Make Them All Trips of a Lifetime - be patient, listen and adapt

Make Them All Trips of a Lifetime is not only the organisers motto but their personal vow and how they aim to travel for the rest of their lives.
“A “trip of a lifetime” has many definitions, there is no one size fits all when it comes to luxury”.

The website www.makethemalltripsofalifetime.com features travel photography, travel experiences, travel blogs and creative shop items inspired by travels. The newest endeavour is a collection of short stories – 20 Travel Tales in 200 Words – True Experiences of Misadventure, Heart and Humour while Travelling the World. The aim is to share unique experiences, entertain and hopefully inspire others to explore the world.

Travelling has been a passion of the founders from the very start, but the first "trip of a lifetime" was their vacation to the Galapagos Islands. It being a milestone birthday, they pulled out all the stops, but upon return, they asked themselves why they couldn't make all future trips just as fantastic.

“It was that same Galapagos & Quito trip that sparked the idea of a travel blog. There is an abundance of information on the Galapagos Islands readily available online, but there was little to no information available on the specific cruise we chose on that trip. Nothing. I was able to find one itinerary online that linked to the boat, but it did not match what we actually experienced”.

Finding it shocking that in this digital age where everything can be accessed within seconds online, this crucial information was lacking. It was from this gap that Make Them All Trips of a Lifetime, the website and the motto, was first conceived.

Make Them All Trips of a Lifetime was made to feature travel photography and share their experiences while travelling the world.  They love planning trips and research extensively before booking. As a result, people often asked for information and advice.

“The website was a means to provide our recommendations to anyone who required it, plus feature more of our photography than we could on social media”.

Make Them All Trips of a Lifetime are based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and have been working during the lockdown. The founders work full-time in the Broadcast Television Industry, which has become even more important during the pandemic. In addition to working, they are prepping the release of a book (20 Travel Tales in 200 Words) and continue to work through the back catalogue of travel experiences and photos from previous trips. 

“Weather permitting, we spend as much of our free time outdoors as possible, soaking up nature on our doorstep”.

With the lockdown and subsequent impact on travel and tourism, they were forced to postpone their upcoming trip to Africa.

“We had been extensively planning a three-week safari across Kenya and Tanzania to celebrate a milestone birthday in June, but were forced to push the trip to (hopefully) 2021”.

Flights were cancelled and now need to be rebooked for a later date and so they are waiting to get a better picture of how the industry will be impacted long term. 

“Personally we thrive on planning for future trips and living in the bubble of uncertainty is difficult for us, but we know that sooner or later travel will return”.

Make Them All Trips of a Lifetime believe that we will be seeing the impact of COVID-19 on the travel and tourism industry for years to come.  The focus on disease has created a spotlight on cleanliness and health, which will undoubtedly translate into assurances from accommodations and tour companies that they are “safe” to entice people to return. 

“Though some will jump at the opportunity to travel again, it will take time for others, depending on their personal situations and feelings”.

Their thoughts are that those that are able and willing to fly will likely opt for insurance if they did not before and that there will be a large resurgence of exploring locations closer to home, especially by car.

“Just as with the food industry, the companies that were unable to survive the lockdown will be forced to close, and those that did survive will need to offset the financial loss by increasing prices (in some form), and/or cut costs by offering less options”.

The best advice they could give to others in the travel industry is to be patient, listen and adapt. “The global pandemic will force change and many companies will attempt to quickly react, desperate to attract people back.  The truth is, things will likely never go back to the way they were”. 

The only way they feel to move forward is to listen to what is needed/wanted and adapt as best you can to the changing times, as many times as required.

After the stress of the global pandemic subsides, Make Them All Trips of a Lifetime think that people will be looking for rest and relaxation with a beautiful view, exactly what Koh Phangan has to offer however they are yet to visit our island. Their top destination for when we can travel again is Costa Rica, “mainly because we consider it to be a second home and it is familiar and easy to travel to from our location”.