Spartan Profiles: Mary Ann Ramsey
SUPER TRAVEL AGENT
In the world of luxury travel, perhaps the top network is Virtuoso, which comprises some 7,000 elite travel consultants who generate more than $3 billion in annual sales. This year’s Virtuoso Performance Award went to Mary Ann Ramsey, ’75, owner and president of Betty Maclean Travel, Inc., of Naples, FL, who made the cover of Luxury Travel Advisor in March, hailed for her success in the field.
She was named ASTA Travel Agent of the Year in 2003 and has been recognized by both Travel & Leisure and Conde Nast Traveler magazines as one of the world’s top travel specialists. “It’s the most rewarding, fabulous career and life that I could dream of,” says Ramsey. “I’m happy every day that I come to work.”
A native of Detroit, Mary Ann majored in tourism at MSU. “I always wanted to be a Spartan and wear green and white,” she notes.
She cites Dr. Robert McIntosh of The School of Hospitality Business as a special mentor. “He was a great educator, had tremendous passion, and he taught you very basic, well-rounded business principles that I still use today,” says Mary Ann, who now serves on the hospitality school’s alumni board. “He was the first tourism professor in the country, I believe.”
After graduation, Mary Ann worked in the hotel industry until 1978, when she joined Betty Maclean Travel. Five years later she became a partner, and three years later, in 1986, she bought the company. “We have clients in every part of the country and in Europe,” she says. “We do individualized, customized programs for our clients.”
The secret to her success? “Hard work, take risks and build a good team,” she sums up. She says the trendiest destinations today in luxury travel are India and Africa. “My personal favorite destination is gorilla trekking in Uganda,” she says. “Only six permits are allowed a day. You trek up the mountains and it might be several hours before you find the gorillas. It’s magical.”