Meet Dewi Aldrich

 

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dewi Aldrich. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dewi , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

My dad was a mechanical engineer and project manager for ExxonMobil, so while I was a child, we moved around a lot and lived in different countries and various states in America. I was born in Indonesia. My mom is a native Indonesian and met my dad, who was a Caucasian Bostonian, on the job, in Indonesia. We then spent a year in Tokyo, Japan while dad worked in Yokohama before we moved to the States. We lived in NJ, PA, and Houston, TX, before settling in Southern California. Then during the summers, we would visit my relatives in Indonesia and vacation in Thailand and Singapore. So I guess you can say I caught the “travel bug” early.

But it wasn’t until the Spring of 2009 when I flew to Panama City, Panama to study spanish at a local school and lived with a host family that I absolutely fell in love with travel, came back feeling empowered, and wanted to do something in tourism.

Dad had always told me to find my passion and make that my career. He said I’d be happy working in something I was ecstatic about, and he was right.

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Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m an Asian, female-owned, small business that runs small group tours throughout the United States and now Canada and Mexico. I’ve been in tourism managing trips for other tour companies since 2012, but have been running my own travel company since the beginning of 2018.

What sets my business apart from other travel companies is that my tours are all small groups, meaning no more than 20 guests on any given tour. This allows for a more personalized, more intimate group touring experience. Nobody is crammed into a 56-passenger tour bus where all seats are occupied.

People underestimate the time it takes to get so many people on and off the bus at every scheduled, and even unforeseen tour stop. I like to keep my group sizes small, so that my travelers can become better acquainted with one another and feel like they’re heard and seen by the tour director, which is also me. It feels like a family traveling together.

What else is unique is that I take my groups to many ‘hidden gems,’ or lesser-known destinations that deserve to be discovered and visited. The beauty of my tour company is not only do I get to plan the trips from scratch, but I also get to personally lead the tours themselves and meet every individual traveler. The guests’ comfort, safety, joy and satisfaction from each of the trips I organize, are extremely important to me. I want the travelers to see and learn as much as possible, and be so happy, that they return again and again on other tours I offer.

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If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Time-management & organizational skills are key in this business. You’re at the helm of every tour and people look to you to guide them on a trip of a lifetime. The itineraries I plan must geographically make sense and be logistically sound. You can’t pack too much in one day, but whatever you do plan for each day’s activities should be historically or culturally significant to the areas we travel. You want your travelers to gain an understanding of where they’ve been, where they are, and where they’re going. And you must be mindful of the time in order to keep everyone moving and arriving places on time.

Patience, diplomacy, and the ability to adapt quickly are also equally important as you deal with multiple personalities on tour. Not everyone will agree or even like some of the places you tour. Some people may even complain or may want to opt out of certain activities. That’s their prerogative.

Also sometimes things don’t go according to plan on tour. That’s life in general. Buses break down. A vendor has lost your reservation. The seating arrangement at a restaurant is off, or your private room was double booked. Sometimes the hotel ends up giving one bed to guests that require two beds, etc. Things happen. It’s essential to stay patient and positive, be solution-oriented, and adapt to changes quickly and effectively.

The moment you lose your cool is the moment both vendors and your guests lose confidence in you, and your credibility is shot. You must always step up to the plate and do the best you can with the cards you’re dealt.

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How would you describe your ideal client?

An ideal client or tour guest would be someone who is open-minded with an adventurous spirit, and by that, I mean someone who is willing to travel to new territory, learn something new that may challenge their thinking or pre-conceived notions, enjoy meeting new faces and engaging in conversation with people from different backgrounds, and sampling foods they may not have had before. I’m personally a foodie myself and believe food is one of THE highlights of travel and a window into another culture. It’s exciting and fun, and all of these things combined, can be very eye-opening and humbling.

Contact Info:

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