Our mission and our history

The Travel Specialists was founded with a mission in mind: to promote understanding and cooperation among people through travel.

Our founder, M.J. Kietzke, first became interested in the travel industry while working for the Peace Corps and experiencing life in other cultures first-hand. Once she became a travel agent, she grew increasingly aware of an aspect of travel that many people don’t notice: its potential to be destructive. Tourism is one of the world’s largest industries, and short-sighted tourism activities can lead to pollution and climate change, deforestation and alteration of delicate ecosystems, the wasteful use of natural resources, and the degradation of an indigenous population’s culture, values, and way of life.

M.J. decided to address this problem from the inside out by founding The Travel Specialists and working to educate travelers. She opened her doors in 1986 as a partner of the Travel Collaborative, a group of travel agency owners and managers who share space, resources, and travel expertise while generating big-company buying power. Since then, The Travel Specialists has helped thousands of clients realize their travel dreams. We support and encourage responsible travel for those clients who are interested – but environmental sensitivity is not a prerequisite for our services. In fact, we offer a full range of travel services for corporations as well as group and individual travelers.

The Travel Specialists has expanded over the years, and we continue to believe that it is important to make a positive difference in our own community and in the communities we visit. To serve our clients better, we travel extensively to gather up-to-date information and learn about the latest environmentally-conscious options available to travelers. For more about the benefits of treading lightly, please see our responsible travel page.

We look forward to working with you as you plan your next trip!