Many prospective travelers turn to online options, nowadays, to arrange their own vacations or globe-trotting adventures.
But between intricate booking protocols and a whole world worth of viable destinations, the tourism industry is still an effective means to make traveling more accessible and convenient, says Charon Perkins Bartley, owner of Chic Chatter Travel.
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“It’s great for groups, because then you’re actually putting the work on someone else, you’re not taking on so much,” Bartley said, before noting that travel consultation is also beneficial for individuals, particularly those looking for a themed expedition. “A lot of people want to travel, they want to have the best experience. But unfortunately, a lot of times they don’t know where to start, or where to look, or how to go about it in any manner.”
Inquiring potential voyagers provide their desired destination, duration and dates, the nature of the trip—wedding anniversary, birthday, or the like—through an electronic form to help the agency gauge how to plan for them.
“We soften the blow, so to speak, when it comes to taking on the actual stress of booking,” said Bartley, noting also that Chic Chatter, being licensed and bonded, offers insurance protection plans. She observes that often, new travelers make costly mistakes in their preparations, such as with return and departure dates. “And what happens is, you get penalized because you made that mistake.”
Chic Chatter, which also organizes the Pack with Love & Hope charity drive providing luggage for foster children, began as part another business of Bartley’s, a boutique specializing in clothing and jewelry.
The moniker, originally called Chic Chatter by Charon, she said, referred to “speaking about anything that sophisticated, elegant, or worthy.” And so Chic Chatter Travel represents “speaking about sophisticated, well put together travel plans.”
Bartley launched the Augusta-based travel firm in January of 2020, as she and her husband, Greg Bartley, were already frequent travelers— “going different places, being approached by different people asking us if we were travel agents because we do travel so much”—and decided to turn their wanderlust into an enterprise.
Their experience journeying abroad and domestically accustomed them to the intricate processes entailed in far-reaching excursions.
“We’re always picking up little tidbits here and there,” she said. “So when we started the travel business, we were already equipped to start.”
Chic Chatter has organized trips as far as Egypt, Thailand, South Africa and Japan. One key piece of advice Bartley has for curious tourists is to make sure to research the culture of where they’re going. One of the most popular destinations is Dubai, the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, largely, she says, due to its culture and rich history. She takes care to note that while the city is a beautiful, intriguing place to see, it would be important for visitors to understand its mores—such as an insistence on modest dress and disapproval of public displays of affection.
Her second tip for travelers, no less important, is “to have fun, get out there and live. There’s so much to see the world is so vast.”
For more information about Chic Chatter, or the Pack With Love & Hope drive, visit https://www.facebook.com/ChicChatterbyCharon, or call 706-250-1459.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
