Vinings travel agent wins prestigious award

An award-winning Vinings travel agent can now add a ‘Virtuoso Award’ to her resume. Jean Pickard, co-owner of the Vinings-based travel agency Explorations, recently won an award for “Most Innovative Travel Advisor” for her imaginative trips.

The award was presented at the 23^rd annual Travel Mart conference in Las Vegas. Virtuoso is considered one of the industry’s leading luxury travel networks. 

Some of her unique journeys include a gorilla trek through Uganda and a safari through Botswana for a mother and her son to celebrate the completion of her cancer treatments.

She arranged a tour of Vietnam for a Vietnam War veteran and his wife that ended with a Chinese New Year celebration in Hong Kong. A well-traveled couple from Amsterdam sought her help to plan a 'different' kind of vacation. Pickard sent them to the Galapagos of the Middle East, Socrota, an island off the coast of Yemen.

Pickard received her certified travel counselor degree in 1984 and is a destination specialist for the Pacific Rim, Hawaii, Mediterranean Europe, Latin America, France and the Caribbean.

In addition to her Virtuoso Award, Pickard was named one of the best travel consultants in North America by “Condé Nast Traveler.”

See more about Explorations here.