When the travel industry suddenly shut down in March, local Travel Counsellor Leia Morales decided to pivot her usual business of long haul travel – and start promoting Ruddington as a travel destination instead! Her blog, Travel a Little Closer to Home, talks about all the thigs there are to see and do in our village (when we’re not in lockdown).
Amongst other highlights, Leia’s blog talks about the historic Rourke’s Drift graves at Shaw Street Cemetery, our monthly Village Market, museums, heritage railway and the attractions of Rushcliffe Country Park. And, of course, the virtues of our many pubs, cafes and restaurants get a mention, too!
Explains Leia: “When things went quiet at work, I decided to write some blogs about some of the places I’ve lived in the UK. As I’ve been speaking with some of the Ruddington traders, I decided to start with launching Ruddington as a tourist destination, challenging the South West, Lake District and Peak District! My plan is that I will write about Ruddington whilst other Travel Counsellors will write about their villages, towns or cities, and we will share each other’s blogs.”
Leia is also running a series of online seminars to both share her knowledge of overseas destinations and advise travellers what they can expect when they next go abroad.
Leia says: “I hosted a webinar on Japan in June and it went really well. The next one will be on the 7th July and is aimed at families looking to visit Orlando. The experience at the parks will be very different in the next 12 months, so I’ll be talking a bit about this as well as my top tips for an Orlando holiday. I haven’t planned the one after this yet, but I’ll be running them every 3 to 4 weeks and will announce on my social media page: https://www.facebook.com/LeiaMorales.TravelCounsellor/.”
Going on holiday during and after the pandemic is going to look and feel very different, even when air bridges are officially announced. Many people will be looking for reassurance about the experience they will have, and will have concerns about the safety of themselves and their money if they do book. These are things that Leia can discuss on a case by case basis with clients, so they feel confident and can make informed choices.
If you’d like to take part in one of Leia’s webinars or are looking for long haul travel advice, please contact her via Facebook or email leia.morales@travelcounsellors.com.