February 6, 2026
I was disappointed attending an organizational meeting for a travel group. The Ottawa West Probus Club decided to establish a travel interest group. A volunteer arranged the meeting to discuss what we should do. We met in a cold church room with no coffee provided. A poor beginning for me. On top of this, only five people showed up, including me. A very inauspicious start, when we have two hundred people in the Probus Club.
Right off the bat, someone mentioned privacy concerns. She took exception to the spreading of personal emails; I assumed she was referring to the invitation to this meeting. I wondered how difficult it would be to organize a group without using email today. Should we use a phone instead and call each participant? Would that be time-consuming? The same person also expressed a dislike for people taking pictures when the lunch group meets.
After this curious discussion of privacy issues, the organizer asked what we wanted to get out of this meeting! Since this was the second meeting of this group, and since only I and another person were new, I thought the purpose of this group had already been established. But no, the agenda was wide open.
I suggested three options based on experience: holding monthly meetings with travel slide shows, inviting guest speakers from travel companies, or organizing group trips ourselves.
These options were not what the organizer had in mind; she explained that this group would serve only as a “travel dating” site, where people with similar travel interests would be introduced to one another. And once such a group coalesced, they would handle travel arrangements like flights, hotels, and tours. Ok. But why is such a service needed?
Well, she explained, people do not like to travel solo and look for company. Family or friends, I assume. The assumption is that people do not find family members or friends available to travel with and look for travel companions with similar interests, likely members of the Probus Club.
I agree with her opinion. It is a challenge to find friends or family to travel with, as preferences for travel differ—some enjoy cruising, while others prefer five-star hotels. Our nascent travel group aims to connect Probus Club members with similar travel interests and preferences.
The idea of traveling in a group with local people made me think of what we used to do. We used to arrange our trips and travel with a backpack, just the two of us. We looked forward to meeting local people in faraway countries, tasting their food, whether spicy or not, and learning about their culture. Getting lost on our way was always a highlight, a learning experience, and I thought we were enriched by such unanticipated adventures.
I am not sure that I want to travel with our Probus friends; in fact, traveling with a group often limits interaction with locals. Guided tours are efficient for planning, but limit opportunities to engage with locals. Some prefer arranged trips, while others enjoy planning their own trip.
I left the meeting with no information on the next steps. But it has become clear to me that the organizer should explain the idea for this travel group in the Probus Club newsletter. And that there should be a structure in place to allow people to sign up for trips of their choice.
Considering all this, I left the meeting seeing limited value of this travel group for our Probus Club. But I give full credit to the organizer for trying to get this group off the ground.
Note: Probus is a worldwide organization run by volunteers. It is a non-profit organization for semi-retired and retired professionals and businesspeople, with no political or religious ties. It started in the United Kingdom by a Rotary Club.
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