UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

Sue Day has been the Guest Relations Officer at West Midland Safari & Leisure Park for over eleven years and has been a direct contact for GTOs since 2011. She recognises the importance of great customer care and always takes the trouble to talk to guests in person, on the telephone, at exhibitions and to host familiarisation visits. GTW has bumped into Sue at multiple industry events and loves the fact that she describes her job as ‘the best in the world’!

The best group trip you have ever been on?

Oh that's hard! I enjoy all travel and can never wait to see what’s over the next hill. But if I had to choose, it would be Mexico. While there, we visited the Xcaret Nature Park and as well as swimming through an underground river (I can only imagine what else was in the water, as I saw water spiders and scorpion-type things, then carried on with my eyes tightly closed) we also had an opportunity to swim with dolphins. It’s not very often I am left speechless – but on this occasion I was. They are amazingly graceful and sensitive creatures. An experience I will treasure forever.

And the worst?

Lanzarote in February. Winter sun? I don't think so! It rained all week and a cold wind forced us all to buy sweaters and waterproofs at a local market. My luggage got lost and ended up in Dublin and I wish I had gone with it. The thought of Guinness flowing in a local tavern in front of an open log fire… that will be my idea of a ‘winter warmer’ in future.

What’s your favourite UK destination for a group day out?

It may sound biased but I have to say the Midlands. We have such diverse experiences on offer that it is hard to beat. The only thing missing is a coastline, but with more miles of canals than Venice, there are loads of water-based activities available. You will find the home of the famous Stratford Bard, which gives us a great cultural pedigree, and with the birth of the Industrial Revolution also having its roots here, our historic heritage is evident everywhere. Robin Hood, Wedgwood, Elgar and the beginnings of the Modern Olympics, the list goes on and on. Culture, nostalgia, castles and entertaining family visitor attractions all within a few miles.