Melissa DaSilva Makes Travel Dreams Come True

Melissa DaSilva Makes Magic: Three Decades of Dedication to Making Dreams Come True in the Travel Industry

Thank you to Melissa DaSilva, president of The Travel Corporation Travel Brands, for joining me on my podcast to talk about travel. She focuses on Making Travel Matter. We have met at many travel conferences around the world from the 10th annual Women’s Travel Fest in New York City to Travel Classics International at Ashford Castle in Ireland. For the last thirty years, she has been helping people realize their dreams and helping local communities.

I know from my travels that when we meet people in other places we realize we are all more alike than different, now more than ever, we need to remember that all over our planet, parents want their children to grow up happy, heathy and in safe peaceful countries.

Listen or watch our interview on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or your favorite podcast platform

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Lisa Niver:

Good morning. This is Lisa Niver. I’m the founder of We Said Go Travel and the author of Brave-ish, One Breakup, Six Continents and Feeling Fearless After 50. I did 50 Travel Challenges and some of them were with the incredible brands that Melissa DaSilva makes happen.at The Travel Corporation. I’m so excited to have you here today.

Melissa DaSilva:

I am so happy to be here. Thank you for having me.

Lisa Niver:

It is my great honor. I felt so happy to hear you speak at the Women’s Travel Fest on the panel about women traveling over 50. And then we were so lucky to be together in Ireland at the amazing Red Carnation Property, there’s no other hotel like Ashford Castle.

Melissa DaSilva:

I agree. It is one of my favorite places on earth. And speaking of being 50, that’s where I celebrated my 50th birthday. So my two best friends and I, we decided to take a lifelong trip to Ireland and we ended it with three nights at Ashford Castle. And I have to say that being treated like a queen on your 50th birthday is the way to go.

Ashford Castle Photo by Lisa Niver at Travel Classics Ireland, the property is part of TTC Red Carnation Hotels

Lisa Niver:

Oh my goodness. I mean, I can’t say enough about Ashford Castle. You and I were both there as part of Travel Classics Ireland the most recent time, and I’ve been there twice. And for me, walking with the Hawk, the falconry that’s in my book, because that is one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

Melissa DaSilva:

I agree. It’s one of my favorite things to do when I am at Ashford as well. I just think there’s something so wild and powerful about it. And yet, just Majestic and I’m not a huge bird fan, but there’s something about the birds of prey and the hawks that they really take your breath away. They really do.

Lisa Niver:

That’s one of the things that all of your travel brands have in common is searching for those key experiences. You don’t want go to some place that looks the same as when you’re at home and do something you could do around the corner. You’ve flown on this flight and you’ve made this effort. When I was on Insight Vacations Luxury Gold on the Motor Coach, that we had some incredible experiences. We were at dinner in Rome and all of a sudden we were having a private concert.

Melissa DaSilva:

The thing that I love best about a guided vacation, and for any of your listeners who don’t know about the brands that I represent, I actually represent six fabulous tour brands and we really have something for everyone. And it’s, everything from ConTiki, which is our youth brand, all the way up to, as you mentioned, Luxury Gold, which is our high-end luxury brand for the more discerning traveler. We really do have something for everyone. But the thing that they have in common is that we are able to connect our guests with people and experiences that they wouldn’t necessarily even know about, let alone be able to book on their own. And so it makes it really special to be able to deliver that and to watch people have these really transformational experiences that is what makes travel to me so special is to your point, it’s being able to really connect with the destination and the culture in a way that’s deeper than just ticking something off your bucket list.

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW on WE SAID GO TRAVEL

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