GOMEGA Travel & Tours celebrates a journey of 30 years

THE WOODLANDS, TX – Since 1994, GOMEGA Travel & Tours has provided top-notch travel and gorgeous getaways to Woodlands area residents and visitors. The agency is inviting the public to RSVP to an open house taking place on Wednesday, April 10 from 3 - 7 p.m. at its Grogan’s Mill location in celebration of its thirtieth anniversary of business.

“Come meet our team and enjoy a glass of bubbly and hors d’oeuvres,” said Ursula Blackburne, GOMEGA’s vice president. “We’ll have a raffle and event specials.” Attendees can RSVP by emailing lynsey@gomegatravel.com by Monday, April 8.

Beverly Robb, longtime Woodlands resident and the founder and president of GOMEGA, recently sat down with Woodlands Online to discuss the past, present, and future of her business and what the past three decades have meant to her and her relationship with The Woodlands.

How did GOMEGA start? What inspired you to start a travel agency?

I never dreamed of starting a travel agency – or any other business for that matter. My husband, Ed, and I took a group in 1988 from The Woodlands Methodist Church to the Holy Land with a company that marketed to pastors, and we loved being there. But it was not a very high-quality experience, and we wanted better for our church members. So, I approached a guide I had met and asked him if he would guide our groups in the future if I could make the arrangements for hotels and air. He agreed, we tried it, and it worked.

Ed and I shared our experience with other friends who were pastors and had had similar previous bad experiences. One after another they asked me to arrange trips for them all of which were highly successful, and eventually we decided to open an agency in The Woodlands. Ed had dreamed of having a travel agency when he was a young boy accompanying his father to pick up airline tickets at their local travel agency. He loved looking at all the exotic posters on the walls and imagining what it would be like to visit those places. So, he encouraged me and with his support, and I did it.

Compare early days of business to today; what changes have you enjoyed over the past three decades?

Early on we had only one employee. She had moved here from California where she had been a travel agent, and we knew her brother. So, we hired her. When I came in one beautiful spring morning and she asked me if it was always so hot here, I knew we were in trouble. She couldn’t tolerate the Houston heat and humidity and moved back to California before the summer was over!

In the early stages of our business, Ed was the janitor. He would come in several evenings a week to vacuum and clean. Sometimes we brought the kids to the office to help, but often, I stayed home helping them with homework and getting them to bed and he did the janitorial work. As the business grew, we hired more staff – including a janitor to relieve Ed of that responsibility!

As we grew, we began to expand our group destinations, as well as arranging travel for individuals, families, and corporations.

Initially the name of our company was Omega Travel and Tours. About 10 years ago, we discovered there was another agency called Omega Travel and they had a federal trademark for that name, so we needed to think of an alternative. One day when Ed and I were driving through the countryside of Scotland and discussing options, he came up with the idea of just adding a “G” to the beginning of Omega and calling our agency GOMEGA. I liked it and immediately secured a federal trademark for the name GOMEGA Travel & Tours.

In the past year we have moved to a larger location, built a new website, and expanded our team. But one thing that has never changed is the fact that nothing gives us more pleasure than planning travel experiences that create lasting wonderful memories.

What's the most memorable travel request you handled for a client?

One of the more memorable events was at the time of 9/11. One of the corporate accounts we handled at that time was the Woodlands Development Corporation. We had made arrangements for their corporate executives to attend a meeting – I believe it was in Las Vegas – and they were there when the attacks occurred. So, we had the leadership of The Woodlands stranded out of town with no flights operating at all. Thankfully, we were able to quickly find rental cars for them before the cars were all snatched up by everyone else and they returned home safely.

How strong do you think is the importance of relationships between you and The Woodlands and its people and businesses?

I think one of the major reasons for our success and ability to weather all the storms through the years is because of the wonderful friends we’ve made through our church and community involvement. It’s vital to stay connected and to support our local businesses to enable a thriving community.

GOMEGA has a new vice president, Ursula Blackburne, who manages daily operations and connecting with community organizations and leaders. We also recently hired a Customer Relations Specialist. Together, their focus is promoting GOMEGA Travel & Tours and getting the word out about all we have to offer, building new relationships, while cherishing the long-term ones. We believe in shopping locally and are grateful for all those friends, neighbors, and local businesses who have likewise supported us through the decades.

GOMEGA Travel & Tours, which has been a multiple winner of the annual Best of The Woodlands competition, is located at 9450 Grogan’s Mill Rd., Suite 115 in The Woodlands. For more information, call (281) 363-3659. Fine more about the open house at https://www.woodlandsonline.com/evps/evitem.cfm?evid=179093.