Colombian Yulieth has been living and working in Greece for 36 years. She didn’t expect to become a Tour Leader in order to travel the world as she had already done so with her mother.
Life, heart and karma brought her to Greece. It is here she fell in love and got married to the man of her life and former water polo player Stefanos Tozakidis. It is here she gave birth and keeps working with groups of people, for Euphoria Travel Greece. I met her in Alimos, her current residence and she talked to me about her work, tourist destinations, the best-known packages, special tours, unexpected stuff as well as VIPS who visit our country. Having an admiration for Greece and thankful for everything that God has given to her, she confesses another dream of hers, the one that will lead her once, as she is characteristically saying to write “Τhis is the end of my career”.
–How does one decide to come to Greece from Colombia and get involved in tourism and become a Tour Leader after a successful career?
I’ve been always driven by my heart, so I never made a plan about what I was going to do next .I was born in Colombia. My father was Lebanese and my mother was Colombian. My mother, who was a very smart woman, decided when I was 14 years old to send me to America for studies. I went back to Colombia for a short time and then I went to England to study. Every year my mother would come to England and we would travel around the world. We went from London to Athens only to buy the tickets. Back then in the “map of my mind, there was no Greece”.
-However, I imagine that something must have happened and so you were led back to Greece. What was it?
My visa had expired in London and so I had 24 hours to leave.36 years ago Greece was a destination that I would like to discover and the mindset of Greece was closer to suited my philosophy of life .I got onto a plane and I arrived in Greece. I met a Greek-American woman. I told her I was Colombian, about the conditions I came to Greece, the fact that I didn’t know anyone and she offered me to stay with her at Glyfada. And so it happened. The next day she gave me a tour in Glyfada and we had a cup of coffee. Suddenly a friend of hers joined in. He was a water polo player and he did training in Glyfada. He wanted to get to know me better .At first it was a little preservative, because I was aware of the way Greek men used to flirt with a woman. I must inform you that this man became my husband three months after our first meeting. We went for our honeymoon to Colombia and we stayed for six months. He was amazed with the way of life there. However, we decided to return to Greece.36 years ago and having lived in London, Greece for some people would be considered a small destination. But I was in love. Everything was beautiful and Greece was the most amazing place in the world.
-In this the time you started to work in tourism or did you do something else before?
Because of the fact that l loved making things using rice paper, I decided to make invitations for weddings and baptisms. I went to Ermou, I found the best stores and I started making invitations and bonbonnieres. For each bonbonniere I made enough money and I started making hundreds of them. At some point Mary Prada, a Columbian friend of mine, calls me and asks me if I can make it to the airport in order to meet a Spaniard and accompany him, as an interpreter, on a business meeting that he had. Everything went fine and right then I got a businesses proportion proposal from a tourist office to work there. It was then when I realized that this was the thing I wanted to do. I dedicated my life to this work.
-I’m sure that this is an interesting yet difficult profession. Having a family and also having to work for long hours, can you still make it through?
It is certainly a hard job. Especially some time ago when I had to work for too many hours. I had to travel everywhere and I had to miss home for the whole summer. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t be able to do anything without the help of my mother. For 10 whole years she would come in summer to stay with my children and my husband, who, by the way, never got jealous of me, never doubted me, always supported and respected me and my job.
-What did you manage to offer your family and your children that you are proud of?
We are a simple family. To begin with, we managed, thanks to our jobs for a better professional future. Now they live and work abroad. I have two wonderful children and two amazing grandchildren, Nefeli and Faidra.
–What is the difference between a Tour Leader and a Tour Guide?
A Tour Leader organizes the groups. He is in charge, so he leads the schedule that the groups follow. A Tour Guide is, as the word says, a guide who has to be Greek and a University graduate. We love and we respect tour guides.
-What lies behind a successful Tour Leader?
Definitely hard work and my successful tourist office, Euphoria Travel Greece with partners that support every step I take. Without them in the office I wouldn’t have done anything by myself. We have an amazing partnership and collaboration.
-What were the key elements of your character that helped you do this profession? Was it energy, excitement ,love for travelling?
