Collette, led by Jaclyn Leibl-Cote, who is celebrating her first-year anniversary as CEO, marks its 107th season with more than 10 new journeys across North America, South America, Europe, and Africa.
Leibl-Cote joined Collette in 2005, holding roles as tour guide, client care agent, product designer and strategist, head of marketing, and most recently as President and Chief Customer Experience Officer.
“Our culture has always been very strong,” said Leibl-Cote.
“It’s something that we’ve managed to keep intact while we have continued our rapid growth. The team still feels like a family even as we bring in more members.”
Collette says tour popularity is up across all five of its travel styles: Classic, Small Group Explorations, Spotlights, Cruising, and Faith. Of the five, Explorations has taken the largest jump.
“We’ve been offering small group Explorations tours since 2008,” Leibl-Cote explained.
“Over the past few years we’ve seen them quadruple in popularity. Because Explorations tours have an average group size of just 19 travelers and a maximum of 24, our designers are able to include unique accommodations, local activities and different modes of transportation that take the experiences to new levels.”
Going forward, Leibl Cote and Collette plan to continue to build by using customer feedback.
“Customer experience is important,” Leibl-Cote said. “We innovate around what our customers and partners have to say. We continually collect feedback which allow us the ability to grow and improve our product.
"Our team of expert designers and tour managers have a passion for travel, just like our travellers do.”
