Gavin Tollman

Gavin Tollman is a well-regarded businessman with over twenty years of experience in the travel and tourism industry. Currently he is serving as CEO of Trafalgar Tours, a global tour operator.

Tollman was born in South Africa in 1963. He moved to the United States to attend The American University where he studied Finance. At the culmination of his studies, Gavin Tollman entered the travel industry highly motivated and ambitious to grow in the field of travel and tourism. His first notable career move was in 1987 when he was appointed to serve as Executive Vice President of Buckhead Hotel Management Company. During his post as EVP, Tollman was responsible for all operations handled by the hotel. This also included third party ownership negotiations during the especially trying times experienced in the hotel industry downturn. Overall, Gavin Tollman worked at Buckhead Hotel Management Co. just shy of ten years; he finished his EVP post in 1996.

Following his work at Buckhead, Gavin Tollman was offered the job of President at Red Carnations Hotels. Red Carnations Hotels is a chain of luxury boutique hotels located in England (London) and the United States (Florida). Tollman worked at Red Carnations for one year, from 1996 to 1997.

A short time after, Gavin Tollman was offered the prestigious post of President of Trafalgar Tours USA. Trafalgar Tours is a global-wide tour company offering a wide range of tours and holiday vacations in Europe, South America, North America and the Mediterranean. Founded in 1947, the company has a rich history and has made notable contributions to the tourism industry as a whole. As President of Trafalgar Tours USA, Gavin Tollman managed to lead the company to become America's largest European tour operator. With a consistent and quality-driven approach, Tollman was able to reach the highest ranks of the tourism industry without compromising on the company's brand-name or value-driven offering. So successful was Tollman that in 2001 he was promoted to President of The Travel Corporation, North America. The Travel Corporation is a private company that manages over 25 unique travel brands, one of which is Trafalgar. As President of The Travel Corporation North America, Tollman handled marketing and operations for the whole of USA and Canada. The scope of responsibilities grew and included the management of five travel brands operating out of North America, including: Insight Vacations; Contiki Holidays; Destination America; AAT Kings; and the company of which he was once President, Trafalgar.

Maintaining strong ties to Tollman's native South Africa, South African Tourism (SAT) and The Travel Corporation (TTC) recently announced the creation of a strategic alliance intended to market, promote and develop South Africa as a sustainable tourist destination. The alliance was announced during TTC's International Sales Conference Cape Town. As well as focusing on the business side of the industry during the conference, an event was held during which suits and computers were exchanged for work clothes and tools, and the participants built 21 Wendy houses that were donated to local communities to provide housing for disadvantaged families. In another humanitarian gesture in South Africa, a donation was recently made to Groote Schuur Hospital's renal unit in memory of Gavin Tollman's late father.

Through his continued success as a regional manager, just two years after his appointment to The Travel Corporation, North America, Gavin Tollman became Global Head of Sales back at Trafalgar Tours. Tollman served for 6 years at this post. Just in 2010, Gavin worked his way up to the highest ranks of Trafalgar Tours when he was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer.

Throughout his many years serving Trafalgar Tours, Tollman has been passionate about innovating his products and services and looking for ways to make the Trafalgar Tour experience the best the industry has to offer. He has made it a point in all of his specially created tourism packages to match the travel experience with the local population. It is his aim to give each guest the opportunity to feel at home in a foreign destination by meeting the locals, being privy to insider information and seeing sights that a regular traveler would never see. By opening hidden doors that are off the beaten path, tourists are able to learn, see and have more fun. They come away with a deep understanding of the destination, its local people and their cultural and culinary customs. Tollman says, "I want to take you to a destination and show you things that the average traveler couldn't possibly do, moments that touch your heart and move the soul."

Gavin Tollman Online
Gavin Tollman - Econnect
Gavin Tollman - Linkedin
Gavin Tollman - Travel and Tour Expert
Gavin Tollman - Twitter

Travel, Tourism, Finance, Leisure, hospitality, Hotel Management,CEO, Hotelier, Travel industry veteran,South Africa