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In 1979, Angela Szabo opened a Hagen’s Travel & Cruises loaction on Hastings Street, and 30 years later, her business is still flying.  In an industry that can be as up and down as the Hawaiian surf, Szabo has managed to carve out a place for herself in the Heights.  Through the years, Szabo has seen many changes, not just to the neighbourhood but to the travel business and its customers.  Vacation-goers have become more resourceful and knowledgeable, travel has become more affordable, and where people want to travel to has changed.  In the early years it was “Hawaii, Hawaii, Hawaii,” Szabo says.  Now, people are more eager to try new spots, such as Cuba and the Dominican Republic.  It’s no surprise to learn that Szabo has travelled the world.  She has a handful of favourite destinations: For a relaxing vacation, Szabo picks Bora Bora, Tahiti.  “I found Tahiti to be just heaven on earth,” she says.  “I’m a water baby.”  She recently went diving in Jamaica, where she stayed at a Sandals resort, which she loved.  Another memorable trip was a visit to Kenya on an African safari.

“I camped in nine game reserves,” she says. “At night, you would listen to the cheetahs. I thought someone was chopping a tree. I’d love to do it again. It was so beautiful.”  Another stand-out trip, for its historical significance, was Saint Petersburg, Russia, where Szabo visited the State Hermitage Museum, one of world’s largest museums.  She needed a month to see it all, Szabo says.  “Travelling for me is an incredible collage of humanity and trying to understand the different cultures, and that life is not easy for sure, but people do it with such great gusto,” she says.

Szabo, herself, is something of a cultural collage. She was born in Portugal to Hungarian and Austrian parents.  When she was 18, Szabo came to Canada.  She speaks several languages, which has served her well in the travel business.  In recent years, she started the Burnaby Business Network with the intention of helping merchants in the Heights by encouraging businesses to support one another by buying local whenever possible.

On Wednesday, Aug. 26, Szabo invites everyone to stop in and enjoy a treat and refreshment for an open house being held to celebrate the anniversary of Hagen’s Travel and Cruises on the Heights.