Laura Furst

Laura Furst

  • Cruising
  • England
  • Canada
  • United States
  • Caribbean Islands
  • Namibia
  • South Africa
  • Kenya
  • Nairobi
  • Egypt
  • Swahili Coast
  • Cruising
  • Safari
  • River Cruising
  • Cultural Travel
  • Expedition/Off-the-Beaten-Path Travel

About

Laura Furst is the Manager of the Associate's Program at Northstar Travel, based in Waterloo, Ontario, where she draws on 25 years of industry experience to train and mentor the next generation of travel advisors. A former Executive Director of St. John Ambulance in Metro Toronto, Laura brought her nonprofit leadership skills into the travel world during semi-retirement — and never looked back. Her specialties span cruising, England, Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa, including firsthand experience in Namibia, South Africa, Kenya (including Nairobi), Egypt, and the Swahili Coast.

Laura's role is not that of a traditional travel advisor building a client roster; she is a builder of advisors. As Manager of the Associate's Program at Northstar Travel, she works with two distinct groups: new-to-industry agents who need confidence-building and foundational skills, and experienced agents transferring from other agencies who need orientation and systems. Her philosophy of agent development is rooted in a core belief — that great travel advisors listen deeply, travel vicariously through their clients' eyes, and do this work out of a genuine love of travel before all else.

Laura has personally visited every continent on Earth except Antarctica, accumulating a breadth of firsthand knowledge that gives her singular credibility in the training room. Among her most formative travel experiences: a behind-the-scenes day as a volunteer at a private panda sanctuary in China — feeding pandas and sharing lunch with sanctuary workers — and an unscripted stop in Murmansk, Russia, aboard a Scandinavian cruise, where locals unaccustomed to tourists welcomed her group with warm spontaneity and a rickety Soviet-era bus with tasseled shades. These experiences reinforce her conviction that people are people, wherever you are — kind and eager to help. She deliberately avoids defaulting to favored suppliers, staying intentionally broad so she can guide each agent toward the right fit for their specific client.

Laura's travel philosophy is entirely her own: Take the trip, eat the cake, buy the shoes — life is short. She is best suited to self-directed, motivated agents who are in this industry for the love of travel — not the perks. While she holds no formal industry certifications such as CTA or CLIA, her 25 years of hands-on experience and deep supplier training across every continent speak for themselves.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Laura Furst?
Laura Furst is the Manager of the Associate's Program at Northstar Travel, a host agency based in the Waterloo, Ontario area, where she trains and mentors new travel advisors. With 25 years of industry experience and firsthand travel across every continent except Antarctica, she brings rare on-the-ground credibility to agent development. Her background includes executive leadership as former Director of St. John Ambulance in Metro Toronto.
What destinations does Laura Furst specialize in?
Laura Furst specializes in cruising, England, Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean Islands, alongside deep expertise across Africa — including Namibia, the Swahili Coast, South Africa, Kenya, Nairobi, and Egypt. Her African experience spans multiple trips and travel styles, from safari in Kenya to cruising the Swahili Coast, giving her the kind of layered, firsthand knowledge that sets a great advisor apart from one relying on brochures.
What types of travel does Laura Furst plan?
Laura Furst's core travel specialties include ocean cruising, river cruising, safari, cultural travel, and expedition-style off-the-beaten-path experiences. Rather than planning trips directly for a broad client roster, she channels this expertise into training the next generation of travel advisors, equipping them to plan these trip types with confidence and genuine insider knowledge.
How does Laura Furst approach working with new travel agents?
Laura Furst believes a great travel advisor must travel vicariously with their clients — mentally living every detail of the trip to ensure the experience is truly memorable. She applies that same philosophy to mentoring agents, building their confidence and helping them develop their own client rosters. She tailors her approach to two distinct groups: those brand new to the industry who need confidence-building, and experienced agents transferring from other agencies who need orientation to Nor
What makes Laura Furst different from other travel advisors and trainers?
Laura Furst deliberately stays supplier-agnostic, avoiding strong allegiances to any single cruise line or tour operator so she can always guide agents toward the right fit for each client. Combined with 25 years of experience and personal travel across every continent except Antarctica, she offers a level of on-the-ground credibility that is exceptionally rare in agent training roles.
Who is the ideal agent or client for Laura Furst?
Laura Furst works best with self-directed, motivated new travel agents who are passionate about travel and entering the industry for the love of it — not for free travel perks. Her ideal mentee comes to her when they hit obstacles, takes initiative between those moments, and is genuinely excited about building a travel business rooted in serving clients well.
How much experience does Laura Furst have in the travel industry?
Laura Furst has 25 years of experience in the travel industry, including extensive supplier training with cruise lines and tour operators worldwide. She has personally traveled to every continent except Antarctica, giving her firsthand familiarity with destinations ranging from the Swahili Coast and Namibia to Scandinavia and China — experience she draws on daily in her role training advisors at Northstar Travel.
What is Laura Furst's travel philosophy?
Laura Furst's travel philosophy is simple and memorable: take the trip, eat the cake, buy the shoes — life is short. This outlook shapes both her personal approach to travel and the enthusiasm she works to transmit to every agent she mentors, grounding her training in a genuine love of exploration rather than a transactional view of the industry.