Race Across the World Season 3 winners Tricia Sail and Cathie Rowe entertained agents at a travel conference with behind-the-scenes stories from their time on the reality TV show.
The two best friends had delegates laughing from the moment Tricia tried to take a selfie with the audience from the stage at the Barrhead Travel event in Palma.
The two best friends said they fell in love with Canada during the race from Vancouver to Newfoundland, despite a disastrous first day when they ended up back almost where they started.
Like the other contestants, they were given no time to prepare for the race, with their destination only revealed by the show’s producers at the last minute. “We were literally told we were flying to Vancouver when we were already on our way to the airport,” said Tricia. “I asked where it was, I thought Canada was in America and I thought Canadians were going to be like Americans, I was so wrong.”
In fact, the pair revealed that they were surprised by the friendliness of the Canadians, with some locals they met going out of their way to give them lifts so they could stay in the race. However, Tricia said her worst moment of the entire competition was when a guy offered them a lift, they waited while he cleaned his car and filled it with fuel, then said they’d have to pay $600. “It blew the socks off us,” she said. “Cathie had a moment and had to sit down and seeing her so vulnerable was horrific.”
When asked to what extent age and disability is a barrier to travel, Tricia, who lives with sight loss, said: “Absolutely not at all! I’m losing my eye-sight, I’m menopausal, I’m ginger! You are only as disabled as you think.”
“As an agent, you can impart your knowledge to your clients and allay their fears and manage their expectations” added Cathie. “We have an inaudinate amount of technology you can use these days to help.”
The pair also urged agents to emphasise Canada’s diversity to their customers. “The states are like different countries,” said Cathie. “I’d been to Canada before, but I had no perception of how diverse it was.”
Their other tip was to warn customers about the lack of public transport in western Canada, since the withdrawal of the Greyhound bus services in October 2018. “We’d ask on Tuesday when the next bus was and they’d say Friday,” said Tricia.
Cathie said her one regret while filming the show was not going skiing in Whistler. “I wanted to clean the bus toilets,” quipped Tricia, referring to their decision to work to earn money instead of splashing any of their limited cash on a sidetrip to the mountains , although she said she actually wished they’d taken a scenic flight over the Rockies, another of the options.
The pair, who have been best friends since primary school, revealed that since RATW they have walked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and they are planning to reunite with fellow RATW contestants, husband and wife Mobeen Qureshi and Zainib Khan, for a five-day trek along the Great Wall of China.
When asked who they were rooting for in this year’s Celebrity Race Across the World, Cathie said British racing driver Billy Monger and his sister Bonny because, like Billy, her husband is a double amputee. “Billy and Bonny are fabulous, but I also like [McFly drummer] Harry Judd and [his mum] Emma,” added Tricia.
At the end of their session at the Barrhead conference, the two lifelong friends received a standing ovation.
The post Race Across the World winners receive standing ovation from travel agents appeared first on Travel Gossip.
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The two best friends had delegates laughing from the moment Tricia tried to take a selfie with the audience from the stage at the Barrhead Travel event in Palma.
The two best friends said they fell in love with Canada during the race from Vancouver to Newfoundland, despite a disastrous first day when they ended up back almost where they started.
Like the other contestants, they were given no time to prepare for the race, with their destination only revealed by the show’s producers at the last minute. “We were literally told we were flying to Vancouver when we were already on our way to the airport,” said Tricia. “I asked where it was, I thought Canada was in America and I thought Canadians were going to be like Americans, I was so wrong.”
In fact, the pair revealed that they were surprised by the friendliness of the Canadians, with some locals they met going out of their way to give them lifts so they could stay in the race. However, Tricia said her worst moment of the entire competition was when a guy offered them a lift, they waited while he cleaned his car and filled it with fuel, then said they’d have to pay $600. “It blew the socks off us,” she said. “Cathie had a moment and had to sit down and seeing her so vulnerable was horrific.”
When asked to what extent age and disability is a barrier to travel, Tricia, who lives with sight loss, said: “Absolutely not at all! I’m losing my eye-sight, I’m menopausal, I’m ginger! You are only as disabled as you think.”
“As an agent, you can impart your knowledge to your clients and allay their fears and manage their expectations” added Cathie. “We have an inaudinate amount of technology you can use these days to help.”
The pair also urged agents to emphasise Canada’s diversity to their customers. “The states are like different countries,” said Cathie. “I’d been to Canada before, but I had no perception of how diverse it was.”
Their other tip was to warn customers about the lack of public transport in western Canada, since the withdrawal of the Greyhound bus services in October 2018. “We’d ask on Tuesday when the next bus was and they’d say Friday,” said Tricia.
Cathie said her one regret while filming the show was not going skiing in Whistler. “I wanted to clean the bus toilets,” quipped Tricia, referring to their decision to work to earn money instead of splashing any of their limited cash on a sidetrip to the mountains , although she said she actually wished they’d taken a scenic flight over the Rockies, another of the options.
The pair, who have been best friends since primary school, revealed that since RATW they have walked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and they are planning to reunite with fellow RATW contestants, husband and wife Mobeen Qureshi and Zainib Khan, for a five-day trek along the Great Wall of China.
When asked who they were rooting for in this year’s Celebrity Race Across the World, Cathie said British racing driver Billy Monger and his sister Bonny because, like Billy, her husband is a double amputee. “Billy and Bonny are fabulous, but I also like [McFly drummer] Harry Judd and [his mum] Emma,” added Tricia.
At the end of their session at the Barrhead conference, the two lifelong friends received a standing ovation.
The post Race Across the World winners receive standing ovation from travel agents appeared first on Travel Gossip.
Continue reading...
