How to eat an elephant.... One bite at a time

I was at a fundraiser with some people I had not seen for a very long time. As always, the discussion came around to travel. One friend said to me, "I am not ready for any of those bus trips yet." I just smiled and dug deep inside of myself for patience. Yes, I said, yet I know you are ready for river cruises. Judy said, "Oh, absolutely ! You're not offering river cruises, are you?" Oh yes, Mayflower exclusively charters our own river cruise vessels and has been for the past five years. Needless to say, Judy is now my newest and "bestest" friend for travel. She did throughout the rest of the evening seek out other people within the room to tell them the 'update' on Mayflower Tours.

Mayflower Tours is celebrating its 35-year anniversary and oh how things have evolved. Funny thing is that when we started we began with five domestic air tours. New England, California, Canadian Rockies, Washington DC and Williamsburg and Florida. Other North American destinations were added as the years passed, along with international destinations all over the world.

When you are first generation and beginning a company, you are looking for anything that keeps the business alive. Innovation was the name of the game! One of our early big sellers was the Blackjack Express to North Dakota. Gaming was just approved in the Midwest in the 1980s and we hopped on board with about ten coaches. Gambling on riverboats in Iowa proved to be a big winner and we did over a million dollars in tour business on a two-day riverboat tour.

Over those early years, we benefited by running tours to see the Pope, capitalizing on Branson, Missouri, and always the beloved Mystery Tour. Can you believe, our travelers went out on tour where they did not know where they were going?

So is it any wonder that my friend Judy thought of us as just running 'bus' tours? Oh how I wanted to blurt out...Mayflower Tours offers Deluxe Escorted Holidays. We specialize in Life Enriching Experiences! We deliver the dream vacation. Please, please look again.

How to eat an elephant? One bite or one Judy at a time.