the Tauck children and employees during my time as CEO of Weissmann Travel Reports. Mind you, Tauck Tours, as the company was known at the time, had no commercial relationship with my company, but it was already clear to me that the culture shaped by Arthur Tauck Jr., who died Feb. 11 at age 94, was centered on human connections.
What had struck me about the Tauck family and staff was their focus on the person standing right in front of them, regardless of business potential. The company seemed to specialize in hiring people with high levels of curiosity and emotional intelligence.
Which also pretty much defined Arthur. I loved having him on industry panels that I moderated. While others were quick to respond to questions by showing off that they were up on the latest business fashions and trends, Arthur would listen to their answers and then give a response rich in common sense and a deep understanding of human nature.
Photo Credit: Tauck
A visionary and pioneer, Tauck was the driving force behind the tour operator's growth and expansion into a global powerhouse.
As a result, rather than following trends, he had a hand in creating them. The popularity of heli-skiing and heli-hiking can be traced to his involvement. He launched the company's first European river cruises in 1992, well before the segment exploded in popularity and became de rigueur for tour operations.
He was ahead of the pack in dropping "tours" from the company name when, in 2000, it was rebranded Tauck World Discovery. The name change not only reflected his promise to guests but, I have to believe, his own unflagging curiosity and wonder about life.
He was remarkably modest for a man who had accomplished much, and although initially few changes in the company occurred without his approval -- a process known as "Arthurization" -- he came to realize that this type of centralization would limit growth. He brought in board members from outside to improve governance and, in an exceedingly rare move for an entrepreneurial leader, resigned as CEO while enjoying broad success.
Arthur did stay on as chairman. His son-in-law Dan Mahar, who was CEO from 2008 to 2024, told me that Arthur had come to believe that to build a company that would last, it was critical to layer structure, process and the right people. As chairman, and later as chairman emeritus when Mahar moved from CEO to chair, Arthur remained involved, reading every guest comment card right up to the end.
Last week, on the day before Arthur passed, the annual Tauck Directors Summit was held in Dublin (guides are called "tour directors" in Tauck parlance). Mahar, knowing Arthur was weakening, went to visit him in Florida rather than attend that meeting. As they were talking, Mahar mentioned that, at that moment, 400 directors were drinking a toast to his health in the Guinness brewery.
Arthur smiled. "Can you get me a martini?" he asked. He wanted to drink a toast to them in return.
Tauck was a great storyteller and retained that quality until the very end. With his family gathered around him in Florida, he was asked to tell a story he had never before related. He thought for a moment and talked about a ski trip to eastern Bavaria in the 1950s. The room he was in had no heat and it was freezing cold. Unable to sleep, he finally went into the bathroom, pulled up the carpet and added it on top of the blankets on his bed. He awoke well-rested.
When one looks at a successful businessperson, one often can see how their success was defined by their business philosophy. Arthur's understanding, for instance, of the ingredients for structuring his company for the future certainly contributed to his lasting achievements.
But why did Bob Sullivan, in seeking the person who most personified influence and success in the travel industry, single out Arthur?
More than tech, manufacturing or even other services industries, travel is a people business, and Arthur's complex, human-oriented personality set him up for success. He read guest comment cards because he cared about his customers. He empowered tour directors, reservation agents and managers because he wanted them, too, to feel the satisfaction that comes from succeeding from one's own contributions.
The entire industry has benefited from the presence of Arthur Tauck. Tonight, it's our turn to drink a toast to him.