Global Travel Collection travel advisors Leslie Tillem and Curtis Parris are set to appear in the new season of “1st Look Presents: Extra Mile Club” on NBC, where they plan adventure-filled itineraries in Portland, Oregon for Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, co-hosts of “American Ninja Warrior.”
Produced by LXTV, part of NBCUniversal Local, and developed in partnership with Global Travel Collection — part of Internova Travel Group — the new season highlights how luxury travel advisors craft unique experiences, leveraging strong relationships with top hotels and destination partners to deliver vacations tailored to the needs of their clients.
"‘Extra Mile Club’ demonstrates exactly why travel advisors are invaluable to their clients," said Angie Licea, president of Global Travel Collection. "This season showcases the real-world breadth of what they do — crafting extraordinary journeys for clients with every kind of travel style and preference."
For Tillem and Parris, the mission feels personal.
“We wanted to show who we really are,” Parris said. “People still ask, ‘Do people even use travel advisors?’ This was our chance to show the creativity, problem-solving and human touch that go into every trip.”
“It’s such a great way to highlight what we do and to inspire the next generation of advisors,” Tillem added. “It’s a 24/7 job that takes passion, and it’s proof that no algorithm can replace human creativity.”
The advisors also want to show how being a travel advisor is a great career choice.
“We hope that this show shows young people or people of all ages that it’s a terrific career choice and the numbers show that one in three jobs by 2035 will be in some sort of travel or hospitality type of business.”
Premiering October 11 and 18 on NBC, the Portland episodes follow Tillem and Parris as they plan experiences such as drag racing, helicopter flights, crabbing and white-water rafting, all with a dose of friendly competition. The American Ninja Warrior co-hosts challenge the advisors throughout the season, putting their creativity to the test and ultimately deciding which itinerary comes out on top.
“At the end of the day, our goal is simple: to prove that when it comes to creating extraordinary experiences, travel advisors really do go the extra mile.” Parris said.
