Gavin Tollman

International travel expert Gavin B. Tollman is the chief executive officer at Trafalgar Tours, a well-established travel company that first opened its doors in 1947. Working to "rediscover the romance of travel", the company has become a popular choice for tourists seeking economical yet exciting travel adventures. Gavin Tollman also holds the position of chairman of the South African branch of the popular international touring and leisure firm, The Travel Corporation. Through his careful and diligent guidance, TTC SA continues to work towards developing an increased interest in travel to South Africa.

 

Long History in the Travel Profession

 

Gavin Tollman's history in the travel and leisure business goes all the way back to his childhood. He was born in 1963 into a family of travel associates and became familiar with the ins and outs of the professional tourism industry. He left his native South Africa to study at The American University where he was granted a degree in finance. He currently makes his home in Geneva, Switzerland but looks for business opportunities to introduce the beauties of South Africa to the rest of the world.

 

Gavin Tollman's professional work began at Buckhead Hotel Management Company in 1987. By the time he left in 1996, he held the position of executive vice president, making him responsible for all of the company’s operations. In addition, he took on the task of coordinating debt restructuring and third party ownership deals for hotels that were experiencing financial difficulties.

 

Trafalgar Tours USA hired Gavin Tollman as president in 1997 and during his five years at the company, Trafalgar USA became the largest operator of European tours in the nation. As his reputation in the travel industry grew, he was appointed President of The Travel Corporation's North American division. In this capacity he took responsibility for the management of Trafalgar, Contiki Holidays, AAT Kings, Destination American and Insight Vacations. He continued at his post as the international sales manager at Trafalgar Tours and also became a non-executive director at Cullinan Holdings. Along with being the current CEO at Trafalgar and Chairman at TTC SA, he is also a non-executive director at Wilderness Safaris.

 

New Ideas and Exciting Adventures

 

As a true innovator in his field, Gavin Tollman develops tours and programs that provide the client with an extraordinary travel experience. For Tollman, it's not enough for customers to take a trip and see pretty sites. He creates adventures that are total and in-depth travel experiences that exceed the expectations of the participant. He succeeds in this endeavor through such programs as Be My Guest, Hidden Treasures and At Leisure.

 

South African Vistas

 

As CEO of Trafalgar Tours, Gavin Tollman presented the Office of the Year award to Trafalgar USA at TTC's sales convention in 2010, which took place in Cape Town South Africa. The South African venue was an opportunity to support travel to South Africa by inviting travel delegates to the country and giving them a chance to see the sites. In an effort to create sustainable growth in SA's tourism market, TTC created a two-year agreement with the department of South African Tourism to cooperate in marketing and advertising South Africa as a travel destination.