Delafield Travel Leaders: Return from invitation-only 2014 International Summit in Istanbul, Turkey

Contact:Sharon Kumbier
262-567-3223

skumbier@tljourneys.com

Delafield’s Travel Leaders Returns from Invitation-Only

2014 International Summit in Istanbul, Turkey
Exclusive Destination Immersion Event Offers Travel Leaders Nationally the
Opportunity to Experience Istanbul First Hand

Delafield, WI (April 14, 2014)] — The owners of Delafield, Oconomowoc and Menomonee Falls’ Travel Leaders locations have returned from a journey to Istanbul, Turkey, along with other popular destinations within Turkey, after having accepted an exclusive invitation to attend Travel Leaders’ 15th Annual International Summit. Designed to effectively immerse Travel Leaders’ travel agent experts into the local culture, the annual invite-only meeting convened at the 5-star Shangri-La Bosphorus, one of Istanbul’s newest and most luxurious hotels, from April 4-6. This marks the sixth International Summit Annette and Jim Youngbauer have attended.

Youngbauers were among just 70 Travel Leaders from across the United States to accept the invitation to this extraordinary annual event. By accepting the invitation, the Youngbauers experienced a wide range of unique opportunities to personally inspect many of Istanbul’s premier tourism historic sights, hotels and top restaurants. In turn, Annette will ultimately be in an even better position to advise midwest travelers who plan on visiting Turkey this year.

“Our experience is absolutely essential to that of our clients here in Wisconsin. By attending the International Summit, we can more easily advise clients from a position of expertise – we had the opportunity to work closely with representatives from Istanbul, who fully enveloped our group in every sense,” Youngbauer noted. “Istanbul can easily overwhelm the novice visitor with sensory overload, so with that in mind, we were thrilled to accept the invitation to become immersed into all this exciting city has to offer – the sights, the sounds and even the scents – plus one wonderful dining delight after another. It was a journey we will ever forget.”

“We carefully selected Istanbul as the venue for our 15th International Summit for two overriding reasons,” explained Roger E. Block, CTC, President of Travel Leaders Franchise Group. “First, in Travel Leaders’ 2014 Travel Trends Survey, Turkey ranked second as the top European ‘up and coming’ destination our agents were booking for the year . Second, because of those increased bookings our Travel Leaders members have had, they’ve specifically expressed an overwhelming demand to experience Istanbul in the exclusive, captivating fashion for which Travel Leaders International Summits have become renowned.”

In Istanbul, Delafield’s Travel Leaders representatives had the opportunity to become immersed into the Turkish culture through private tours. The Youngbauers took in the breathtaking Suleymaniye Mosque overlooking the Golden Horn, the majestic Hagia Sophia Museum and neighboring Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar (the world’s largest covered market with over 4,000 shops) and famed Spice Market, the Byzantine Basilica Cistern, the Istanbul Archaeological Museum and a Bosphorus cruise day-trip to take in the expanse of the strait where “East meets West.”

Additionally, befitting the longstanding tradition of providing Travel Leaders with an exclusive, insider’s touch of elegance and style, the International Summit Gala Dinner feted Travel Leaders members at the gloriously restored Adile Sultan Palace, built on the Asian side of the Bosphorus for Ottoman Princess Adile Sultan in the 19th Century. The palace, which was the site earlier this year for a major high-level meeting between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, provides a breathtaking panoramic view of the strait.

The Youngbauers also enjoyed (pre/post)-tour options provided by Meander Travel, one of Travel Leaders’ select In-Country Partners, for such destinations including to Cappadocia and Ephesus.

Istanbul joined an impressive roster of enchanting world cities that have hosted a Travel Leaders International Summit. Previous Travel Leaders International Summits have already been mounted on every inhabited continent in the following cities: London (2000), Hong Kong (2001), Paris (2002), Barcelona (2003), Budapest (2004), Dublin (2005), Rome (2006), Dubai (2007), Berlin (2008), Santiago (2009), Jerusalem (2010), Sydney (2011), Dubrovnik (2012) and Cape Town (2013).

“Travel Better” with Travel Leaders. To learn more visit the experienced travel experts at the Travel Leaders locations at 2566 Sun Valley Dr. Delafield WI or online at www.TLjourneys.com or simply call 262-646-8878.