Travel has been a passion for Suzanne Ingham ever since she went into the business 40 years ago.

Mrs. Ingham, who has worked as both an stakeholder and employee in the industry covering everything from corporate to leisure travel, set up her own company Oliver's Travel Services in August last year and it has been going from strength to strength ever since.

Running the company as the manager with her husband John as the owner from their home in Paget, she was awarded the Certified Travel Associate (CTA) designation from the Travel Institute, which was announced this month.

The designation is given to travel professionals who complete a rigorous certification programme, demonstrate essential industry knowledge and experience, and maintain high standards of professionalism.

Starting out as a special service agent with Pan-American at the airport, Mrs. Ingham went on to become the part owner of Global Travel and worked for C-Travel for the past 10 years since its inception.

"I thought of looking at becoming a true independent contractor and decided I should get some certification," she said.

"I had essentially been doing the work for a number of years now anyway.

"The certification shows that you are serious about what you are doing and have the credentials to do it."

Mrs. Ingham, who is also a member of the Travel Institute, went to a trade show held at Las Vegas last September and sat the CTA exam and passed it, having supplemented her studies by attending travel seminars and doing online webinar training.

Only a month earlier, she had chosen to go it alone and form Oliver's Travel Services - named after her pet Yellow Head Amazon parrot - and the rest, as they say, is history.

Oliver's offers a range of services to suit all budgets, including cruises and adventure holidays, as well as events such as the World Cup in South Africa in June.

Being well-travelled herself, having visited the likes of Europe, Egypt, Australia and New Zealand, Mrs. Ingham believes she can pass on her knowledge and experience to customers and offer a highly-personalised service.

She said the beauty of her business was being your own boss and having the flexibility of hours with the ability to work based on demand, such as at evenings and weekends, as well as having low overheads being based at home.

Mrs. Ingham has seen a lot of changes during her time in the industry, including having to adapt to the change from manual to automated bookings, carrying her laptop and BlackBerry with her everywhere on business.

"To set up in the travel agency business now you have to have a good background in the industry and be certified and have found that keeping yourself educated on product and destination is the key to success," she said.

Looking ahead to the future, she plans to focus on the luxury market, which despite the economic downturn, has remained strong, while corporate travel will always been a constant source of business as long as companies are doing well. Above all, she wants to keep the business small and manageable.

Meanwhile Mrs. Ingham sees a trend developing with Bermudians travelling further but making fewer trips every year as they look for better value for money - something she is planning to tap into through her product line offerings to meet the needs of everyone from the cost conscious to the full package seekers.

Mrs. Ingham is also on the advisory board of SpaFinder, a Global Spa Resource Organisation, a New York-based organisation, with whom her certification covers full spa services, including health and wellness spas for individuals and family members of individuals dealing with a serious illness.

For more information contact Oliver's Travel Services on 236-6304 or e-mail sue@oliverstravel.bm