Like many people in Hong Kong who have to battle with the stresses and strains of everyday life, Iras Ko Cheng Hang-fan finds travelling the perfect way to unwind and relax. But rather than merely arranging her own trips, she has set up a business to help others organise their travel.
'I see the need for Hong Kong people to get away on holidays in order to release stress,' said Ko, founder and managing director of Travel Expert, a chain of travel agencies in Hong Kong.
Travel Expert promotes tailor-made tours that allow its customers to develop their own packages. Travellers get to decide on issues such as accommodation, transport and sightseeing spots, while the agency offers ideas and advice, and takes care of logistics.
Tours of this kind are markedly different from the traditional style of travelling where most decisions are made by a guide and schedules are usually tight, leaving little choice to the traveller, who often finds the trip hectic and exhausting.
Ko landed her first job in a small travel agency after finishing secondary school and completing a travel-related operation programme. But the stint only lasted a year before the company closed.
Just as she was contemplating her next step, Ko's former boss asked her to join him with Carrian Travel, a sizeable firm, where she learned about ticketing and inbound and outbound operations.