Travel scout always on tour

Stacey researches and develops tour packages, choreographing different components from transportation, hotels, and restaurants to museums and attractions. He’s traveled to 76 countries, stayed at five-star hotels, toured fortresses, sailed on cruise ships, and visited family farms and hidden cottages.

Creating a tour program is complicated. It begins with a marketing concept, such as “Essence of Japan’’ or “Galapagos: Wildlife Wonderland,’’ and then researching competitors’ offerings, destinations, and routes, and on-location scouting. “The typical tour includes over 100 different behind-the-scene components, from where the restrooms are located to baggage handling,’’ he said. The tour plan must allow for free time, balance travel with sightseeing, and introduce travelers to locations off the beaten path, such as a hidden monastery in a Croatian valley.

Stacey started as a tour guide at Tauck, but his background includes bartending on the Delta Queen steamboat and managing a Lake Placid resort hotel. Stacey recommends starting as a tour guide, as he did, or working in the hospitality business or cruise lines. Language skills are a plus, and understanding what travelers need and want. It also helps to be creative, independent, and, of course, well-traveled.

Stacey’s trips, however, aren’t all idyllic meanderings. It’s tough when he misses his daughter’s softball games or is stuck in airports. But makes his life an unforgettable journey.