Gloria chats with Esther Kaufmann Owner of My Office 4 Travel
Esther Kaufmann is known to many for her years as a travel agent and advisor at My Office 4 Travel. Back in 2005 the office was located on Walking Street and then in 2007 it moved to Jomtien Soi 5, close to the busy immigration office. Due to her proximity with immigration and her knowledge of speaking German, English and (a little) Thai Esther soon found that she was called upon to help many expats coming in and out of the country. This experience and her excellent reputation led to her being the newly appointed Honorary Consul of Switzerland for Chonburi and in fact all 4 of the Eastern provinces.
I met up with her in her elegant new offices now much larger and just 50 metres behind the previous one within View Talay Residence 4, Jomtien Soi 5 At this time of the year she finds herself extremely busy organising flights and holidays for residents who have guests visiting and who want to take them around the country. This is usually to Koh Samui, Phuket and Chiang Mai. Another destination she finds very popular with tourists coming to Thailand is Vietnam.
Since the pandemic there has been an increase in people using the services of travel agencies. Esther has certainly noticed that when people have had bad experiences or been let down with their online bookings they have returned to the security of having an agent and a human voice at the end of the phone. “People appreciate service and having someone to talk to” she tells me “I particularly find busy, business people not wanting to go through the problems of making bookings, checking itineraries and ensuring they have all the correct documentation for the countries they are travelling to.“
Her team are also all personally trained by Esther and have been with her many years. One from the time of the Walking street office, the other two from the move to Jomtien. They all speak English and help with flights, accommodation bookings and reservations. They can also arrange for transportation and airport pick ups.
Now with her responsibilities as consul Esther advises people wishing to visit her in this capacity to please make an appointment to avoid delay or disappointment. She can be reached on her mobile number 081 815 1718.This is already known to many in Pattaya as it is the same one she has had since 1995 and since that time many customers have become friends and friends customers. Esther is also very active in many charity and networking societies and enjoys playing golf on many of the beautiful courses we have around Pattaya.