This week, Quasar Expeditions’ sales and promotions manager told us his deepest, darkest secrets. Lucky for him, we forgot to write them down.

The challenge for the industry is…

The need for instant gratification. From pre-trip to post-trip, travellers seem to be moving towards instant gratification. For example, ticking-off the Galapagos with a four-day cruise rather than waiting until one is able to do the proper 8-day cruise. It’s important that industry professionals educate travellers to NOT be like this.

As an industry professional, timeliness and doing things efficiently is key, but doing them in a hurry and feeding this instant gratification takes away from personalisation and eventually it’s a shot in the foot for everyone, traveller included.

The things I like about my job are…

Being a part of the Quasar Expeditions family, making a difference in cultural and natural preservation, and of course, travelling! This is huge for my personal and professional education, which honestly you cannot get at any University, and it’s an ideal I hope to pass on to my children.

And the frustrations are …

Being away from my family when on business trips (I wish I could take them with me every time!) and sitting at a desk for too long (even if productively doing so).

If I didn’t work in travel, I would be…

A Chef…hopefullly a really, really good one. Elevating Ecuadorean cuisine to Peruvian, Italian, French and, Mexican levels. Good thing I do have my day job though, lol.

My favourite airline is…

The one that can get me from Point A to Point B on time, without me having to bend my knees up to my chest to sit down or pay for a sandwich in economy class.

So, looks like I don’t have a favorite then, lol, though I do try to stick to one consortium, One World in my case. I’ve been travelling with American Airlines for a long time and, honestly, I can’t complain (because I don’t want to get blacklisted).

*Note to Emirates: If you ever end up flying direct to Ecuador, I’m yours!

My proudest moment was…

The birth of my son, Lucas Daniel, in December last year.

The naughtiest thing I ever did was…

Probably shouldn’t be published. Unless…. You take me to a boozer, buy me a slab of beers and then, possibly, out comes the yabber. Off the record of course and fake names must be used to protect all of those involved!

I try to relax by…

Not thinking. Best way to do that is spending time with my kids, listening to music, dancing, and/or making fun of Trump.

The last time I feared for my life was…

March 2011, I had a perforated esophagus (long story, one of those congenital issues) and though during the process I was very positive about things, reality hit later, and that was the scary part.

If I can, I always try to avoid…

Angering my beautiful, amazing, awesome wife… and daughter… and mother in law.

I really wish I had…

Learned to save money rather than spend it. Though I have spent it with the best of intentions! That counts for something right?

The best advice I’ve ever received was…

Save your money.

I don’t understand why people…

Assume, jump to conclusions, and not think for themselves, i.e. don’t listen, and/or say what they think people want to hear.

My greatest weakness is…

Not taking care of myself.

And my greatest strength is…

Empathy, zero stereotyping, and open-mindedness. And my very characteristic nose.

If I won a $1 million lottery (aside from travelling), I would…

Let my wife manage it (after giving a bit to my mom).

If I was prime minister I would…

Establish direct flights to Quito, Ecuador and make it a mission to have all Australian citizens experience the Galapagos Islands, as well as Ecuador’s culture, the best cocoa in the world, our ancestral cuisine, our lakes, forests, glaciers, and the warm beautiful people.

In my many years of experience, I know for a fact what a life-changing, soul-enriching, mind-blowing, phsyically transforming experience this would be. This, in turn would obviously elevate the Australian citizen’s already amazing standard of life and education to even greater heights. And this could potentially contribute further to saving our wildlife and environment.

If I could be someone else for one day, I would be a…

A rock star, be it a lead singer like Steve Tyler, a composer like Bob Dylan, a guitarist like Slash, or a legendary drummer like John Bonham.

I’ve always wanted to travel to…

The Galapagos, yes, the Galapagos. I’ve been there so many times, worked there, lived there, but not with my family.

Not with my kids. I cannot think of a better experience, unless of course I could extend it with a trip to Iceland, Greenland, ending with Polar Bear tracking in Canda. Let’s not forget African safaris and Antarctica. All of the above actually!

And there’s always Eastern Europe and it would be a perfect idea to add South East Asia to that, too! But I definitely would also need to take the family on a camper trip across the USA and for sure a train ride across Siberia.

Then just before retirement, a little South Pacific islands trip for about a month or two would be perfect.

Oh, and when I retire, move to Australia.

All of the above with my family of course.

My favourite holiday was…

My honeymoon