Midweek Interview with Renaissance Tours’ Kristina Wilson

Midweek Interview with Renaissance Tours’ Kristina Wilson

This week, we chat to Renaissance Tours’ product manager about the time she jumped out of a taxi in Nairobi while having three automatic weapons aimed at her.

The challenge for the industry is…

Trying to introduce sustainable practices and care for the destinations people visit rather than destroying them.

The things I like about my job are…

I get to be creative. I source unique experiences that cannot be found anywhere else. I also get to use my expertise in archaeology and the skills learned through tour leading in countries across the world

And the frustrations are…

When technology goes wrong! It wastes so much of my time and my role is very, very busy.

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

An archaeologist.

My favourite airline is…

Qantas.

My proudest moment was…

Leading a tour from Beijing to Istanbul, through Central Asia having only ever been to Beijing and Istanbul

The naughtiest thing I ever did was…

Worked illegally in Tanzania. I had to hide under the bed in my apartment when the Tanzanian revenue authority raided it.

I try to relax by…

I’m was actually confused by the word “relax” for a minute. Play World of WarCraft or watch Netflix.

The last time I feared for my life was…

I jumped out of a taxi in Nairobi while having three automatic weapons aimed in at me.

If I can, I always try to avoid…

Catching trains in Sydney!

I really wish I had…

Been able to continue living in Istanbul.

The best advice I’ve ever received was…

The biggest risk in life is to take no risk.

I don’t understand why people…

Walk around with their eyes glued to their phones.

My greatest weakness is…

I’m a big-picture person, I know my attention to detail needs work.

And my greatest strength is…

I like to get things done (and I do), I don’t procrastinate.

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

Buy a house and fill it with all the stuff I’ve bought while travelling. (Might need more than $1 million for that though).

If I was prime minister, I would…

Provide employers with tax breaks to allow people to work from home or to move their business out of CBD areas. Decentralisation is the key to improving peoples lives and taking the pressure off infrastructure – oh, and increase the required amount of annual leave to six weeks per year!

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

Captain Jack Sparrow.

I’ve always wanted to travel to…

Iceland.

My favourite holiday was…

Africa in 2010 – Cape Town to Cairo with Dragoman Overland. Best bunch of people I ever met and the most amazing experience of my life.

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