5 Minutes With Travel Genius

I’m quite passionate about traveling. I grab every opportunity to see and experience somewhere new, meet new people and embrace new cultures. Stumbling on the Travel Genuiz brand was a beautiful co-incidence as they had a good number of destinations I’ve wanted to try out. I had a few minutes to talk to Ibukun Badejo who owns the brand.

Tell us briefly about yourself.

My name is Badejo Ibukun Daniel a.k.a Travel Geniuz. I help busy professionals, honeymooners and families plan seamless and cost effective vacations. I am an International Air Transport Association (IATA) certified travel and tour personnel.

Why did you choose to pursue a career as a Travel Agent?

I think travel/tourism chose me. I neither planned to study nor pursue a career in the travel and tourism sector. I was admitted into the university to study Electrical Electronics Engineering but along the line I changed my course and graduated with a degree in Food service and Tourism. I remember being a young boy and loving to travel, the thrill of an upcoming trip would sometimes make me sleepless, so I decided to turn my passion for travelling into profit by getting the requisite skills and information needed to provide excellent service to clients.

What is the most rewarding part of being a Travel Agent?

The rewards of a travel consultant are abundant. Thus, fulfillment in doing what I love, putting smiles on the face of my clients based on their experiences after going on a vacation I packaged and of course the monetary gains are rewards.

 How do you handle difficult customers?

I understand that every client is unique and different. I therefore try to understudy each client and attend to s/he based on their disposition.  Some of what I do is to listen attentively to their complaint, share in their pain point and empathize with them while being assertive. I have been privileged to have had many easy going and understanding clients.

What would be your top 5 holiday destination for newlyweds?

That would be Bali, Maldives, Obudu Mountain Resort, Zanzibar and Dubai.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I see myself and my organization as a major stakeholder in the Nigerian and African Tourism Market. We would also be involved in innovating, managing and exploring new travel/tour market which our niche market will derive pleasure from.

We would also be actively involved in training/mentoring youths who are passionate about travelling to turn their passion to profit.

 What are your career goals as a Travel Consultant?

My career goal as a travel consultant is to help as many clients as possible get to their dream destination without having to break the bank as well as to be a well- known/leading brand that packages seamless and cost effective inbound and international tours for our niche market (busy professionals, honeymooners and families).

What are your personal top three travel destinations?

My top three travel destinations would be Bali in Indonesia, Maldives and Seychelles. I love them because they are beach tourism destination and offer very tranquil environment for tourists.

What advice would you give to those aspiring to be travel agents?

Love what you do, stay current with global trends, go the extra mile for your clients, work hard and success will pursue you.

Pictures of places Ibukun Badejo have travelled to: