Destination Specialist – South America

About Vaya Adventures

We are a growing travel company that specializes in tailor-made travel experiences around the world. Our goal is to provide our clients with the most personalized, memorable and meaningful trips possible.  We have a fantastic team of Destination Specialists, all of whom have deep expertise in their areas of specialty, and a very efficient Operations team that works closely with our Destination Specialists and our Suppliers to help execute these fantastic trips. 

Position Overview:

We are currently seeking a Destination Specialist for South America. This individual will be responsible for designing, planning, and booking customized travel experiences for our clients that are tailored to their unique tastes, preferences, and interests. The ideal candidate will have a deep knowledge of South America travel, a passion for exploring new cultures, foods, and experiences, and an enthusiasm for joining a growing company.

Key Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with clients to understand their travel preferences and interests and creatively put together truly outstanding travel programs for them. This includes listening and asking questions; explaining in detail the nature of our trips; answering questions about the trips; making suggestions based on information received from the potential clients; and determining whether the person is a good fit for the types of tours that we offer.

• Design and book customized travel itineraries that exceed client expectations and get excellent feedback.

• Prepare itineraries: includes drafting trip outlines, communicating with in-country operators and suppliers about availability and logistics; preparing proposals for potential clients; completing sales; and booking itineraries.

• Prepare trip documents for booked itineraries, including final itineraries and Pre-Departure Materials.

• Build strong relationships with suppliers, including hotels, tour operators, airlines, and local guides, to ensure we provide the best possible experience for our clients.

• Develop in-depth knowledge of the cultural, culinary, and adventure experiences available in South America.

• Stay up-to-date on travel trends and changes in the travel industry.

• Manage client inquiries and bookings throughout the travel planning process.

• Provide exceptional customer service and support to clients before, during, and after their trips.

• Work collaboratively with other team members (in Operations and other departments) in connection with booked clients to help make sure that clients are taken care of throughout all of their interactions with Vaya.

• Data entry for new leads and new clients.

• General administrative work related to bookings and existing clients.

• Use AI tools (we use Claude across the business) to work more efficiently and produce better output.

• Whatever other tasks need to be accomplished.

Qualifications:

• Experience selling high-end custom travel is not a strict requirement but is very highly preferred. It might not be strictly necessary that you have sold high-end custom trips in your prior employment, but there would have to be some significant relevant life experience in South America, such as having lived there, worked there, or studied there.

• Ability to work well remotely and as part of a team of remote employees.

• Travel experience in South America.

• Excellent verbal communication skills, to interact with highly educated, inquisitive, and demanding clients who expect a very high level of service.

• Excellent writing skills, for both communicating by email with clients and drafting and finalizing client proposals and final itineraries. It is essential that the candidate have strong writing skills and be comfortable writing in grammatically correct English with potential clients.

• Customer service experience is required. This business requires excellent customer service skills, including: patience, enthusiasm, attention to detail, and efficient and effective follow-up.

• Excellent computer skills are essential, including full working knowledge of Word and Excel.

• Must be highly organized and be able to multi-task and handle a wide variety of responsibilities.

• Must be able to work effectively and use sound judgment with minimal supervision.

• Must have a B.A. or B.S. from an accredited university.

• Strong references that can confirm experience dealing with challenging, detail oriented work.

• Passion for travel and South America in general.

• Fluent in English (additional languages are a plus).

If you possess the above qualifications and wish to join a dynamic team where you can utilize your skills and knowledge to create memorable travel experiences for our travelers, please apply with your resume and cover letter.