The Real People Of Travel: Jim Byers – Travel Editor
Welcome to The Real People Of Travel, an engaging blog series sponsored by Allianz Global Assistance Canada on The Adventures of Natty P. This series will introduce you to the value and importance of travel insurance, while also introducing you to the people behind your favourite travel experiences, exciting articles and your destination inspiration. From the writers behind your favourite travel publications to the pilots who get you safely from home to paradise and back again, discover The Real People Of Travel right here. The Real People Of Travel: Jim Byers – Travel Editor
Jim Byers – Travel Editor
We start the series with Jim Byers, famed travel writer, editor and current Executive Editor of Travel Pulse Canada. While writing a captivating travel blog, Jim was the editor of the esteemed Toronto Star travel section for five years. His work also appears in the Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, Zoomer magazine, Canadian Traveller and The Australian newspaper, as well as Travelzoo Canada’s website. As a travel writer myself, Jim is an inspiration, an example of where travel writing can take one, both physically and within ones career. He is a pillar of the Canadian travel writing community and I was lucky enough to catch him between adventures to chat travel tips, press trips and his favourite destinations.
- Describe the moment you knew you wanted to be a travel writer? How did that move into becoming an editor?
I don’t know there was one moment, but I think it was when I was covering the Blue Jays and then the Olympics for the Toronto Star. That got me seeing a lot of the world; Sydney, Athens, Turin Italy, New York, Chicago…I thought, hmmm, one day I’d like to the Star’s Travel Editor. I started at the Star in 1981 and I got the travel job in 2008. I stayed until 2013, when I got a buyout and left to become a freelancer.
- What was your first press trip? Your favourite press trip? Have they changed since you became an editor?
First press trip I took was before I was actually the travel editor; a golf trip to Alberta for the Toronto Star golf magazine. My favourite one was a trip to Easter Island prior to attending an adventure travel conference in Chile. Easter Island is so isolated and so fascinating, and then there are the statues and the hiking and a couple nice beaches. I love Polynesian culture so that was a huge highlight for me.
- What is your favourite destination?
Again, I’ll have to stick with Polynesia and Hawaii, especially in winter. My parents took my sister and I to Hawaii when we were 12 years old and I’ve been back something like 25 times. I love the warmth and the spirit of the people as much as the weather and the beaches. Great food too.
- What is your favourite travel memory?
Favourite memory is probably sunrise on Easter Island, with morning fog swirling around a grassy meadow where there are wild horses whinnying nearby, and then the sun poking out between two of the Moai statues overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Amazing and magical. Well, that’s actually number two. Number one is meeting my wife. We met on a train in Rome when we were backpacking through Europe back in 1979. The Real People Of Travel: Jim Byers – Travel Editor
- Do you prefer to travel solo or with a buddy?
Sometimes solo is good but always like to share things with my wife when I can.
- How do you prepare for worst-case scenarios when traveling? For work? For pleasure?
How does one prepare for a worst-case scenario? I don’t know. Pack your patience and a bit of extra food and your passport. Then hope for the best! The Real People Of Travel: Jim Byers – Travel EditorThe Real People Of Travel: Jim Byers – Travel Editor
- Have you ever had a scary travel experience where you’ve needed to use travel insurance?
I got very sick in Dubai once; food poisoning. I was at the [Toronto] Star at the time and our insurance was terrific. It was pretty scary for a couple days but it was a great hospital and I recovered fairly quickly.
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- What do you never travel without?
My iPhone and several chargers. I almost always take a sports jacket with me to dress things up a bit. I tend to over pack, which is embarrassing for someone who travels as much as I do.
- How many non-work trips do you take a year? What inspires those vacations?
If you count weekends at a cottage, probably four or five. Weeklong trips? Only one is guaranteed every year, and that’s American Thanksgiving with my Dad in northern California, where I grew up.
- What destination is high on your bucket list? Is there anywhere you have no desire to go? The Real People Of Travel: Jim Byers – Travel Editor
I’d LOVE to see more of Tahiti and the Marquesas Island, with those jagged green cliffs. I don’t care if I ever go to Antarctica. I’m not a big fan of ice and snow and the passage to get there sounds awful.
- Any travel tips that you’d like to share?
Take the side roads, or what author William Least Heat Moon refers to as the Blue Highways. I’ve had some of my best travel stories pop up when I followed my instincts and dropped a tourism board’s plan for the day so I could explore something that caught my fancy.
- Where are you off to next?
My wife and are I flying to Vancouver in early September for our first trip on the fabled Rocky Mountaineer train; a two-day journey from Vancouver to Banff. Can’t wait!
Thanks Jim! Bon Voyage!
With a presence in 36 countries, Allianz Global Assistance has been helping Canadians safely explore the world for 30 years. Their goal is to make your travel insurance experience simple from end to end, so you can focus on enjoying your next adventure.
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Disclaimer: I am a brand ambassador for Allianz Global Assistance (Canada) and receive financial compensation. Interviewees are not affiliated with Allianz Global Assistance.