Jamie Thomas

Background

About Jamie Thomas

I've dedicated my life to helping people travel the world to experience different cultures. Travel removes borders, people look past biases, and become more open minded and tolerant. When this happens, compassion is born. My success within the Travel Industry is a blend of following my passion of helping others and embracing hard work & perseverance. A bit about my background; I was raised in Hawaii before moving to the Midwest. Due to my desire to learn about international cultures, the past 17 years I've now traveled across 70+ countries. I've lived in Asia, Europe, and North America. In 2013 I moved from Berlin back to the Midwest and founded the Travel & Culture Group, which now has over members. In addition to having hosted 150+ events (including travel seminars, workshops, and destination talks), I also am a Tour Developer and offer group trips to the members of my group. These trips entail me personally designing the itinerary of each country and picking a Tour Operator who can match the group needs with details, hotels, pricing, etc. I then manage the marketing and advertising of the trip, handle payments, and negotiate group airfare. Then I personally lead each tour from start to finish. The past 6 years I've been the Tour Manager & guide for numerous trips including to Europe, Africa, Mexico, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and many more international destinations. During that time I worked at Travel Leaders/YTC as a leisure Travel Advisor. In 2017 I started my own Travel Agency; Adventure & Leisure Travel Experts. It was an immediate success with clients who wanted adventure and luxury. My strong networking abilities & professionalism helped me build a respected position within the North American travel industry, and to develop rapport with numerous travel companies and tourism departments. My agency partnered with Virtuoso, ASTA, the Adventure Travel Trade Association, and many more. Knowing that Omaha receives millions of tourists a year (thanks to Berkshire Hathaway, Henry Doorly Zoo, College World Series, Olympic trials, etc), I then founded Nebraska Tour Company. I hired local expert guides and offered 6 daily tours focusing on history, art, food, and culture. I built Nebraska Tour Company from scratch and ran it successfully for a few years, building up value, before selling it. In 2020 & 2021 I sold or dissolved most of my companies and spent the past year focusing on travel writing & international volunteer work. I'm now back in the United States and am open to professional opportunities within the Travel Industry.