A travel advisor with The Travel Agent Next Door (TTAND), Marsden works with 4Oceans, a purpose-driven company that sells bracelets made from environmentally-conscious materials, as part of her efforts in raising awareness of plastic pollution in our oceans.
“I have a responsibility”
Dianne Marsden tries to find teachable moments in everything she does.
A travel advisor with The Travel Agent Next Door (TTAND), Marsden works with 4Oceans, a purpose-driven company that sells bracelets made from environmentally-conscious materials, as part of her efforts in raising awareness of plastic pollution in our oceans. Marsden encourages her clients to pick up garbage and plastic from the beaches they visit. In return, she buys a bracelet from 4Oceans on her clients’ behalf, with each purchase going towards 4Oceans’ promise to remove 1 lb of trash from the ocean.
“As a travel advisor, I have a responsibility to not only my loved clients, but also to the communities and destinations that will receive new guests,” says Marsden.
Marsden also recently partnered with a bakery in her community and surprised frontline medical workers with cupcakes to thank them for their sacrifice during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo: Dianne Marsden & team deliver cupcakes to medical workers at Hotel Dieu Shaver Hospital in St. Catharines, ON.
“When you have support behind you, it gives you strength, hope and determination to continue,” she says.
TTAND, Marsden’s host agency, recently enabled its advisors with an opportunity to honour local heroes by launching a contest that rewards essential workers with a free trip.
While travel is “the heart and soul” of the industry, advisors play a key role in “making the earth a better place,” she says.
“Travellers benefit directly from a travel agent’s professional opinion and first-hand knowledge of destinations, which we spend time educating ourselves on through experience and training,” says Marsden.