Naomi Jansen, a former student of International Tourism Management at Tio Rotterdam recently set up a travel company with her father: Christoffel Travel. Travelling really runs through the veins of this entrepreneurial duo. Christoffel Travel offers trips to undiscovered gems in northern and eastern European countries. Her studies were an enormous help in taking this step. Read about her company and time at Tio here.
Entrepreneuring in Tourism
‘I never thought I would do business in the travel industry, but Tio inspired me to do it! I recently founded Christoffel Travel with my father. It’s a travel company that offers trips to undiscovered gems in Europe. We both love travelling and discovering unique destinations around the world together. That’s why our slogan is Knowing the best local secrets. Christoffel Travel aims to stand out by offering trips with a dash of unique local flair. We have developed unique tours that you can only find at Christoffel Travel in collaboration with our local partners.
Wide range of knowledge
Starting your own business involves a lot of different things and you have to have a wide range of general knowledge about business (business plan and strategy), marketing, tourism, social media, and finance. I learned a lot about this during my studies and this came in very handy when starting my own travel organisation.
Learning by doing
At Tio you really get to apply theory in practice. That’s what led me to set up several pretend travel agencies during my studies. I was really excited by potential of these projects, and I always felt it was a shame that they weren’t real companies. Once I even received a job application through one of these projects. It was amazing!
Ready for adventure
Our initial plan is to grow the brand awareness of Christoffel Travel and provide as many customers as possible with an unforgettable and beautiful experience. We only offer destinations in eastern and northern Europe at the moment. But we plan to extend our list of destinations over the next few years. We can’t wait!’