Since travel buff Karen Payton turned her interest into an occupation 20 years ago, her job has taken her all over the world.
"I always enjoyed travelling and wanted to work in travel," Karen says.
She worked her way up from the foreign exchange counter to selling holidays for one of the country's major travel companies, a role which broadened her horizons and took her to destinations around the world.
Karen also has an OND in business studies and has worked in travel management, skills she's now putting to good use as a self-employed personal travel adviser with Future Travel, part of the Co-operative Group.
One of the greatest benefits of Karen's job is she can work from home, affording her the flexibility to fit around family life. She has two grown-up sons and a five-year-old daughter, Elle, who often accompanies her on globe-trotting trips.
"Elle has her own case and she's now on her second passport," says Karen. "She loves travelling and she's been all over the world."
The 45-year-old, from Wilsden, admits going it alone was a huge risk to take considering how competitive the travel market has become, particularly with the internet. But she has the benefit of being part of a large organisation which takes care of ticketing and administration so she can concentrate on offering a more personal approach, tailor-making holidays for her many clients.
Karen currently looks after thousands of customers, many of whom have become friends. "I have customers who come back time after time," she says.
And whereas some may be perplexed by the thought of arranging a family holiday for 16 to Florida, Karen loves the challenge. She's arranged stag and hen parties and weddings overseas too.
The most popular destination, she says, is Cyprus. "It's easy to get married there and it's a destination where you can take the whole family," says Karen.
A favourite jaunt for her is the Benidorm Fiesta in March and November. Every year Karen coordinates trips to the Fiesta for hundreds of travellers.
"It's a personal service and I'm honest about things," says Karen. "I can tailor-make holidays for people but the biggest thing is clients tell me their budget and I work round that."
Karen's greatest buzz from her work is customer satisfaction - "when people come back and say what a good time they've had".
Despite being busy creating trips for her customers, Karen finds time to get away herself, usually three or four times a year. She loves long-haul destinations such as the Caribbean, Mexico and Cuba, as well as the Benidorm Fiesta.
She has advice to anyone wanting to follow her into the travel industry.
"First and foremost you need to have a passion for it," she says. "If you're a young single girl or boy it's very good because you get offered a lot of educationals where you can go out for a year testing places.
It's long hours, hard work and very little money... but there's a great social life. It's good fun. And it's a great education."
For more information about courses in travel, contact Bradford College on (01274) 433333.
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