Mr. Carl H. Paiva

As a student at Mount St. Agnes Academy and an English Literature and Art History specialist at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Mr. Paiva always thought he was bound for a more traditional career. "When I first graduated from college, I was accepted to law school at Catholic University in Washington, DC, and Trinity College in the UK," Mr. Paiva explained.
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Mr. Paiva worked at Watlington & Conyers until 1975, and then spent 25 years as the head of another leading local travel agency.As he approached his 50th birthday, Mr. Paiva decided the time had come to branch out on his own.At first, however, his idea was not to start a new travel agency, but to put his business savoir-faire to use. "My actual best skills are in marketing and sales, which are a natural spin-off from my education in language and the arts.I had contemplated starting a marketing company.However, I realised at 50 that travel was in my blood.I decided I'd rather stick with travel." Carl Paiva set up C-Travel with Lois Wilson, now Chief Financial Officer, just four years ago.
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"We bought this place, our current office on Queen Street, in February 2001 and moved in in May, after extensive renovations," Mr. Paiva explained.However, he was not content to rest on his laurels as an established, well-renowned travel agent. "We started a travel division but we also developed a marketing company," Mr. Paiva said."It's called Contemporary Marketing Solutions, and it's based out of our Queen Street office. "It currently represents Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, and Hertz Rent-a-Car.We'll be launching some other travel tools in 2005." Mr. Paiva sees C-Travel as singular in the local travel sector, describing his staff as extremely creative.As members of Virtuoso, the premier travel marketing company in the United States specialising in premium hotels, airlines, cruises, car rentals, and tours, C-Travel is able to utilise 121 world-wide on-site destination travel companies. As Mr. Paiva explained: "With Virtuoso, we can customise any itinerary for individuals or for group travel, according to taste.Whether you like opera or sports, it can be done." Carl Paiva and his C-Travel staff boast an extensive knowledge of cruises, tours, and what he terms "ethnic business".As he explained: "There are a lot of Indian, Filipino, and Portuguese workers here.They deal through us because of our expertise in finding the best prices for them." With close to 60 internal and external agents, Mr. Paiva prides himself on the unique ability of his staff to determine the perfect trip for any budget. MR. Paiva seems to have his hands in many proverbial pies, working in conjunction with numerous local art galleries, the Red Cross, the National Trust, the Zoological Society, the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute and the Biological Station, and aiding their local fund-raising schemes. "I match the suppliers with the charitable operations to create win-win situations," he said.In this capacity, Mr. Paiva works alongside marketing manager Pat Trott and business development manager Tom Murray.
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According to Mr. Murray, marketing remains Mr. Paiva's principal sphere of expertise.
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In his 30-plus years in the local travel business, Mr. Paiva has seen Bermuda branch out, abandoning tourism as its number one industry and embracing international business.Today, he sees fundamental problems for Bermuda's tourism sector that deserve to be addressed."The main problem is that we don't own our own destiny," he said."It's very sad for a country reliant on tourism to be at the mercy of airlines that see Bermuda as a business opportunity as opposed to a partner.I believe in controlling our own destiny and operating our island as a business." Mr. Paiva envisions a brighter future for the tourism industry should flights to and from new gateway cities becomes available."Miami is coming aboard," he announced.
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Mr. Paiva would also like to see an international carrier operating flights to and from Germany in the near future, noting the reputation of the German people as the world's greatest tourists: insatiable travellers with money to spend. "Germans wouldn't see Bermuda as too expensive as the euro is so strong," Mr. Paiva explained. As for his personal favourite destinations, Mr. Paiva, an avid traveller himself, was loath to choose just one location as his first choice. "I love a lot of places," he said.
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When not running C-Travel or planning his own adventures, Mr. Paiva enjoys working out at the gym.He makes lifting weights a priority.He spends as much time as possible with his family, including two daughters and two young granddaughters. Mr. Paiva is also interested in gardening, the arts (Goya being his favourite artist), and, of course, reading. "When you're a literature major, that never goes away," he said with a smile.

CARL H. PAIVACo-Deputy Chairman, Tourism Board and Partner C Travel

Carl H. Paiva graduated from Mount Saint Agnes School, Bermuda in 1967 and went on to study at King's College, Wilkes-Barre, PA where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature.In 1972 he joined Watlington & Conyers as a shipping agent responsible also for shore excursions operation.While at Watlington & Conyers, he obtained training as a travel agent.In 1975 Carl joined Meyer Agencies Ltd. as manager of the St. George's travel office.In 1981 Carl joined Liberty Travel for a short stint in the Philadelphia area.Carl returned to Bermuda to assume the role of manager of Meyer Travel in Hamilton.
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While working for the Meyer Group of Companies, Carl was responsible for all travel agency operations and successfully grew the company into a multi-million dollar travel operation until August 2000.In August 2000 Carl resigned from the Meyer Group of Companies.By mid-September 2000 Carl embarked on creating his own travel company, C Travel, with partner Lois Wilson of Wilson Associates.
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Carl is a member of NTAG and is the Co-Deputy Chairman of the Tourist Board.

Carl is married to his wife, Gwen, and has two daughters, Gretchen Paiva Canning and Holly Paiva of Boston, Mass.