Υou have to be incredibly responsible and you also need to have energy and courage. And demand for the best things for your client. You must be ready to cope with any problem that may appear.
-Have you ever dealt with anything unexpected? For example a change of flight, lost luggage or new reservations?
I have dealt with all those things and with even more. However, I must be there and find a solution for everything. The client who came here for vacations wants to have a great time and so you must create the conditions in order to achieve that. At any time something might happen and for this reason my phone is always on. They know that even if anything unexpected happens they will be able to contact me. Once came a family. In their package was included staying in a very well-known hotel in Athens. After we arrived, I described them the schedule but they didn’t want to do anything of that; neither go to the Acropolis or go sightseeing somewhere else,nor go to any island. So I asked them, “What would you like to do?” and they told me, “We want to go to France.” So I cancelled the conducted tour after they had paid for it and I booked them tickets to France.
-All these years you’ve met a lot of people. Do you keep in touch with some of the tourists after their vacation is over or does your relationship end after they have returned home?
I actually keep in touch with them as our relationship isn’t strictly professional but rather a friendly one. I receive many messages of love and support. Some of them have put me up in their houses and even suggested I become the godmother of their children. It is a relationship of life.
-Do you remember any particular journeys to our country that some of the tourists have made for very specific reasons? For example, to get married, to meet someone from Greece with whom they’d kept in touch through social media or for some other incredible reason?
I can recall a very beautiful story. There was once a couple from the USA and they decided to marry here in Greece. And so I became their maid of honor. I managed to create the most ideal conditions for the most special moment of their life and I drove them to the city hall to get married. After that, I booked an amazing restaurant, I chose a fantastic menu with champagne and all those kinds of things and I let them to enjoy this unique moment. I shared and experienced their happiness.
-Are there any things that may upset or frustrate you about the way some professionals treat the groups that come to visit Greece?
In the last couple of years people have compared the solicitude in Greece with the one in Turkey. In some aspects Turkey had better prices and their service is perfect. Here, in some very well-known parts of Athens we would go for a walking tour and the way the service treated tourists was like saying to people “Why have you come here?” It hurts to say this but some of them must change their stance and their attitude. They should take some notes from professionalism of people who work at the hotels and the restaurants of Santorini and other islands, demonstrate as the function flawlessly.
-Having had so many years of experience and also having met all these people and having had an intense life, what would you say that are the pros and cons of your profession?
There are no cons. I love my work and I love Greece. This country has offered me so many things. I love and I commiserate Greece. I am full and happy about everything that job has given me. I took so many risks in my life but fortunately every single one turned out to be a good thing.
–Was there anything that troubled you very badly in your professional or private part of life?
Surely, there are things which happen in your life and they stigmatize you like having a small black spot in your heart. Three years ago, my mother, my sister and my father- in-law, who I loved very much, passed away within a year. It was a very rough period of my life. That year and before these things happened, I had traveled to Colombia and spent an amazing month with them. I am full. It is strange, as if I had known what was going to happen.
-Now going back to happier moments in your life. In the past you have worked with other nationalities. Which clients are the hardest and most demanding to work with?
I used to work with Latin Americans. We had an excellent collaboration with the U.S.A. In winter I went to Cuba with groups of Greeks and Cypriots. There are some groups that may have demands that correspond to the things of the package they have already chosen. For example, having booked a simple room, and out of a sudden to demand a suite. At this point you must respect their mentality but at the same time explain with politely and firmly that it is not possible.
-Are there any famous people that visited Greece and if so, did you have to sign a clause of privacy for their accommodation in Greece?
Of course they come. Especially movie stars from India and from Bollywood as well as VIPs from all over the world, but they haven’t asked us about any clause because I imagine that people wouldn’t recognize them.
-Yulieth. If I asked you to tell me about an unfulfilled dream of yours, with which you would like to end your successful career, what would that be?
My dream is to travel to Mexico and to Colombia next year. I would like to have a group of Greek people at some point so that we can travel and see Colombia together. The end of the journey will also be the end of my career.
