Here we are again, getting to the end of another wonderful year at Target Tours.

By Lynn Dunphy, co-owner of Target Tours

It has been an amazing year for us with some major changes.

Our Inbound product (what we call our tours that come to the Maritimes instead of leave from the Maritimes) started off with the addition of Hayward Guide Service in April owned by Leah Jane Hayward. The integration of her company was a compliment to our existing lineup and we welcomed a record number of inbound tours to PEI in 2017. We have been thrilled to add Leah Jane to our team and grow this fun side of the business.

In September we welcomed Laura MacEwen to our team as a Tour Coordinator. Some may remember Laura from her Holland College summer internship she did with us in 2014. She was amazing back then and has jumped right back into her role and is doing a fantastic job taking care of our clients daily. Hopefully, you have had the good fortune to speak with her already!

By adding another member to the team, we were able to do a restructuring of roles. Justin, who used to be a Tour Coordinator, has moved into Tour Planning and product development to assist John Dunphy. You can see some of his handy work already in tours like our Country Classics tour to Nashville, Memphis and Pigeon Forge in 2018. This has freed up John to focus on our growing inbound business (lots of news on that in the new year…stay tuned!).

As we’ve grown it became very clear that the team no longer fit at our home office in Morell. After some hunting over the summer we were thrilled to find a larger location for our growing team and in a more centralized location. Welcome to 13B Myrtle in the Stratford business park! We love our new office space. If you have not been in to see it, you must drop by (tours are free 😉 ).

We held our Grand Opening in late October. That morning we were all nervous to see what the turn out would be. When 1 pm came around we can honestly all say we were blown away and truly humbled by the show of support we received. It was a very special day for the Target Tours team; one we will not soon forget. We asked all attendees to sign a framed photo of our team to be displayed in our top floor. It is a daily reminder of that amazing day and why we do what we do, for you, our incredible clientel!

In 2017, we introduced some new tours and destinations that were very successful. Merv took a group to the Canadian Battlefields in France, Belgium & the Netherlands. What a tour that was! It was historical, informative and for some, emotional.  John and I ventured to the Baltic for a land and cruise tour and visited Germany, Estonia, Russia, Sweden, & Copenhagen. Each day was an adventure from the vastness of the sovereigns in Russia, the Berlin Wall in Germany, and finally the colours and culture in Copenhagen. This destination should definitely be on your bucket-list.

Looking ahead, John and I are very excited to be inviting our clients to join us in Hawaii in March 2019 to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. We honeymooned in Hawaii in 1989 as 2 young newlyweds and have always dreamed of going back. We can’t wait to see the changes and share this experience with you! Stay tuned for this tour to be announced. If you want to be on the waitlist for more information email us at [email protected] and we’ll send the info when it is complete.

As for 2018, we are looking forward to welcoming new clients on our tours and having existing clients come back to create more memories with us. It has been our honour to serve our wonderful passengers and be able to call them friends. We look forward to a bright and exciting 2018!

From all the staff at Target Tours to all our clients, suppliers and friends here at home, throughout the Maritimes, across Canada and around the world, we wish you all the happiest of the holiday season.

See you in 2018!

Lynn Dunphy, co-owner on behalf of the Target Tours Team