History of San Stefano Travel
When holidaying in San Stefanos, there is an abundance of information at your finger tips thanks to one lady who had a vision many years ago. San Stefano Travel has been a foundation block for San Stefanos for over 12 years, helping tourists with travel information, currency exchange and answering every question imaginable, from where to visit, to whether a speed boat has a handbrake! Noula Mouzakitis has taken it all in her stride and has worked tremendously to achieve what you see today.
San Stefano Travel started as a bright idea for Noula when she was 15 years old while working as a rep for Corfu Link Holidays. It was then that she saw the need within San Stefanos for an information centre, not a travel agency. She went to the local council and offered a proposition to work for free, setting up an information centre in San Stefanos in return for free rental of a building that she could work from. At the time, the council could not afford to help her, so she adapted her idea to create a travel agency. She utilized her travel and tourism information from being a rep and also harbored her customer service skills after many years of working in her family run restaurant.
Noula’s ambitions all came together when she finally had her own office to work from. It was situated at the bottom end of San Stefanos, where the juice bar currently stands. In the summer of 1999, she opened the doors of San Stefano Travel for the first time, against the wishes of her family. It was unknown for a young woman to be so ambitious, but Noula broke the mold. She was not willing to follow tradition and take a back seat. She had vision and determination and vowed to prove them all wrong. Needless to say, she now has the full support of her family and neighbors, not to mention the thousands of guests each year that make a special effort to visit the office and thank her in person for all she has done for them.
Noula has lived locally all her life and was raised surrounded by a developing San Stefanos so she knows exactly what it has to offer. She has also known many of the returning guests for many years and has built a bond of trust with each of them. This bond also extends to her suppliers, with whom she works with to ensure the best quality excursions for her customers. Noula is a perfectionist and will accept nothing less in return. To show their appreciation for 10 years of hard work, Ionian Cruises, the supplier that provides trips to Paxos, Parga and Albania, loaned Noula a beautiful ship called the Ionian Sun for the evening. They celebrated in style on board the lavish ship where she was surrounded by her employees, suppliers, family and friends.
The first services on offer from San Stefano Travel were foreign exchange and a few local trips. As the business and peoples trust in Noula grew, so did her list of services. She started offering car hire, boat hire and grander excursions. Returning families wanted Noula to book their accommodation and transfers, rather than going through big tour operators. If she had an airplane, I'm sure they would want her to fly them here too! Families who have come for generations with their children are now seeking for Noula to organize their weddings, which she takes as a great honor.
In 2005 San Stefano Travel opened another branch in the centre of San Stefanos village. Here is where the office stayed until the end of season 2010. Within this time, Noula’s inspirational ambition drove her again as she built her own block of luxury apartment buildings, Margaritas Suites. For Noula, San Stefano Travel is career of passion, not for wealth, so the apartments were built in stages when she could save enough to do things step by step. Friends and family pitched in too so that the top floor suites could open in 2006. Four more years of hard graft and penny pinching would pass before she could finally open the ground floor of Margaritas in 2010. To add to this great achievement, Noula has moved the office for one final time. The Luxury Margaritas Suites now house the brand new office and she stated that the building now feels “complete”. Being at the old end of town, Noula feels she has moved back to the most valuable area of San Stefanos.
On the 1st of May 2011, the red ribbon was cut and friends, family, suppliers and guests were invited to see the finished product. They were treated to a grand tour around all of the luxury suites within Margaritas and browsed around the brand new office. People were in awe of her achievements and it was inspirational to see what one lady had accomplished with hard work and an undeterred vision. Everyone gathered in Margaritas Suites beautiful seafront garden, where they were wined and dined to celebrate the beginning of Noula’s new venture.
Noula prides herself on her outstanding customer service, and this expectation is carried on to her staff also. She is careful to employ the right kind of staff who will help the business grow and who will go as far as she will to fulfill a customer’s needs. Past and present staff has helped Noula build the solid reputation that she has today, and they will carry on doing so. Her current staff Sally Spencer and Cerys Roberts share the same vision for San Stefano Travels clients as Noula, and you can expect nothing less than outstanding service when you visit them for any of your holiday needs. They will welcome you with open arms to their brand new office and ensure that your stay here in San Stefanos is the best that it can be. So feel free to call in and put their customer service skills to the test, they promise you won't be disappointed!
