Today we’d like to introduce you to Dean Dalton.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
What led directly to the founding of Dean Dalton Tours was a meeting in 1994, instigated by the founder of a Houston-based, opera-focused tour company. At that time, I was the host of KUHF radio’s Morning Show of classical music and arts interviews. I was approached with the proposition that I serve as the “opera expert” on their Central Europe tours, and that I help promote these tours on the radio, with an added benefit of raising money for the not-for-profit station. I started hosting the tours, 2 or 3 a year, for KUHF (now Houston Public Media); they were an immediate success, receiving a lot of positive feedback from listeners. The tours had already branched out to other parts of Europe and I had become even more involved in their operation by the time I retired in 2007. In 2011, my wife, Zsófia Sztranyiczki and I formalized “Dean Dalton Tours” and gradually took over the entire operation, from planning, to promotion, to execution of the tours, as well as all the business functions of the company. Personally planning and managing every tour provides a level of connection between us and our travelers that simply isn’t possible with a larger company.
Our very dissimilar life-stories combine to form a skill-set that is uniquely suited to the cultural travel business.
Dean grew up in a smallish Midwestern town whose very active music and arts scene allowed him to pursue serious music and theater activities. He had a career in classical music and cultural radio that spanned more than 35 years, during which he was also active in arts journalism, contributing to such publications as Musical America, Opera, and the Houston Symphony Magazine. For several years he lectured on music history regularly at the Smithsonian Institution and for two decades presented pre-concert talks for the Houston Symphony. Dean‘s training in music and career in arts journalism allows him to provide in-depth background of the performances included in each tour package.
Zsófia, an ethnic Hungarian from Transylvania, Romania, comes from a career in teaching and the international nonprofit sector. A PhD linguist, she taught English and ESL at high school and university levels and was the executive director of a global nonprofit organization working for women’s rights and empowerment for 11 years. Her broad education, research skills, and knowledge of multiple languages are valuable assets for our business.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The global pandemic, as for most people in the tour business, caused a major disruption to our work. In 2020, we had to cancel all our tours; we managed to offer a few the next year and in 2022, taking extra care to plan for dining outside and to avoid traveling long distances in close quarters, as much as we could. The post-pandemic world has brought its own challenges. For example, the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, caused several cancellations for our March 2024 trip to Egypt and Jordan, resulting in a noticeable effect on our profit margin. The recent volatility of the dollar and the current political and economic uncertainty continue to affect travelers’ travel plans and budgets.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We specialize in small group travel, mostly to Europe, with a strong focus on classical music, fine art, architecture, and history. Our “guides” are mostly PhDs in art history, architecture, cultural history, and so on. Our clientele are well-educated people whose interest in travel goes far deeper than selfies in front of well-known landmarks. I think what sets us apart is our extraordinary repeat business: our tours are usually about 85% repeat clients while newcomers learn about us almost exclusively from former travelers.
I think it is telling that people who met on one (or many) of our tours routinely get together for dinner, weekends in Chicago or New York for concerts, opera, and museums, or just over a glass of wine at intermission of a Houston Symphony, Grand Opera or Ballet performance. We can take credit for at least three life-partnerships that were born on one of our tours.
We are also known for “special, exclusive” experiences that no other travel company provides. For example, on two separate tours, we visited the private home and villa of an aristocratic lady in northern Italy, who hosted us for private recitals, played on some of her priceless antique instruments – in her city home and countryside villa. Both were unforgettable experiences, musically as well as visually – her homes boast 15th-18th century paintings, sculptures, antique furnishing and porcelains, providing the perfect setting to listen to music played on her collection of harpsichords, spinets, dulcimers, and fortepianos. This past year, we arranged a special meeting with former Houston Symphony music director Christoph Eschenbach, following the opening concert of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in Germany.
We’re also proud that, while our focus is not gastronomy, our tours have nonetheless become famous for the meals we provide – in the words of one of our travelers, “unbelievable epicurean treats,” thanks to Zsófia’s research skills.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.deandaltontours.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeanDaltonTours
