Group Tour Magazine - February 2023 - 11

SPO TLIGHT
DENISE HAY has spent the past
42 years building a tour business that
prioritizes and deeply understands travelers'
needs throughout every part of
the group-travel experience. President
and owner of Grand View Tour & Travel
based in Ocean View, Delaware, Hay
discusses her pivot into wellness travel
during the pandemic and how the company
prioritizes clients' needs across the
spectrum. She also shares her seasoned
advice to aspiring tour operators.
" My advice is to keep reinventing
yourself, even after you've been around
for 42 years, " Hay says.
CONSTANT
REINVENTION
Grand View Tour
& Travel caters to
travelers' needs
BY ERICA ZAZO
Q. Tell us about Grand
View Tour & Travel.
A. We're a Delaware-based, family-owned
small business that got its start back in 1980.
We specialize in group travel, and actually,
we began with student tours. From there,
we expanded into operating senior citizen
group tours, and eventually became a travel
agency back when you needed to have an
International Certificate of Competency
license to do so.
Q. What are some of your most
popular tours?
A. One of our most popular tours right
now is in Nashville, which includes attending
the CMA Awards. It's a really popular
tour, and we find our groups love going
to Nashville. Last year, we did a Nashville
country Christmas tour, which was a huge
hit. This year, everybody is really excited
about going back to Nashville, but this
time to see the CMAs.
Our Nashville tours have a lot of unique
touches. For example, we always include a
local songwriter to do a private night of performance
with the group. We always have
some great group meals, and we do a lot of
fun things, like going to Historic RCA Studio
B to record our own song. After, we'll head
to dinner followed by the Wildhorse Saloon
where guests get to hear their " big hit " that
they made at the studio.
We really keep it fun, and our tours are
most often geared toward active adults.
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit,
people have been itching to get out and go
explore-and we help them do just that.
6 FEBRUARY 2023
Q. What sets your company
apart from other tour
operators?
A. I think the tour business as a whole, especially
the smaller tour operators, really do
get to know their clients. A lot of our clients
become our friends through the years. We
have long-standing relationships with our
clients, which is something I am really happy
about and what sets Grand View Tour &
Travel apart for our returning travelers.
We also bring in a lot of technology on our
tours. We have our own customized app that
provides specific information for each trip
that our travelers take with us. We're noticing
that a lot of people want to be hands-free and
travel without paper and documents, which
we are able to accommodate thanks to the
technology we use. However, if people want
to have paper while they are traveling, we
can accommodate that, too.
Q. What's on the horizon for
Grand View Tour & Travel?
A. Blending wellness and travel is something
I've really started to focus on. I love
helping people improve their health and
wellness, so they can actually live their best
life and travel at their fullest potential. When
COVID-19 struck, I ended up becoming a
certified health coach in my spare time.
A lot of my clients decided to start working
with me through my newfound health
coaching business. While we were locked
down, I helped people prepare to travel
again when they were able to. I created a
Facebook page called " Travel Light " that
shares recipes, health tips, and travel-related
advice. My goal now is to continue to build a
health-focused business to help more people
achieve their health goals before they travel.
There have been so many times when
people who haven't even walked around
their own block try to go on a trip. When
they arrive for the tour and start traveling
with us, their legs are completely swollen,
they need ice (often when we're in a country
that doesn't have any ice available), and
they're in a bad place to continue experiencing
the destination that we're in.
I always tell my clients that now is the
time to get in shape. We can make it fun. And,
ultimately, I can help them age backward.
I help them literally reverse [age], so they
PHOTOS GRAND VIEW TOUR & TRAVEL
Group Tour Magazine - February 2023

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