Hello...
I'm Cathy Bartrop
The owner of travelguru.tv and a self confessed travel junkie. I am a travel promoter, writer, video producer, presenter and editor. I started my career in travel as a graduate trainee with Saga Holidays back in 1983 then, after gaining invaluable corporate experience with Saga, Thomas Cook and Ocean Cruise Lines, in 1989 I set up my own business focused on travel media including...video production.
Twenty fantastic freelance years went by working with media clients like The Telegraph and Take A Break magazine and, in addition, managing complex, multi-crew filming projects for Tourist Board clients.
Fast forward then to 2007. Around this time, well known UK TV travel shows like BBC's 'Holiday' and ITV's 'Wish You Were Here' became victims of slashed broadcast budgets. At the same time online video was exploding - video on demand (largely thanks to YouTube) had finally become a reality. This created an opportunity to offer specialised content to an online audience. Aged 47 at the time with 15+ years as a video producer under my belt, my 'lightbulb' moment was to fill a gap in the market, specialising in creating trusted travel content for the 50+ traveller. travelguru.tv launched in June 2008.
The 50+ sector accounts for 80% of the UK's wealth and a staggering 60% of the nation's travel spend and yet, when it comes to travel marketing, it is an audience that is still all too often overlooked. My mission is to change that and provide discerning 50+ travellers with content that is relevant, interesting to watch and which shares information (both verbally and visually) that informs smart travel choices.
The content I produce is all about real people, real experiences and trusted travel advice. For me the greatest compliment my viewers can pay me is 'it made me want to go there'. Please do check out my YouTube channel and see if I can inspire your next trip...