Trafalgar takes best-selling travel author on four-city Canadian tour

Guided vacations company Trafalgar is hitting the road with travel author Patricia Schultz for the third year in a row. Schultz, author of the New York Times bestseller 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, is giving travel presentations in four Canadian cities. She will speak about her travels in Europe, sign books and meet attendees. There’s no hard sell at the events, but the idea is to inspire people to travel to Europe. Trafalgar, which caters to baby boomers, is promoting its new 2015 Europe & Britain program, which offers 117 itineraries. “In a press release, you cannot describe the depth and the diversity of the trips we offer, but with Patricia, she’s able to take people on a journey,” said Marie Anne MacRae, global VP, strategic partnerships at Toronto-based The Travel Corporation, which owns Trafalgar. “I think she comes off as very genuine and it’s so important to have those authentic conversations.” Schultz has already spoken in Winnipeg and Victoria, and will stop in Halifax on Nov. 4 and Ottawa on Nov. 5. The presentations, which take place in theatre-style settings, are free to the public. Attendees receive an exclusive offer from Trafalgar as well. “They walk away feeling inspired,” said MacRae. “It’s more aspirational… We have what we call aspirational travellers who haven’t decided where they want to go next and sometimes it’s just word of mouth storytelling that is so compelling for [them].” MacRae noted that Schultz has a very loyal fan audience and has sold six million copies of her book globally. She has two million Facebook fans and her 1,000 Places to See Before You Die app has more than 500,000 downloads. In each city, Trafalgar has a media event with Schultz, inviting media outlets, bloggers and travel industry partners. A media event was also held in Toronto.