Every Country is Fascinating

This agency was founded by Ľubomír Fellner. The November revolution found him in an autopsy room where he worked as a physician at that time. He immediately took to travelling, which is when the idea of opening a travel agency arose. „We found out that at that time nobody was willing to rent us a bus to go to Morocco, out of the fear of theft. And that is why we began to do it ourselves.” He was able to put his medical knowledge to practice on numerous occasions. “I was a witness to such incidents as a poisonous fly bite, a kidney seizure in the Thai jungle, and a clavicle fracture on the Cook Islands,“ he says.

Ľubomír Fellner, who later on worked as an internist in Bratislava after the revolution, disagrees with the statement that he could have had a more comfortable life if he would have not left the medical field. According to his opinion, there is still a large proportion of socialism prevailing in our health care system, which  would have tamped him down. His colleagues and friends were apprehensive of the idea of the travel agency, however, he was successful in finding a large hole and niche in the market – active travelling in less known countries.

The services offered by Bubo still have not faced any major competition in Slovakia. While most founders of new travel agencies worked in the field beforehand, he was a total greenhorn – everything was new to him – but on the other hand, he did not bring any bad habits with him and he did not copy anything.

“You often hear that a family firm is the worst scenario there is, as it depends on the family,” comments Ľubomír Fellner on the situation and adds that he has a very good relationship with his brother and both of them work very hard. Their structure goes far beyond employing only relatives, in which they have 300 new applicants every year for the position of a guide. Out of this number, they usually pick six for training. “Our guides speak Chinese, Arabic, Norwegian, and Indonesian… Some have lived in the respective countries for a long time. On the other hand, the specialists were not always the best choice. For example, you may have a Sinologue, but they are still unable to resolve trivial issues such as a broken toilet that won’t flush in a hotel. They have to be human and be able to manage their time well. A guide is an extreme asset of added value. There has to be a difference to be felt.

ADVERTISING

As he says, they try to integrate among the locals in any country. For example, in Tibet they do not use the services of a Chinese travel agency and a Chinese hotel but rather use Tibetan services instead along with a traditional Tibetan hotel. “Often this is our way to help these poor areas. They have a different attitude towards us. For example, after a tsunami hit Thailand, we were the first travel agency to send travellers there. We were on a local TV where everyone praised our decision. They did not give up but they did not have tourists. When you eat in someone’s res­taurant, this is better help than any charity," says Fellner.

The BUBO travel agency offers tours to six continents, in which they started with tours to Syria, Lebanon, Burma and Kashmir, and later on they added more traditional destinations such as Mexico, Thailand, Canada, and the US. However, they do not avoid rougher destinations such as Sudan or Ethiopia. According to Ľubomír Fellner, central Africa is still very problematic because the risks involved are still rather high.

Paradoxically, today BUBO offers perhaps the most expensive tours in Slovakia, ninety per cent of the tours cost more than 2,000 EUR – mostly due to the prices of the flight tickets to the exotic destinations. Some destinations do not provide a high level of comfort because the facilities are not comparable to Slovakia’s. However, the travel agency offers a wide range of tours, including luxurious ones. Their offer includes specials such as Laponia in the ice hotel, Formula 1 racing in Malaysia and a 1,500 km motorcycle tour in India.

Ľubomír Fellner is critical of the tourism in Slovakia. “We speak of ourselves as a hospitable nation, but this is not true. We are unable to work hard or to have a vision. When someone travels like I do, they can see the hard working people in Thailand or Vietnam and the effort that they have to spend on obtaining a client. Then, the work involved in getting him to come back. It is only after all that when the investors come.” In his opinion, Slovakia has a chance, but it needs satisfied clients. “For example, there is nothing to see in Singapore. However, they have the best airport in the world, night F1 races and most of all excellent services. Slovakia has something that can set us apart. We, however, have to wait for a generation that will privatise everything and to the others to die out in order to make ample room for those who work hard.”

More info: www.bubo.sk

Author: Marek Piváček
Photo: Bubo

Audio/Video

Photogallery